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Exploring books for children: words and pictures

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These are the same two illustrations from the book Gorilla, but here both images have been greyed out. At the bottom right corner of the image of the illustration of Hannah and the gorilla is the word ‘next’ with a small arrow pointing to the right. When the mouse is clicked on this arrow, the colours reappear in each image, except for the central figures: in the kitchen around Hannah and her father, in the left illustration; in the wallpaper, the food on the table, the gorilla’s bow tie and his banana, in the right illustration. Below the illustrations, the following words appear: ‘Use of colour. The colours are much warmer in the second illustration. They are mostly red and yellow, and seem to be related much more to nature.’ On the left, at the bottom corner of the illustration of Hannah and her father, the word ‘back’ appears along with a small arrow pointing to the left. Clicking on this second arrows allows the possibility of reviewing the previous image in the sequence.

When the mouse is clicked on the arrow for a second time, the colours appear in the central figures in the illustrations: in Hannah, her father and the kitchen table, in the left illustration; and in Hannah, the gorilla and the tea table, in the right illustration. The rest of each illustration goes back to being greyed out. Below the images, the following words appear: ‘Composition. In the first illustration, the rest of the room is very visible and the characters are stranded in the middle of it. In the second illustration, the figures are more dominant in the composition; we cannot see much of the background beyond them. The gorilla is making eye contact with Hannah, and the outlines of their bodies actually overlap.’

When the arrow is clicked for the third time, the colours appear in the table area, including the crockery and cereal box in the left illustration; and in the wallpaper, the party food, the tablecloth and the gorilla’s bow tie and banana in the right illustration. The rest of each illustration goes back to being greyed out. Below them, the words are as follows: ‘Symbolism. In the second illustration, the table is absolutely full of food. There is a great deal of fruit, which is also echoed in the wallpaper. Overall, the effect is one of warmth and plenty, compared to the sterile atmosphere evident in the first illustration.’

 7 Analysing images: composition and symbolism