Luke's Way of Looking

All the boys in Mr Barraclough’s class see things the same way, except for Luke who looks at things differently. When the teacher sees Luke’s paintings, he goes ballistic! Then one day Luke discovers a place where he feels at home and his whole perception of the world changes. A sophisticated picture book. Suggested level: junior, primary.

Anna's Art Adventure

On her search for the art museum’s bathroom, Anna meets famous artists, becomes part of some of their paintings, and makes her own art. Includes brief factual notes about the painters and paintings Anna encounters. A sophisticated picture book. Suggested level: primary.

The Three Pigs

 Other Title: Three little pigs
Based on the fairy tale: The three little pigs
Summary: Three pigs, straw, sticks, bricks, huffs and puffs. It’s an old story and you probably know the rest. But what if the pigs escape this fairy tale, and adventure in to others? A sophisticated picture book. Suggested level: junior, primary, intermediate.
 The three pigs escape the wolf by going into another world where they meet the cat and the fiddle, the cow that jumped over the moon, and a dragon.

Bright Star

The year is 1871. Alicia is a farm girl, doomed to a life of needlework and milking cows but she is very bright at school, especially at maths and science. When she meets the famous Australian astronomer John Tebbutt, she realises that her future is as limitless as the stars. A Sophisticated Picture Book.

One Hen : How One Small Loan Made A Big Difference

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.

I highly recommend this book. This book has potential in curriculum areas e.g. Social Studies.

Memorial

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.

Scribble Sunset

Summary:"A little girl scribbles down her thoughts and musings as she goes for a walk to find the sunset. On the way she is joined by her least favourite person, a kid called Jones, and against all odds, friendship develops."--Provided by publisher. A sophisticated picture book. Suggested level: junior, primary, intermediate.

What makes a picture book sophisticated?

Course material below has come from the National Library Of New Zealand

Why have sophisticated picture books in the library?

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.

http://englishonline.tki.org.nz/English-Online/Exploring-language/Static-Images/Picture-Books (Assessed 8/2/2011).

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 am I looking for?

• 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.

http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/strategies/topics/literacy/articles/visual-literacy-and-the-classroom/  (Accessed 8/2/11

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

http://www.wicked.org.nz/r/language/curriculum/visual_lang_e.php (Accessed 11/2/11)

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)

http://www.changemag.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/November-December%202008/abstract-visual-literacy.html    (Accessed 8/2/11)

Characteristics

Picture Books

• Usually 32-pages long

• 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

• Levels of meaning

• 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.