Inside Picture Books

Dr. Ellen Handler Spitz

ISBN 10: 0300076029 / ISBN 13: 9780300076028

Published by Yale University Press, 1999

May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0300076029I4N00

Synopsis:

An exploration of the profound impact of the experience of reading on children. It discusses well-known picture books, including "Goodnight Moon", "Babar" and "Little Black Sambo", and reveals how they transmit psychological wisdom, moral lessons, tastes, and subtle prejudices.

From the Publisher: Review from Publishers Weekly, April 12, 1999
Readers may never look at picture books in the same way after making their way through this thought-provoking examination. Focusing on her subject through the lens of psychology, Spitz argues that because picture books "provide children with some of their earliest takes on morality, taste, and basic cultural knowledge, including messages about gender, race, and class," it behooves adults to consider more carefully the images transmitted to their kids. Organized thematically, the chapters offer a wide-ranging discussion of art and artistry, visual and verbal cues and the transmission of culture through picture books that resonate with children, often for multiple generations. Whether examining motifs of darkness and abandonment in Margaret Wise Brown's classic bedtime tale "Goodnight Moon," a child's yearning for power in Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" or gender stereotyping in Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" (comparing the bold and naughty Peter to his obedient sisters, she notes "the gendering is explicit: good is to girls as bad is to boys"), Spitz provides an illuminating analysis of what is often taken for granted. Sure to spark lively debate, her book is a must-read for any serious student of children's literature as well as that core group of parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians, and others who are actively engaged in raising children. Proactive, well-written, scholarly without being dry or pedantic, Spitz's text makes a compelling case for the power of art and literature, and the responsibility that accompanies such power, particularly when it relates to children.--Publishers Weekly

Bibliographic Details

Title: Inside Picture Books
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication Date: 1999
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket