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Exploring books for children: words and pictures

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The image shows Hannah sitting at a table with her back to the viewer. Again, she is positioned in the foreground, in the centre of the illustration, but this time she is sitting on a chair that does not have a back. Hannah is wearing a yellow jumper, and her long brown hair is tied up in a ponytail. The gorilla is sitting opposite her, facing the viewer. He is large, brown and hairy all over. Hannah’s head is silhouetted against the dark bulk of his body. The gorilla is wearing a red-and-white polka-dot bow tie, and has a kindly amenable expression on his face as he munches a banana that he is holding in his right hand. The table is spread with a red-and-white chequered tablecloth, and is laden with party food. On the right side of the table are a slice of Victoria sponge cake, a chocolate cream éclair, a red mug with tea in it, a bottle of tomato ketchup, a pink jelly decorated with red cherries, a cherry flan, and three fairy cakes, each of them iced with a cherry on top. On the left side of the table, in front of Hannah, is a hamburger with chips, and, in front of the gorilla, a stack of yellow bananas. Next to the bananas is another red mug with tea in it. To the left of this are a knickerbocker glory ice-cream sundae, a basket of plums and a couple of nectarines. The wall behind the gorilla is covered by a cream wallpaper with a pattern of cherries on it.

 7 Analysing images: composition and symbolism