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Exploring books for children: words and pictures

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The image is the same as that on the previous screen, of Hannah and her father having breakfast together. However, this time, five numerals have been positioned over certain parts of the image; each numeral is red and set inside a circle. As the mouse cursor is moved over each numeral, a text box appears with a comment about a particular aspect of the image. The number one is positioned by the refrigerator in the centre background, directly behind the father’s head. The accompanying text box says: ‘In the very centre of the picture is the fridge, which frames the father. This is probably symbolic and suggests that the father is emotionally cold’. The number two is positioned on the newspaper the father is reading; its accompanying text box says: ‘The newspaper that the father is reading acts as a barrier between him and his daughter. His line of vision is focused directly on this newspaper, emphasising that there is no interpersonal connection between him and his daughter’. The number three is positioned on the table cloth; its accompanying text box says: ‘The table itself acts as a barrier between the two characters. It is a sterile white and looks very big between them’. The number four is positioned just to the left of Hannah, in the foreground; its accompanying text box says: ‘The colours used in the illustration as a whole are all very cold and muted. The picture is mostly in black, white and pale blue. Even the father’s face has blue shadows across it. The only bright colour is Hannah’s red jumper, which could suggest something about her character’. The number five is positioned to the left of the father, in the background, above a kitchen cabinet; its accompanying text box says: ‘The drawing is dominated by straight lines, many of which form grids. The effect of this is to make the kitchen look like a “cage”. This may be significant, as two central themes of the story are Hannah’s desire to visit the zoo and the friendship that she forms with her toy gorilla’.

 7 Analysing images: composition and symbolism