Picture Books in Children’s Culture – HUMA/CCY 3691A, Summer 2025

4-page Analytical Writing Exercise

Weight: (20%)

Length: 4 pages typed, doubled-spaced in MLA format, plus Works Cited

Due: Tuesday, July 8th on or before 11:59 p.m. Toronto time.

Assignment Instructions: Applying the ideas from at least two scholarly readings in the course, give a close description & analysis of the images and words (if applicable) on chosen pages from one of the picture books in the list below. Your analysis should answer these two questions: what techniques are the illustrators using to tell the story on your chosen pages, and what ideas or expectations about children, childhood, or youth are implied by those illustrations?

What To Do:

1.   Sign up on eClass to choose a specific picture book & pages. The available books are:

The Only Child, Night Song, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Antiracist Baby, What Makes a Baby, Wait, What? A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up, or From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea.

2.   In the opening sentence of your introductory paragraph, identify the book, the author,  and the page with you will be working. Here’s a completely made-up example: On the opening page of The Tale of Crunchywitch and the Cats, by Sara Thompson, a child with deep brown skin, of indeterminate age & gender, is painting a picture of a bright blue cat.

3.   Your introductory paragraph might also contain a brief description of the types of image in the book (i.e. line drawings with marker pen, abstract watercolour images of children  and flowers in a garden, brightly-coloured collage, photographs of quilts that seem to be related to fairy tales). OR it might name the scholars whose work you will be using and citing to support your analysis. OR it might tell me a little about the plot of the tale (in a  sentence, maybe – keep it short!) and where your pages fit in the story. It MUST contain a thesis statement (the results of your analysis) that answers the questions listed above.

4.   There are two parts to this paper. The first two (or two and a half) pages are concerned with the surface level of reading & meaning: what features & techniques are the illustrators using in their pictures, and how do those features or techniques help provide information about the author’s story or message? (Think about our class discussions: this section concentrates on the overt or explicit meanings. Is the character happy, sad, lonely, hungry? What is a sperm shaped like?)

5.   Your paper should demonstrate a high level of familiarity with the page(s) that you have chosen, describing it in clear and careful detail. Think about colour, line, style, but also who and what is included on the page, and where they are placed. Ask yourself: how does the image add information that is not conveyed by the words? Does it reinforce the message of the words? Or does it contradict the words, or complicate them a little? If there are no words, what is being communicated by the image?

6.   Include the words in quotation marks when & if you discuss them. Consider capitals, font, and placement of the words.

7.   This first part should apply the explanations about how images are manipulated (positioned, coloured, etc.) from Cueto & Brooks, Nodelman, Nikolajeva & Scott, or  Lewis, using direct quotations. You may use more than one of these scholars, but you must use at least one in these paragraphs.

8.   Yes: Paragraphs, plural. A standard page in MLA style. has two or two and a half paragraphs on a page, and each paragraph looks at a slightly different aspect of the material. (If you are talking about the colour of the cat, that might be one paragraph; if you’re still talking about colour but now you’re looking at the background, that’s a separate paragraph.)

9.   The second part of the paper expands from your analysis to consider the ideological positions being implied by the images, or the ways that certain attitudes are being encouraged. These paragraphs are where you talk about the less obvious messages about race, gender, environmentalism, sexuality, age, ability, nationalism, family, etc.

10. This second part should apply the ideas about ideology from Nodelman, Hunt, or Cueto & Brooks using direct quotations. These ideas will probably support the claims you are making, but you may also use them in “BUT” statements if you are very sure of yourself. You may use more than one of these scholars, but you must use at least one in these paragraphs.

11. You may only use the pages that make up the main narrative for your analysis (no cover, acknowledgements, etc., unless they are included as part of the story), but you may refer briefly to other pages, the cover, etc., if relevant.

12. You should include a short concluding paragraph on the 4th page, which might point to other scholars or picture books, or consider the ways that your page fits into the story on the whole. Does it reinforce the overt or main message(s) or moral(s) of the book? Does the whole story suggest other, less obvious, ideologies? Take a look at Nodelman, Hunt, and Cueto & Brooks for good examples.

13. Include a Works Cited list that is complete & correct in MLA format. You should be  able to complete this assignment using the course texts & without searching for other  people’s interpretations on the internet or elsewhere. However, IF you use material or ideas from ANYWHERE, or if you talk about another book/film/song/etc., you must include proper citations both in-text and in the Works Cited list.

What Not To Do:

1.   Do not make this a 5-paragraph essay. See the note above on paragraphs.

2.   Don’t just say, “she’s angry”. Tell me how you know: close description pays attention to details and doesn’t assume that I can guess what you’re thinking.

3.   Avoid historical claims: “women never had any rights” or “children have always been able to read” are not only inaccurate but also unprovable without waaaay more space   and research than you have time for.

4.   Don’t try to “prove” something about “real children” using the books that are aimed at them. Similarly, avoid generalizations about what child readers can or cannot understand, given that the legal definition of a child is any human being from birth to age 18...

5.   Avoid general opinion claims. “Making it relevant”, “to entertain”, and “to keep it interesting” are weak statements reasons because they’re all opinion – presumably most books intend to entertain and be interesting (and some to teach as well).

6.   Don’t confuse the scholars ’ ideas/explanations with their examples.

7.   Don’t overdo the “I” statements: “I think” and “in my opinion” aren’t necessary. You are writing, so it must be your thoughts and opinions – but those opinions should be informed by our course discussions & scholarly readings.

8.   Don’t use so many scholarly quotes that you have no room for your own ideas.

9.   Don’t go above 4 ½ pages. I will stop reading. Try to stick to four.

Grades are assigned based on the following criteria:

1.   Does the paper fulfill the requirements of the assignment? (Number of pages, MLA format, etc.)

2.   Is there a clear, easy-to-understand thesis statement? Does it answer the question?

3.   Does the paper contain strong descriptions ofthe image, with relevant details?

4.   Does the paper move beyond that description to offer a logical analysis? Is that analysis supported by the details provided in your description?

5.   Does that analysis reflect the claim made in the thesis statement?

6.   Does the analysis incorporate direct quotations, properly cited, from the required scholars?

7.   Is the paper using clear vocabulary? (Remember our discussion about synonyms & the dreaded thesaurus function…)

8.   Are paragraphs used properly? Is the paper proofread for spelling, punctuation, and good grammar? (Does it show evidence that you’ve taken into account my earlier feedback on writing skills?)

9.   Does the Works Cited list contain the book that is being analyzed and any other source that you used for ideas or help, or about which you wrote in the paper?

Please keep in mind the late policy for this course, but also be aware that it’s generally a good idea to get feedback early in a course so that you know the professor’s expectations and can improve on future assignments. As well, as I’ve said above, be VERY careful to  properly cite ALL material which you have used in any way, whether that material is scholarly or not. Academic honesty is a serious matter. Finally, if you want more information on my grading practices, see the Notes of Grading and Evaluation, available through eClass.