Art and Design Commons^™

A Thousand Words: Celebrating The Power Of Visual Language In Picture Books, Emilie Gill

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In a culture which depends heavily on verbal and written communication to satisfactorily interact with our peers, communicative formats such as picture books are often categorized as being accessible only for immature audiences who cannot understand text without the assistance of pictures. The assumption that these ‘children’s stories’ do not contain intellectually stimulating messages can result in many voices and perspectives going unrealized. On the contrary, successful picture books combine multiple language techniques through text, image, color, and style to portray often daunting themes and emotions to a range of audiences who might not have received them or accepted them …