Show and Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration - Hardcover

Evans, Dilys

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0811849716 ISBN 13: 9780811849715

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2008

Synopsis

For over 30 years, Dilys Evans has been deeply involved in the fine art of children's book illustration. In 1980 she foundedThe Original Art, an annual exhibition in New York featuring the best children's book illustration of the year. Now, in thisfascinating exploration of children's book illustration, she focuses on the work of 12 contemporary illustrators. Lookingat the wide variety of artistic genius in children's books, Show and Tell teaches the reader how to look for the perfect marriage of art and text, and is an invaluable guide for anyone interested in children's books and the art of illustration.

Illustrators include:
David Wiesner
Trina Schart Hyman
Lane Smith
Brian Selznick
Bryan Collier
David Shannon
Petra Mathers
Paul O. Zelinsky
Hilary Knight
Denise Fleming
Harry Bliss
Betsy Lewin

About this title

About the Author:

Dilys Evans is agent and president of Dilys Evans Fine Illustration LLC. She is an accomplished author, curator, and speaker who has advised Caldecott committees and has worked with many acclaimed illustrators in the children's book business. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

From School Library Journal:

Starred Review. Grade 7 Up—Who better to "show and tell" how children's book illustrators work their magic than Evans, whose life mission has been to advocate for their status as fine artists. Twelve contemporary artists are covered in as many chapters, with content ranging from Kay Thompson's Eloise (S & S, 1955) illustrated by Hilary Knight, to Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic, 2007). Evans relays their education, favorite artists, approaches to specific composition problems or texts, and serendipitous moments, subtly revealing a picture of the individuals behind the images. The strength of this book lies in the depth of the author's understanding regarding how decisions about formal qualities and design affect narrative and in her ability to articulate their effectiveness for the layperson. She discusses the tension created by the perspective, the orange-red wall, and the swinging clock pendulum in David Shannon's No, David! (Scholastic, 1998) as the young imp prepares to whack a baseball across the living room. She points out Bryan Collier's "linear striations" suggesting the moving currents painted across a portrait for Doreen Rappaport's Freedom River (Hyperion, 2000) and their effectiveness in conveying the river's importance to the slaves. The color reproductions are true; spreads are carefully placed so the gutter in the book being discussed lines up with this title's stitching where possible. Book jackets and vignettes grace the margins. An enlightening must-read for all picture-book enthusiasts.—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
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About this edition

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0811849716
• ISBN 13: 9780811849715
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144