Kathleen T. Horning

Incredibly clear and useful; clarifying for those with experience, invaluable for those just starting out.

Quotes/notes

Chapter 1:

Parts of a book:
--binding (cover, endpapers, leaves, verso/recto)
--front matter (half title, title page, copyright page, edition vs printings, dedication, acknowledgments, preface, foreword, table of contents, part-title page (e.g. Part One))
--back matter (epilogue, afterword, appendix, glossary, source notes, bibliography, index, bio)

Categories of children's books (by age level and genre/type):
--nonfiction, poetry, folklore
--fiction (picture books, easy readers, transitional books, chapter books)

Ch. 3: Traditional Literature
Mythology, epics, legends, tall tales, urban legends, fables, folktales (cumulative, pourquoi, beast tales, fairy tales, realistic)

Because all traditional literature has its origins in oral storytelling, it is important to look closely at the language that is used in any tale you evaluate. (60)

Ch. 4: Poetry, Verse, Rhymes, and Songs
Rhythm, rhyme, and the pleasurable sounds that words make can appeal to children from a very early age. (68)

Both poetry and verse use patterned language to condense thoughts and ideas into a structured form. [Verse rarely strays from structure; poetry often does.] (77)

Poetry collections (single poets and anthologies), verse novels, songs, nursery rhymes

Chapter 5: Picture Books

Picture books present a special challenge to the critic because they require evaluation of art, text, and how the two work together to create a unique art form. (85)

Picture books function best as a shared experience between a fluent reader and a prereader [and must be enjoyable for both] (87)

Text: must be short (32 pages, 40 or 48 at most; preschoolers' attention spans).
In order to evaluate PB, we must ask ourselves not only "What is this story about?" but also "How is this story told?" (88)

Text structure, patterned language, rhythm, rhyme, repetition, questions, predictability, pace

In standard 32pg PB, there will be 15 or 16 segments of text. Each of these segments is rather like a chapter in a novel: Something must happen to move the story along or to add to the overall mood of the book. If too much happens in one segment, however, it can throw off the pace of the story. (95)

Pictures:
Visual elements: line, shape, texture, color (hue, value, chroma, warm/cool, primary/secondary, complementary), value
Composition: dominance, balance, contrast, gradation, alternation, variation, harmony, unity.

Linear style (drawing, emphasizing line), painterly style (paint, emphasizing color and tone), p. 105
Drawing: pen and ink, pencil or graphite, pastel, scratchboard.
Painting: gouache, poster paint, tempera, watercolor, oil, acrylic
Printmaking, collage, photography, digital art

Style: realistic, abstract, surrealistic, nonobjective (uncommon in PB except in backgrounds), impressionistic, expressionistic, naive, folk art (striking use of color, lack of perspective, use of stylized pattern, simple shapes), cartoon art.… (més)

This book contains some useful advice on what to consider when evaluating children's books, and a wealth of references to worthwhile children's books, but it was fairly dull.

Too much time, I felt, was spent on tangential issues, such as details of publication, what are endpapers, what is the difference between a printing and an edition, and so forth. While of course it is useful to know the right terms to use when discussing a book, and some insight into the publishing process can be helpful, ultimately this feels like it takes up a disproportionate amount of space in what is a fairly short book.

My other major criticism is that the wealth of references to children's books, which I mentioned above, is both a strength and a weakness. For example, Horning spends some time discussing how the illustrations in a picture book should support and enhance the text, using Goodnight Moon as an example. For readers unfamiliar with that book, this discussion will be far less helpful. Not too big of an issue with such a very popular book, but many other, less well-known books are mentioned as good examples of a type, without a great deal of explanation why--it would be necessary to acquire and investigate each of these books to understand the points Horning makes.

From Cover to Cover is useful, but doesn't stand alone as a complete guide to evaluation and review of children's books.… (més)