Thoughts on Today's Picture Books

After attending a weekend soccer tournament in LA, I was dying to get to a bookstore. There had been a really big Barnes & Noble next to the hotel, but I had no opportunity to sneak over to browse. So after driving over 2 hours home and making dinner, I jumped in the car again and drove 45 minutes to the nearest Barnes & Noble in SLO. Now, it’s not one of the bigger stores, but it was a bookstore nonetheless.


I grabbed a stack of picture books - old and new - and read through them, uninterrupted, peaceful. Of course, I selected most of the titles because of illustrations that appealed to me and a few others because of authors/illustrators. Unfortunately, they did not have the most recent Caldecott winners on the shelf.  And, honestly, I found myself a little disappointed by several of the books I read.  I won’t say that the stories were “bad.” There just seemed to be something missing, or they just fell flat in the end.

I've always enjoyed Karma Wilson’s "Bear" books, so I was interested to check out The Cow Loves Cookies.  While I thought it would make a great storytime book, it seemed reminiscent of many other sweet humor featuring repetitive phrases - almost formulaic, now. So, although it was enjoyable, it was quite familiar.

The illustrations and the concept for Children Make Terrible Pets grabbed my interest right away. It started out promising, but it really fizzled toward the end - this fun and clever idea deserved an equally creative conclusion. Instead, I found it rather uneventful - anti-climactic.

On the other hand, I read some Caldecott winners from years past - the stories really stood apart. Zelinsky’s Rapunzel attempted to retell the original tale complete with the story’s unpleasant or tragic aspects - there was drama. And Wisniewski’s Golem dealt with a very intense situation, difficult questions, and with characters from Jewish history and tradition. I was completely engaged throughout both of these stories (unlike with any of the new releases I found).

Thinking back on my years at the bookstore, it seems to me that A LOT of the picture books these days lack even a crumb of drama or intensity.  Of course, I know that Golem would not make a nice bedtime story for a small child.  I just wonder why publishers seem to be putting out the same type of book again and again. There is definitely a place for books about cows that eat cookies, but the vast majority of picture books that I’ve read in recent years are rather superficial, sugar-coated stories devoid of any real depth, excitement, surprise, emotion...


I do enjoy reading the sing-song rhyming stories to my kids - they’re fun and appeal mainly to young children.  I've even had some illustration ideas for my own picture books that would fall into that category. However, picture books can appeal to a wide variety of ages - even adults - and I think it's a subject worth considering.  If the introduction to books that we offer our kids repeatedly consists of cute critters looking for hugs, making friends, learning manners, etc., then it’s really no wonder that children quickly turn to exciting, adventure-packed video games (especially boys). 


Like I said, I do enjoy many of those books.  But, perhaps the picture book market is over-saturated with them.  But, maybe I’ve just missed those titles (the bookstore has been closed for over a year now). Maybe they just hadn't made it to our smaller-town shelves. I’d love to hear about any recent picture book recommendations that you all have where the stories have some degree of “impact” on the reader.

Bring on the Illustrated Novel!

Back in the mid-90’s I remember hearing that illustrated picture books were experiencing a lot of growth in the publishing world. These books certainly showcased some real talent – both written and visual. I think the illustration seed was planted in my mind at that time, however it went ignored for quite a while.

Now, working in a bookstore, I wonder if the picture book genre has slumped a bit. I don’t know the statistics or the trends, and I still see some great books come into the store. But, from a booksellers perspective, our hardcover children’s books don’t really sell that well.

Perhaps it’s the economy or the demographics of this particular area. While people are more willing to pick-up a paperback, I can’t say we sell many of them either. The $16 hardcovers just sit, for the most part (holiday books being an exception). Even bargain priced titles aren’t moving.

On the other hand, the beginning readers, chapter books, and young reader novels do much better. Of course, kids are required to read these types of books for school, so the demand is automatically there.

Anyway, I’m thrilled to see the upswing of young reader novels with illustrations. I’m not talking about the illustrated diary format like the new and popular “Wimpy Kid” books or the decorative chapter header. And, of course, I’m not referring to manga (which I’m really not a fan of overall). I’m thinking of those books that have a handful of well executed and artfully done illustrations dispersed throughout the book.

Brian Selznick’s “Invention of Hugo Cabret” has received much attention for its illustrations, so I don’t need to say more on that. But, books like Kate Di Camillo’s “Tale of Despereaux” and "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” both include beautiful imagery by some talented artists. The Edward Tulane book in particular (illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline) even includes the occasional color plate, reminiscent of older classics that are saved and passed down through families.

I noticed a new book come into the store the other day called “The Underneath” by Kathi Appelt. It jumped out at me because the illustrator’s name – David Small – was also prominently featured on the front. I don’t know much about the story at this point, but I thumbed through to check out some of the artwork.

I don’t know if this is a growing trend or not, but I sure hope it is! Novels don’t necessarily need to be illustrated to the degree that Selznick’s book was, but it sure is nice to have at least one image in each chapter. I just think – as a visual person – it’s a great way to draw people into the story that much more. In addition, it does its part to turn a good story into a treasure of a book.