Tots to Teen
Star Mag, 26th November 2006
Saying it solely with pictures
THEY are picture books in the truest sense, comprising only pictures
and no words, although some have maybe just one or two. With text, the
story can never really change, but without it the possibilities are
endless.
Two people flipping through a single textless picture book might see
different things, or see things differently, and so imagine completely
dissimilar images. They might emphasise different points of interest,
and a myriad of conclusions may be drawn ... a different one each time
the book is “read”.
Shaun Tan, the brilliant writer/illustrator of books like The Red Tree and The Lost Thing (he is also illustrator of John Marsden’s The Rabbits, and Gary Crew’s The Viewer and Memorial), has a new book out. It’s called The Arrival and it’s textless.
At the Children’s Book Council of Australia conference held in Sydney last May, Tan explained how the book was supposed to be a standard 32-page picture book. However, it grew and grew and became a 128-page graphic novel about the migrant experience.
he Red Tree and The Lost Thing deal with themes of isolation and alienation, and The Arrival revisits these issues by exploring the experiences of a man who leaves his family to seek his fortune in a new land. Its sepia-tinted images are beautifully rendered, their colour adding to the poignancy of the man’s longing for his home and family as he faces, with bewilderment and awe, his strange surroundings.
As in all of Tan’s work, the illustrations are full of surprising and subtle detail and each re-read will reveal something new and significant.
For a list (by no means complete) of wordless picture books visit picturingbooks.imaginarylands.org/resources /wordless.html. And here are a few of my favourite wordless graphic novels/ picture books ...
Tuesday (Clarion Books, 32 pages, ISBN: 0-395-55113-7) by David Wiesner
You’ve heard of raining frogs. What about flying and floating ones?
It’s Tuesday night and a town’s amphibian population takes to the
skies, zooming gleefully through country roads and suburban streets,
riding lilypads and shocking dogs. It’s just a letdown when dawn breaks
and gravity exerts itself. Even frog-haters (like me) will find plenty
to laugh about in this book.
Looking at things from “the other side” often reveal surprises and
hidden meanings. Seeing the whole picture, from both sides and inside
out is essential in understanding any situation.
Banyai’s innovative ideas and interesting perspectives stretch your
imagination to the very limit and beyond. This is a fascinating,
compelling book that will provide hours of entertainment. It also makes
an excellent tool in creative writing classes.
The Other Side (Chronicle Books, 48 pages, ISBN: 0-811-84608-3) by Istvan Banyai
Walking Man (Toptron Ltd T/A Fanfare, 160 pages, ISBN: 8-493-34099-5) by Jiro Taniguchi
I love this graphic novel about a man and his solitary walks through a suburb in Japan.
The illustrations are black and white line drawings and, somehow, they convey the tranquillity and peace that you feel while walking for hours, in pleasant weather and surroundings, with nothing but your thoughts for company.
Flotsam (Clarion Books, 40 pages, ISBN: 0-618-19457-6) by David Wiesner
A young boy is drawn into the astonishing world that lies beneath the waves when he finds an old camera on the beach and processes its contents: Wind-up fish swimming among schools of real ones, aliens gazing in awe at prancing seahorse, an octopus hosting storytime, a pufferfish as a hot air balloon ...
The final print is of a child holding a picture of another child, who in turn holds another picture and so on: children from diverse and distant lands and across time, linked by an idea.
Sunshine (Frances Lincoln Publishers, 32 pages, ISBN: 1-845-07390-8) and Moonlight (Frances Lincoln Publishers, 32 pages, ISBN: 1-845-07391-6), both by Jan Omerod
These are companion books, each depicting the life of a couple and their little girl. Sunshine focuses on the family’s morning as they laze in bed and then get ready for the day ahead. Moonlight begins at dinnertime and ends with bedtime. I love the family, especially the bearded father who is sweet, tender and patient with his daughter.
The Red Book (Houghton Mifflin, 32 pages, ISBN: 0-618-42858-5) by Barbara Lehman
A book acts as a bridge between two children. For each child, the book is a magic doorway into the other’s world – just as all books allow readers to journey to places unknown and exciting. Lehmann tells her story without words but her bright gouache illustrations are all she needs to show that lives can be transformed through stories and the power of imagination.
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