I’ve been playing! I was curious to see
how picture books on the same theme might have evolved over time. How have
creators added new angles to these themes? How might this be linked to our
perception of children? And how has the imagery, portrayal of children, artwork
mediums used and book design changed?
Arbitrarily,
I chose four themes/topics*:
Manners A Traditional Tale Pets Bedtime Here are some quick observations that I gleaned from my playful
exercise:
- Previously,
picture books had a lot more text.
- The text
explained the action and followed a more linear plot; books were often more
educational rather than entertaining.
- Early books
featured words and pictures laid out on separate pages, rather than integrated
as we see today (this was largely dictated, of course, by the constraints of design
and printing processes).
- Contemporary picture books are often humorous, sometimes even irreverent, and
allow more scope for interaction with the reader and space for interpretation.
- Contemporary
creators have a lot more lee-way to play with structures and innovative lenses
to convey their themes and explore these topics.
Many of these
findings are predictable and not wholly surprising, because our perception
of childhood has altered significantly since the 1900’s. Scientists have made
massive strides in their research on how children develop and identifying their
needs. Consequently, this has widely influenced parents and carers’ attitudes
towards how to care for, entertain and educate children. In addition, the
advent of desktop publishing and digital printing processes has empowered
illustrators and publishers to produce books with novelty elements and more elaborate
typography and design.
MANNERS:
My Little
Golden Book of Manners by Parish and Scarry
Golden Book of Manners by Parish and Scarry
From My Little
Golden Book of Manners by Parish and Scarry
From My Little
Golden Book of Manners by Parish and Scarry
From My Little
Golden Book of Manners by Parish and Scarry
From My Little
Golden Book of Manners by Parish and Scarry
Golden Book of Manners by Parish and Scarry
My Little
Golden Book of Manners by Peggy Parish and Richard Scarry – published 1962
In an attempt
to demonstrate good manners to boys and girls, furred and feathered friends show
them how it’s done.
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Yolen and Teague
How Do
Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? By Jane Yolen and Mark Teague – published 2005
This book hones in on table manners - just like children, dinosaurs have
a hard time learning to behave at the table. They belch and make noises when
they chew, they throw down their cup and pick at their food. The text plays
with irony by assuming the child reader knows exactly how to tell those naughty
dinosaurs how to behave!
 |
| We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Higgins |
We Don’t Eat
Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins – published 2018
In this hilarious picture book, the twist is that the main
character is a carnivorous dinosaur who has to learn how to behave in a
classroom full of children. Of course, she wants to EAT them! Taking the humour
to another level, this book challenges young readers to figure out how the main
character should behave and appeals to both adults and children.
 |
| Excuse Me!: A Little Book of Manners by Katz |
Excuse Me!: A
Little Book of Manners (Lift-The-Flap Book) by Karen Katz – published 2002
This board book
introduces children to “Please" and "Thank You" and “Excuse me”
and “Sorry”.
 |
| From Excuse Me!: A Little Book of Manners by Katz |
 |
| From Excuse Me!: A Little Book of Manners by Katz |
a meal, receiving a special present from granny, or breaking a sibling’s toy. Each lift-the-flap reveal prompts the child with a polite phrase response.
A TRADITIONAL
TALE:
I chose the Three
Little Pigs:
 |
| The Three Little Pigs by Vera Southgate and Robert Lumley |
Three Little
Pigs by Vera Southgate and Robert Lumley – published 1965
This version
contains all the classic lines (“By the hair of my chinny chin chin/I will not
let you come in” . . . “I’ll huff and
puff and I’ll blow yourself in”).
 |
| From The Three Little Pigs by Vera Southgate and Robert Lumley |
third little pig spends the last part of the book outwitting the wolf, until
the wolf meets his end in the cooking pot.
 |
| The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Sciezca and Smith |
The
True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! By Jon Sciezca and Lane Smith –
published 1989
In this
funny, irreverent version, the traditional tale is told from the wolf's point
of view. As Alexander T. Wolf explains it, the whole Big Bad Wolf thing was
just a big misunderstanding. Al Wolf was minding his own business, making his
granny a cake, when he realized he was out of a key ingredient. He innocently
went from house to house to house (one made of straw, one of sticks, and one of
bricks) asking to borrow a cup of sugar. Could he help it if he had a bad cold,
causing him to sneeze gigantic, gale-force sneezes? Could he help it if pigs
these days use shabby construction materials? And after the pigs had been
ever-so-accidentally killed, well, who can blame him for having a snack?
 |
| The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Trivizas and Oxenbury |
 |
| From The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Trivizas and Oxenbury |
The Three
Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury –
published 1993
This version also
turns the traditional tale on its head and instead of focussing on the three
little pigs, the main characters are the three little wolves who are up against
the ‘bad little pig’. When the three wolves set out to build themselves a house,
they must use stronger and stronger materials to
outsmart the Big Bad Pig, who instead of huffing and puffing, uses a sledgehammer,
a pneumatic drill and finally . . . dynamite to take down their house! But when
the wolves build a beautiful house made of flowers, and the Big Bad Pig start
to huff, he instead inhales the fragrance and is transformed, realizing how
horrible he’s been.
 |
| The Three Little Pigs by Baxter and Lewis |
 |
| From The Three Little Pigs by Baxter and Lewis |
The
Three Little Pigs: Ladybird First Favourite Tales by Nicola Baxter and Jan
Lewis – published 2011
In this version, the first (boy) and second (girl) pigs build a
house of straw and sticks and meet their end when the Wolf blows them down. The
third little pig’s house of bricks is solid, and so the Wolf tries to lure him
out to meet him to gather turnips, apples and go to the fair. Each time, the
pig sees through the Wolf’s trickery. At the end of the book, as in the
traditional tale, he lures the very angry, frustrated Wolf down the chimney
into the cooking pot and lives peacefully ever after.
ABCs:
Though
notoriously tricky to translate, ABC alphabet books are a great way to
introduce letters to young readers and there have been many innovative versions
over the years.
 | |
| ABC by Mary Kendal Lee |
 |
| From ABC by Mary Kendal Lee |
ABC by Mary
Kendal Lee – published 1958
Written in
rhyming couplets for each letter, featuring a boy and a girl.
 |
| ABC by Brian Wildsmith |
 |
| From ABC by Brian Wildsmith |
 |
| From ABC by Brian Wildsmith |
ABC by Brian Wildsmith – published 1963
Beautifully
painted, this ABC book introduced children to art as it celebrated each letter.
It was – and still is - also notably an innovative, outstanding example of
British design, production and typography.
A to Z by Sandra Boynton
From A to Z by Sandra Boyton
A to
Z by Sandra Boynton – published 1984
The
alphabet gets a seriously silly twist in this rhyming board book that features
animal actions for the very young.
 |
| My First ABC Book (DK) |
My First ABC Book –
published by DK – published 2003
Dorling
Kindersley was a trend-setter in publishing non-fiction in a distinctive style
– photographs of real objects on a white background.
 |
| ABC (Think, Touch, Feel) by Deneux |
 |
| From ABC (Think, Touch, Feel) by Deneux |
ABC (Think Touch
Feel) by Xavier Deneux – published 2016
This is an
exquisitely designed chunky board book that invites small hand to explore the
letters of the alphabet using dynamic, tactile features. It encourages sensory
learning through unique cut-outs and raised letters.
 |
| Animal Alphabet by Donaldson and Chai |
 |
| From Animal Alphabet by Donaldson and Chai |
Animal
Alphabet by Julia Donaldson and Sharon King-Chai – published 2018
Peep-through
pages and fold-out flaps create a guessing game that invites young readers to compare different animals, and learn
comparison words and adjectives from the natural world.
PETS:
The theme of
wanting a pet is an age-old one but it’s gone through some interesting
incarnations, not so different from each other in that usually the plot line is
that the child really wants a pet, and the parents object . . . As in these
examples:
 |
| Pets by Ratzewberger and Phillips |
 |
| From Pets by Ratzewberger and Phillips |
 |
| From Pets by Ratzewberger and Phillips |
Pets by Anna
Ratzewberger, illustrated by Katherine L. Phillips – published 1954
It’s pet day
at school and the children share about how they take care of their pets and
train them.
 |
| I Want a PET by Lauren Child |
I Want a PET
by Lauren Child – published 1999
Lauren
Child’s deliciously funny picture book depicts a child who really wants a pet, but
Mum, Dad, Granny and Grandad aren't keen on any of her suggestions! Sheep will follow
them everywhere, an octopus would leave eight dirty footprints wherever it went
and boa constrictors might squeeze them too tightly. The solution to please everyone?
 |
| From I Want a PET by Lauren Child |
An egg that
isn’t quite a pet yet . . . but it will be soon. Young readers can imagine what might be inside!
 |
| What Do You Do If Your House is a Zoo? by Kelly and Laberis |
 |
| From What Do You Do If Your House is a Zoo? by Kelly and Laberis |
What Do You Do
If Your House is a Zoo? by John Kelly and Steph Laberis – published 2019
Oscar’s
getting a pet! But which pet should he pick? And what on earth will he do when
they all move in? His house is like a zoo! The surprise reveal is that the perfect pet is . . . a gorgeous, loving, three-legged dog.
BEDTIME:
Go-to-Sleep
Book (Little Boy) by Helen
Earle Gilbert and Frances Wosmek – published 1949
Go-to-Sleep
Book (Little Girl) by Helen
Earle Gilbert and Frances Wosmek – published 1949
 |
Go-to-Sleep |
 |
| Go-to-Sleep Book (Little Boy) by Gilbert and Wosmek |
 |
| From Go-to-Sleep Book (Little Boy) by Gilbert and Wosmek |
 |
| From Go-to-Sleep Book (Little Boy) by Gilbert and Wosmek |
 |
| From Go-to-Sleep Book (Little Boy) by Gilbert and Wosmek |
Simple, repetitive phrasing with a simple plot – all
the animals are so tired and sleepy and so is the little … boy/girl. The snuggle down into their warm beds, yawn and – go to sleep!
 |
| Tell Me Something HAPPY Before I Go to Sleep by Gliori |
Tell Me
Something HAPPY Before I Go To Sleep by Debi Gliori – published 1999
Willa is a
little bunny who is scared to go to sleep – she might have a bad dream. Her
older brother Willoughby tells her to think of all the happy things that will
be waiting for her in the morning. Willa finally feels tired, yawns, and
snuggles up with her cuddly toy, knowing her big brother will be there in the
morning.
 |
| Llama, Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney |
 |
| From Llama, Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney |
Llama, Llama,
Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney – published 2005
Llama Llama
is tucked in by her mama, but she’s not at all sure about being left alone.
What if her mama is gone? The worries escalate until Llama Llama makes an epic
fuss, hollering loudly for her mama! Mama reassures her that even though her mama might be busy or away,
she’s always right here in Llama’s heart. With a goodnight kiss and a cuddle, this
is enough to get Llama to sleep at last!
 |
| Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems |
 |
| From Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems |
Don't
Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! By Mo Willems – published 200
It's getting
late and time for bed. Readers must help the bus driver and make sure that the
pigeon doesn’t stay up late while goes to brush his teeth and get ready for
bed. But the pigeon is wide awake! He’s not tired and instead, he’s in the mood
for a hot-dog party! This plot follows some similar parameters as the stories
above – not tired, tries lots of excuses, eventually feels tired and goes to
sleep – with the added interactive element that is heaps of fun for young
readers to join in.
 |
| Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? by Waddell and Firth |
Can’t
You Sleep, Little Bear? By Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth – published 201
This Kate
Greenaway-winning story is about Little Bear, who just can't sleep because
there is dark all around him in the Bear Cave. Not even Big Bear's biggest
lantern can light up the dark enough. So, Big Bear takes Little Bear outsides,
cuddles him and shows him the moon, and finally, Little Bear feels comforted
enough to go to sleep.
 |
| I Don't Want to Go to Bed! by Tony Ross |
From I Don't Want to Go to Bed! by Tony Ross
I Don't Want to Go to Bed! by Tony Ross – published 2017
Little
Princess asks the infamous question, “Why do I have to go to bed when I'm not
tired?” She tries to distract the grown-ups with shouts about monsters in the cupboard,
hairy spiders, and thirst. When she finally goes to bed and the King goes to
kiss her goodnight, she’s vanished. A frantic search round the castle finds her tucket up in the basket with the cat (keeping her and her stuffed toy, Gilbert safe). In
a funny twist, the princess wakes up the next morning and announces she is
going to bed.
Apart from
having fun exploring, playing is important for creators to gain new inspiration
and perspectives on our work. It can also help us to stay connected to our inner
child. And it’s fun!
*Of
course, there are many, many books on these topics, so for the purposes of this
blog post, I’ve had to choose . . . but do jump in in the comments to add your
favourites, please!
_________________________________________________________________
Natascha Biebow, MBE, Author, Editor and Mentor
Natascha is the author of the award-winning The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons,
illustrated by Steven Salerno, winner of the Irma Black Award for
Excellence in Children's Books, and selected as a best STEM Book 2020.
Editor of numerous prize-winning books, she runs
Blue Elephant Storyshaping,
an editing, coaching and mentoring service aimed at empowering
writers and illustrators to fine-tune their work pre-submission, and is
the Editorial Director for Five Quills. Find out about her new picture book webinar courses! She is Co-Regional
Advisor (Co-Chair) of SCBWI British Isles. Find her at www.nataschabiebow.com
