Inside Picture Books (Hardcover)

by Dr. Ellen Handler Spitz (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Readers may never look at picture books in the same way after making their way through this thought-provoking examination. Focusing on her subject through the lens of psychology, Spitz (Art and the Psyche) argues that because picture books "provide children with some of their earliest takes on morality, taste, and basic cultural knowledge, including messages about gender, race, and class," it behooves adults to consider more carefully the images transmitted to their kids. Organized thematically, the chapters offer a wide-ranging discussion of art and artistry, visual and verbal cues and the transmission of culture through picture books that resonate with children, often for multiple generations. Whether examining motifs of darkness and abandonment in Margaret Wise Brown's classic bedtime tale Goodnight Moon, a child's yearning for power and independence in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are or gender stereotyping in Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit (comparing the bold and naughty Peter to his obedient sisters, she notes "the gendering is explicit: good is to girls as bad is to boys"), Spitz provides an illuminating analysis of what is often taken for granted. Sure to spark lively debate, her book is a must-read for any serious student of children's literature as well as that core group of parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians and others who are actively engaged in raising children. Provocative, well written, scholarly without being dry or pedantic, Spitz's text makes a compelling case for the power of art and literature, and the responsibility that accompanies such power, particularly when it relates to children.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
A fascinating, highly personal treatment of a popular genre. Spitz's psychoanalytical background, her passion for the role of art as a transmitter of culture, her observations of children's experiences with books, her knowledge of Jewish ritual and writings, and her own vivid childhood memories all inform and influence this work. In the process of explaining why certain titles have endured and in describing the importance of the adult/child interaction in revealing meaning, she provides in-depth analyses of familiar titles. Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, Russell Hoban's Bedtime for Frances, Judith Viorst's The Tenth Good Thing about Barney, and Maurice Sendak's In the Night Kitchen are among those mentioned. Chapters on bedtime and separation, death and loss, disobedience and punishment, and the formation of identity provide a framework. Black-and-white reproductions of selected book covers and a list of picture books cited are included. The bibliography of secondary sources reflects the author's interdisciplinary approach.
Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; Second Edition edition (April 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300076029
• ISBN-13: 978-0300076028
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #752,828 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is fabulous!, August 6, 1999

By A Customer

My reaction to this book is overwhelming! I am writing to recommend it to teachers, grandparents, and parents, as well as to children's librarians. As a teacher of elementary school children for over 25 years, I have used picture books in my classes with hundreds of children. "Inside Picture Books" gave me unique and powerful ways of understanding these classic works and the impact they have made and are continuing to make on their readers. I hope that this book will be seen and read by many other teachers. Spitz, an art historian, is especially fascinating on the impact of the pictures, the illustrations, in these books. She enabled me to grasp the subtle messages they convey. I love her wit and sense of humor and agree with Robert Coles's great Introduction where he says that these books are our first signs on life's journey.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drama Inside Picture Books, November 4, 1999

By	anonymous "admirer" (New York City) - See all my reviews

Thinking that a book on children's books might be too cute, I found myself instead thrust into a dramatic world of violence, retribution, heroism, fear, sadness, humiliation, gender-roles and tenderness startingly revealed in Spitz's analysis. Combining commonsense, personal experiences, biblical reference and psychological sensibilities, Spitz taught me something about my own psychology. It is not only parents who will enjoy this must-read book.

25 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Looking Way Too Hard Inside Picture Books, August 2, 1999

By A Customer

Ms. Spitz began her book with some thoughtful and insightful observations about reading aloud to children and about recurring themes in children's literature. She should have stopped while she was ahead. Unfortunately, she digressed into psychological drivel about stories that are simply stories. Examples: in "Willy the Wimp" she describes Willy eating a phallic (her word) diet of bannanas-he's a chimpanzee! What should he have eaten? Ms. Spitz is also fascinated that Willy wears red jockey briefs in his genital area (her words). What's the point of that observation? And poor Madeline! Who knew how troubled she was? Ms. Spitz' pychological reading of the story is a help to no one except perhaps herself (is this an example of a solipsistic approach?)as once again she chose to describe poor Miss Clavel as assuming a phallic shape. Hmmmm. As a children's librarian who has read them all, I implore all of you to read to your child for the pure purpose of enjoyment. Don't dissect and analyze a book to its death. It's my opinion that Ms. Spitz is a "paradigm" of academia's pressure to publish.