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Exploring books for children: words and pictures

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These are the same illustrations as those in previous screens in this section. The illustration on the left shows Hannah and her father sitting at the kitchen table, having breakfast. Hannah has her back to the viewer, and is wearing a bright red jumper. On the table in front of her is her breakfast, including a glass of milk, a blue-and-white cereal box, a pair of blue-and-white striped salt-and-pepper shakers, and a blue-and-white striped sugar bowl. Hannah’s father is sitting opposite her. He is having coffee in a blue-and-white striped mug, and is reading a newspaper. He is wearing a dark suit, blue shirt and dark tie. Between them is the white expanse of table cloth. The kitchen floor is made up of black-and-white squares in a chequerboard pattern. Behind the father, and framing his figure, is a white refrigerator. The kitchen has blue cupboards surrounded by small white tiles on the wall. The countertop is white with few items on it.

The illustration on the right shows Hannah and the gorilla sitting at a table, having tea. Again, Hannah is sitting at a table with her back to the viewer. She is wearing a yellow jumper. In front of her is a hamburger with chips. The gorilla is sitting opposite her. 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. In front of him is a stack of yellow bananas and a red mug with tea in it. The table is spread with a red-and-white chequered tablecloth, and is laden with party food: a Victoria sponge cake, a chocolate cream éclair, a bottle of tomato ketchup, a pink jelly decorated with red cherries, a cherry flan, three fairy cakes, each of them iced with a cherry on top, 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