What do you see in this image? Why do you think the author placed the characters the way he /she did? How does this image make you feel?
These are just a few examples of the type of questions that teachers need to be asking their students when exploring picture books to help further their ability to question and to critically analyze texts.
The image above comes from Dave Eggers (2017) children's book called Her Right Foot, which takes a unique approach in representing different perspectives of the Statue of Liberty while also providing the background history of the statue itself. Through his the use of a vibrate color scheme and 3D effects that make the images seem to pop off the pages; Eggers is also able to tell a story of how a statue came to be a powerful symbol of hope for those seeking a place of refuge and acceptance.
"In welcoming the poor, the tired, the struggling to breathe free. She is not content to wait. She must meet them in the sea" -- Her Right Foot (2017).
Out of all of the pictures in the book, I chose this specific image (see image above) because of the author's choice of changing the perspective -- in relation to woman and child, who are both immigrants, are now being position closer to the readers and the the Statue of Liberty being pushed to the background. I think the author's purpose in doing this is to turn the reader's attention to the immigrant woman and have students interpret about how she is feeling when viewing the Statue of Liberty outside of her window. This powerful 'visual grammar' is just one example that is meant to help reader identify the underlying themes that Eggers tries to portray in this story. These themes include: hope, acceptance, and a sense of home.
In continuing the underlying theme of acceptance and immigration, Irena Kobald and Freya Blackwood's (2015) book called My Two Blankets, invites readers to think about how the power of friendships can invoke people to find their 'identity blanket' and to feel accept by a world that once felt strange and unsure. To portray such a powerful message to their readers, the authors made the choice to illustrate the story of a refugee named Cartwheel using emotionally potent images, visual grammar, and positioning of the characters to influence our interpretation of power (Callow 2017). For instance, in the image of above the author choose to have Cartwheel and the other American girl represent as the same size to emphasis both girls are seen as equals through the development of their friendship, and the act of acceptance on both of the girls' part.
Talking Across Book Sets
This text set of books allows readers to both address and identify a common themes of hope and acceptance across all three of these books. Although each of these books are connected through similar themes, they also invite readers to understand these ideas through a different perspectives that invoke them to ask why the author has chosen to include the certain literary elements in their stories.
To help teachers challenge their students' thinking across these literary texts, The Reading Strategies Book (2015) is a great resource for teachers that provides certain prompting strategies to encourage questioning and to increase critically thinking about how to analyze texts. Once students have read a text set, the teacher can then start a transformative discussion by using one of the following prompts:
Compare how this author and this author view the same topic or theme.
How does your thinking compare (and/or) contrast with the author(s)?
Say, "The author thinks this _____, but this one thinks __________."
Say,"The author thinks ________, but I think ________."
What do all of these texts have in common?
How does what author A wrote help you think differently about what author B wrote?
By using prompts like the examples above, teachers are encouraging students to make deeper connections across texts in attempt to better understand the why behind the author(s) intended purposes with using specific story elements.
The last book in this book set is called the Wishtree written by Katherine Applegate (2017). In this text, it takes on the perspective a tree named Red and how she deals with the ugly weeds (human hatred) that had sprouted in her garden (e.g her neighborhood community) when an immigrant family moves in next door. In addition to dealing with the social unrest in her community, Red also fines out that her time on Earth may be running out. In response, Red decides to grant a little girl's wish before she goes, but little does she know how her actions may change the perspective of immigrants for her community.
In her efforts to include such powerful themes of acceptance and hope in her book. The author chooses to use descriptive imagery to convey the main themes in her story about how actions of selflessness and kindness can inspire hope for those who need it most.
I wanted to tell them that friendship doesn't have to be hard. That sometimes we let the world make it hard. -- The Wishtree (2017)
References
Applegate, K., & Santoso, C. (2017). Wishtree. Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC. Print.
Callow, Jon (2017). "Nobody Spoke Like I Did": Picture Books, Critical Literacy, and Global Contexts." Global Literacy, Inc. Print.
Eggers, D., & Harris, S. (Artist). (2017). Her right foot. Chronicle Books. Print.
Kobald, I., & Blackwood, F. (2014). My two blankets. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Print.
Serravallo, J. (2017). The writing strategies book: Your everything guide to developing skilled writers with 300 strategies. Print.