Lesson 4 focuses on developing an understanding and an appreciation for the visual elements used by the artist, including line, color, shape, and texture. Examples of illustrated books introduce the artistic media, including lines and washes, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, oils,
woodcuts, and collage. The textbook discusses both representational art and abstract art. It presents evaluation criteria for illustrations in
children's books and discusses outstanding illustrators of children's books.
OBJECTIVES
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After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
I
dentify the visual elements used by the artist, including line,color, shape, and texture.
Identify examples of artistic media, including lines and washes, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, oils, woodcuts, and collage.
Describe both representational and abstract art.
Name outstanding illustrators of children's books.
Answer knowledge-based, multiple-choice study questions on the assigned reading.
Formulate responses to essay questions based on the assigned reading.
Analyze and respond to relevant topics for reflection in children's literature.
Evaluate five children's books according to stated criteria.LEARNINGACTIVITIES
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Read and study chapter 4 in the textbook.
Answer the Study Questions (multiple-choice questions and essay questions) in the Study Guide.
Read, analyze, and formulate responses to one essay and one topic for reflection in children's literature.
Read and evaluate five children's books chosen from the extensive bibliography at the end of chapter 4, from theaccompanying CD-ROM included with the text, or based on the recommendation of your local librarian.
The Study Questions consist of twenty-five multiple-choice and five essay questions based on the lesson's textbook assignment. These questions serve as the basis for the examination and thus enable you to check your understanding and mastery of the material while preparing for the exam.
Please answer both sets of questions on your own. Do not send your responses to the faculty mentor. Answers to the multiple-choice questions are at the back of the Study Guide.
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
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Circle the letter of the choice that best answers the question or completes the sentence. Check your answers with the key at the back of the Study Guide.
1. The role of illustrations in children's literature is to a. inspire the imagination.
b. complement the text. c. invite the reader. d. All of the above
2. How are illustrations in picture books different from illustrations in most older children's literature? a. They add interest to the story.
b. They join the text in telling the story. c. They invite the reader to read the story. d. They excite the reader's imagination.
3. What do artists mean when they talk about the visual element line?
a. a row of words printed across a page or a column
b. any of the marks that make up the formal design of a picture and suggest direction, motion, energy, and mood.
c. a thin, usually straight, continuous mark scratched in or made by a pen, pencil, or brush
d. a border or start or finish mark
4. In the relationship between line and natural phenomena, vertical lines suggest
a. danger.
b. lack of movement. c. calm.
5. Which type of line usually suggests loss of balance? a. jagged
b. horizontal c. diagonal d. curved
6. In the relationship between color and natural phenomena, which of the following colors have "warm" or "hot"
connotations? a. white, ivory b. black, gray c. blues, greens d. reds, yellows
7. A book page design with text placed opposite bordered illustrations on adjacent pages is considered
a. the most formal arrangement. b. abstract.
c. informal.
d. None of the above
8. The level of formality of page design is MOST important to evaluate in light of its harmony with the
a. particular story. b. artistic medium. c. genre of literature. d. visual elements.
9. A very informal design with text combined with two or more arrangements and text printed in different forms, colors, and sizes might be appropriate for which of the following types of literature?
a. fairy tales b. fables
c. nonsense rhymes d. science fiction
10. The most informal type of page design would be with a. text placed above or below an illustration.
b. no text or words printed in different sizes and colors. c. text shaped with irregular boundaries to fit around the
illustration.
d. text combined with two or more arrangements. 11. Artistic media refers to the
a. genre of literature an artist is illustrating.
b. type of paper on which an artist's illustration is printed. c. materials and techniques an artist uses to illustrate a book. d. news of the artistic world.
12. Of the various media available to the artist, which of the following is among the oldest?
a. woodcuts b. cardboard cuts c. collage
d. linoleum cuts
13. The earliest books for children were illustrated with which of the following?
a. watercolors and pastels b. collage
c. oils
d. black and white woodcuts
14. A technique in which bits of objects are pasted to a surface is called a
a. mural. b. woodcut. c. collage. d. frieze.
15. A representational style of art in picture books can be described as
a. symbolic.
b. literal and realistic. c. abstract and subjective. d. All of the above
16. Illustrators who draw pictures that focus on the play of light over objects in the natural environment, similar to those of the French artist Monet, are drawing in a style called
a. cubism.
b. impressionism. c. realism.
d. abstract expressionism.
17. An art style that uses visual elements to express an artist's deepest inner feelings is called
a. impressionism. b. abstract. c. expressionism. d. cubism.
18. An art style that takes ordinary objects as its subject but emphasizes certain characteristics of a subject by changing or distorting the usual image, or that focuses on pure form, is a. impressionism.
b. abstract. c. expressionism. d. cubism.
19. Which of the following would probably be the MOST
productive roles of the author and illustrator in creating a book? a. The illustrator tells the author what to write to fit the
drawings.
b. The author tells the illustrator what to draw to fit the story. c. The author and illustrator do what the publisher wants them
20. Which of the following is NOT a criterion to consider when evaluating illustrations in children's books?
a. the use of visual elements b. the accuracy of the illustrations
c. their contribution to the moral lesson of the story d. how the artistic style enhances the literary style 21. Aesthetic scanning encourages viewers to
a. locate and identify properties in artwork. b. critically evaluate the artist's works.
c. copy visual elements in their own art works. d. illustrate stories in which there are no illustrations. 22. Helping children respond to art through the illustrations in
books helps children to
a. Develop their appreciation for and understanding of art, artists, and texts.
b. Foster understanding of specific cultures and the artists whose works represent them.
c. Awaken their visual perceptions. d. All of the above.
23. Eve Bunting, Robyn Montana Turner, and Carmen Lomas Garza are contemporary artists from which culture?
a. Latino b. Jewish c. Asian
d. African American
24. Asking children "Do you see more red or blue in this painting?" or "Is the surface texture rough or smooth?" fall into the
following category of initiating questions: a. leading
b. selective c. parallel d. productive
25. Sometimes teachers ask older children to evaluate art from a critical perspective to determine where art is shaped by
ideology and social and economic power. ALL BUT WHICH of the following questions would support a critical, or Marxist, approach?
a. In what way might the artwork serve as propaganda? b. What culture is evident in this art?
c. What does art reveal about the society the artist is depicting? d. What roles does class play in the work on both the artist and
the viewer?
ESSAY QUESTIONS
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Formulate responses to each of the following essay questions. You will submit only one essay response to your mentor.
1. Choose one of the visual elements: line, color, shape, texture, or design. Describe how a specific artist uses that element to create effective illustrations in children's literature. Refer to specific books in your answer.
2. List the criteria you would use when evaluating the illustrations in children's literature. Choose one book and discuss how that book meets the evaluation criteria.
3. Name and describe three different kinds of media used by book artists to create illustrations. For each kind of media, identify an example of a picture book and illustrator that exemplifies that medium.
4. Describe how page design influences the formality of a text. Discuss the different levels of formality that are possible within illustrated children's books. Refer to specific examples of literature in your answer.
5. Discuss the ways specific cultures can be reflected in art using specific books from various illustrators.
Choose one of the following topics for reflection. Submit your response to your mentor as directed in the Syllabus.
1. Pick one of the books discussed in Chapter Four. What type of media does the artist use to create this book? How does the art reflect and tie in to the story?
2. After reading Chapter Four, what ideas would you use to share artistic books in a classroom setting?