Narrative vs. Non-narrative Demands, or, Comic Art and Fragmentation in Aliki's How a Book is Made

Abstract

Aliki's picture book How a Book is Made (1986) begins by evoking a child's curiosity, and a sense of simplicity and accessibility that one is tempted to call childlike (Figure 1). Yet the book proves disarmingly intricate, assembling word, image, and symbol into elaborate and constantly shifting layouts (Figure 2). How a Book is Made uses comic art conventions and several distinct types of written text to present a sustained process analysis, rich with technical information—an ambitious variation on the familiar Orbis Pictus school of "how-to" books. Its very ambitiousness sometimes causes problems. I have used How a Book is Made in my Children's Literature survey course for the past year, partly as an example of informational text and partly as a way of introducing historical questions of book design and printing technology. Student response has proven more critical and contentious than I anticipated: How a Book is Made is . . . in the children's section of the library and I'm not too sure why. The first few pages seem to be simple enough for a child to understand and perhaps even read. But as the book progresses it becomes increasingly difficult to read, even for an adult. . . . I found this book to be very chaotic. . . . There were pictures and text and diagrams and thought bubbles all over the place. . . . [Your] eyes kind of wander everywhere. With every page you turn it's hard to focus on just one aspect of the page. "Do I read the little cartoons first?" or "Do I read the bold sentences?" To say that this book had a lot of text would be an understatement! The intricate descriptions and advanced vocabulary used by Aliki do not suit the illustrations. A much simpler text with basic vocabulary would have complemented the artwork . . . . I can't imagine a child sitting through that book at bedtime. [End Page 88] It seems to be a book for children to read on their own or to at least read several times. . . . I was on sensory overload and had a hard time concentrating . . . .I can only imagine what a child would feel like. Who is [the book's] intended audience? Click for larger view Figure 1 Aliki, How a Book is Made, page 3. © 1986 by Aliki Brandenberg. Reprinted with permission from HarperCollins Publishers.