Inside Picture Books

by Ellen Handler Spitz

Mention a name from a beloved childhood picture book―Madeline, Corduroy, Peter Rabbit, Max and his “wild things”―and most adults can recollect a bright image, fragments of a story, the timbre of a certain reading voice, the sensation of being held, and best of all being together with someone and enveloped in fantasy. Why do picture book images shown to us as young children linger in our minds? How do picture books shape our lives early on and even later into adulthood? This book takes up such questions. It explores the profound impact of the experience of reading to children. Ellen Handler Spitz reveals how classic picture books transmit psychological wisdom, convey moral lessons, shape tastes, and implant subtle prejudices.

Each chapter of the book discusses well-known children’s books― Goodnight Moon, Babar, Little Black Sambo, to name a few―that deal with a theme of importance to young children. These include bedtime, separation, loss, and death; curiosity, disobedience, and punishment; and identity and self-acceptance. Focusing on the relationship between a child and an adult reader, Spitz explains the notion of “conversational reading” and emphasizes the mutual benefits of dialogue and intimacy. This book not only gives parents, grandparents, teachers, therapists, and scholars a new understanding of the meaning of picture books, it also empowers adults to interpret and choose future cultural experiences for their children.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, Books About Books

255 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 1999

Reviews

[Sarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful for essay on racism in picturebooks, on Children's Lit MA

[Catherine Gillespie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author, a lecturer at Stanford, studies art, culture, and psychology, so her approach to books is interesting. She clearly loves children’s books and explores “the profound impact of the experience of reading to children.”

Although I felt at times that she read too much into the books she discussed, for the most part I found the author’s perspective interesting. She wrote about quite a few of our favorites, including less well-known titles like Wee Gillis. I also found a handful of books that we haven’t read but would like to try.

If you enjoy finding new books to read to your kids, or are interested in the psychology of reading and how reading impacts culture, I'd recommend Inside Picture Books.

This review was previously posted on A Spirited Mind

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

For pure readability, this is probably a 2-star, but it did yield a few interesting insights about the longevity and themes in a number of classic children's picture books. If nothing else, it was worth it for the explanation of why kids (and so many adults) adore Goodnight Moon (even if I'm not among their numbers) and for the reminder that it's worth finding stories with female protagonists, especially those who defy classic gender conventions, so my boys can learn to flex their perspectives as readers -- and thinkers.

[Huda Fel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Ellen discusses the debate about the effect children's books have on children. She started by giving some examples of "adults" who are still connected to their fav books from their childhood. However, her method was analyzing a number of picture books which unfortunately most of them were new to me.
I felt lost like I didn't get the full picture :$

[Meaghan Steeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting in that it gave me a new perspective on some of my childhood favourites growing up. There were some opinions she voiced that I didn't agree with, and there were a couple of views I found outdated. On the whole, I was happy I read it though I still wish there were more books that talk about this subject!

[Waller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not popular among children's lit scholars when it came out, in large part because it ignored the contributions of major figures in this field of scholarship. Nevertheless, I found several parts useful in considering picture books; one could do worse.

[Nojood Alsudairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One sentence: it is different.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

detailed analysis of various classic picture books--insightful, but maybe reading in a little too much!