Picture books are...an excellent means of exploring visual language for students from year 1 to year 13. Many picture books are very sophisticated, both in the features and conventions of visual language they use and in the effects and meanings they communicate. some use words, and some do not, but they all use a range of particular visual features and conventions.
In picture books with words, the relationship between words and images is crucial. Picture books are not texts with illustrations; rather, they combine verbal and visual features as an integrated whole to communicate particular information, feelings, and meanings. A picture book for a young child might use visual features to depict and reinforce a specific aspect of the written text; another might provide subtle subtexts and elaboration of ideas.
Visual Literacy
1. The Educator’s Role in Preparing visually Literate Learners (Abstract)
by Susan E. Metros
Theory Into Practice v47 n2 p102-109 Apr 2008
Contemporary culture has become increasingly dependent on the visual, especially for its capacity to communicate instantly and universally. Advances in technology fuelled this shift. Students must learn to cope with and intelligently contribute to a culture rife with easy access to the visually rich Web, photo dependant social networks, video saturated media, and graphically sophisticated entertainment and gaming... Students must... learn how to make ethical judgments about a visual message’s accuracy, validity, and worth EJ791201 (Accessed via ERIC 8/2/11).
2. Visual Literacy in the Classroom
by Erin Riesland
Integrated visual literacy instruction into classroom curriculum begins by asking a few key questions to spark the critical thinking process...
- What does this image mean to me?
- What is the relationship between the image and the displayed text message?
- How is this message effective?
Once students internalize these questions, not only will (they) be prepared to recognize and decode subversive advertising messages, but they will also be prepared to communicate with a level of visual sophistication that will carry them through the multimedia-dependent environment of higher education and the modern work environment. Moreover, visual literacy instruction will better prepare students for the dynamic and constantly changing online world they will inevitably be communicating through.
3. Beyond secondary school – where does the study of Visual Language lead?
Our language is rich in signs, symbols, and other forms of visual language in which words and images interact. On the page, on the stage, on television and on the computer screen, visual and verbal elements are combined in increasingly global systems of communication
(Visual Language) lays the foundations for advanced studies that extend beyond the scope of English, such as advanced design, media studies, or film-making.
English in the NZ Curriculum
4. Resource Review: Visual Literacy
by Peter Felten
The problem of the twenty-first century is the problem of the image, “ according to cultural theorist W.J.T. Mitchell (1995). The centuries-long domination of texts and words in culture, particularly Western culture, has come to an end. the new “pictorial turn” means that images no longer exist primarily to entertain and illustrate. Rather they are becoming central to communication and meaning-making...
Our visual, screen-based world is the natural environment for many of today’s college students. Our technology and culture, some would argue, are producing a large crop of visual learners – ‘Digital natives” who are “intuitive visual communicators” and “more visually literate than previous generations” (Oblinger and Oblinger, 2005, ch.2)
Characteristics
Picture Books
- Pictures appear on every page or double-page spread
- Pictures take up the most space
- Text is often quite brief and sometimes can be “wordless”
- The author and the illustrator jointly share the responsibility for the book to “work”
- Integration of visual and verbal art
- Text alone will not carry the story
What makes a picture book sophisticated?
- More complex story / Non-traditional plot structure
- Stimulates adult imagination as well as children’s
- Complex illustrative styles
- Powerful, rich, creative text
- Realistic social issues and mature concepts and themes
- Literary devices such as satire
- Providing an opportunity for critical thinking
- Pre-requisite knowledge of literacy forms, including understanding author's prior works
- Multiple narrative or points of view
- Using the pictures or text to position the reader to read the text in a particular way, for example, through a characters’ eyes or point-of-view
- The readers’ involvement with constructing the meaning of the text.
- Varied design layout and a variety of styles of illustration.
Orphan, clock keeper, thief: Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. Combining elements of picture book, graphic novel, and film, Caldecott Honor artist Selznick breaks open the novel form to create an entirely new reading experience in this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery. 
Celebrate the joy of reading and begin a lifelong love of books with the delightful Parsley Rabbit and his pesky little brother, Basil. Lively and entertaining, it features a remarkably clever and handsome rabbit and is full of fun, flaps to flip and questions to share. Parsley introduces children to books -- from the cover, to the imprint page to the title page, formats, style and more -- and takes the reader on a hilarious and stimulating journey through the world of books. An absolute treasure of a book for children from 3-7 years.
One Hen is the latest title from the creators of If The World Were a Village, Tree of Life and One Well. It is the perfect way to introduce children to the concept and importance of sustainable development. One Hen tells the story of Kojo, a young Ghanaian boy who uses a micro loan to buy a chicken, so he can sell the eggs to make money. Through hard work, Kojo soon earns enough to go back to school. He grows up to own his own farm, employing many people in his village, and contributing to Ghana's development. The story illustrate show a small loan can have a huge impact on many people's lives if used in the right way. Striking artwork and 'House that Jack Built'-style captions lead the reader through Kojo's progress. At the end of the book, the story of the real-life Kojo is told.
Summary: In the city of Fontania, during the reign of the Lady Gall, magic is forbidden. When Twelve-year-old Jasper Ludlow's parents flee the city, leaving him behind, Jasper finds refuge on The Travelling Restaurant, a sailing ship. Jasper embarks on a journey to find his baby sister and his parents and to find the true monarch of Fontania
Summary: When the soldiers return in 1918, a memorial tree is planted, ’Lest we forget’. But generations later, what do those who pause in the shadows of the tree’s immense branches remember? A story to help us remember, a message we should never forget. A sophisticated picture book. Suggested level: primary, intermediate. 
Millicent is a warm and gentle story about an old lady's daily wanderings through Hyde Park to feed the pigeons. Along the way, we hear Millicent's thoughts and feelings towards the pigeons that she so dearly loves. Her dream is to find enough feathers on the ground to make a coat, hat, bag and shoes so she will be warm and cosy, just like a pigeon .
Summary: When a friend helps him retrieve the fishtrap he lost while trying to fish just off the coast of eastern Tasmania, Ben comes to see the Giant Kelp forest in a new light. Includes facts on kelp. Suggested level: junior, primary.
Other Title: Mira't
Summary: Illustrations present such imaginative possibilities as worms with wheels, caterpillar toothpaste, and whales in outer space. Suggested level: junior, primary.
Who is Geronimo Stilton? That's me! I run a newspaper, but my true passion is writing adventure stories. Her in New Mouse City, the capital of Mouse Island, my books are all bestsellers! My stories are funny, fa-mouse-ly funny. They are whisker-licking-good tales, and that's a promise!
Summary: Jamie is smaller than his younger brother Harry and he's fed up with everyone thinking he's the youngest. Then Jamie finds a magic cloak and accidentally turns Harry into a bluebottle. In the mad panic of trying to rescue him, Jamie discovers that being a big brother has nothing to do with size
School Journal October 2011 has now been processed and is now in the Senior Resource Room.
School Journal September 2011 has now been processed and is now in the Senior Resource Room.
Matariki Booklet -pdf. http://www.korero.maori.nz/news/matariki/matarikibooklet2010.pdf
We also had Lyndsey Smith – Librarian from Mangere East Library spoke to Area A classes.
