Opinions on the cover and ilustrations

Kmykel · Post by **Kmykel** » 01 Jul 2018, 21:21

Cristal2408 wrote: ↑01 Jul 2018, 14:13
Kmykel wrote: ↑01 Jul 2018, 13:24 I'm going to be the odd one out here, but I thought the illustrations were far too simple. I speak as a cartoonist myself (be it not a professional one), and I thought they were just a wasted opportunity. A book like this needs big, beautiful, detailed pictures and these look unprofessional and sloppy. There was a nice sense of movement, but that's about the only positive thing I can say about it.
I agree that the pictures are unprofessional and sloppy, but isn't that the point? It is a children's book after all, and kids don't care for illustration quality. At ages 5 and 6, their drawings are like that too, so it could be a marketing strategy. Parents buy what children want, and a child will most likely choose a book because they liked and felt related to the drawings.

Just because it is a book for children, that doesn't give the illustrator the right to not try. Dr. Seuss, Berenstain Bears, Arthur, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and so many others have so much love and detail put into their pictures. Why does this book get an exemption from effort?

As a parent, and therefor the purchaser of this product, I wouldn't pay a cent for this. I'd much rather invest in books that had effort put into their worlds.

Mary Garrison · Post by **Mary Garrison** » 02 Jul 2018, 01:18

I enjoyed the illustrations and thought they were perfect for this book. I also appreciated that they were a visual cue to help the children read the story.

Elizabeth Pass · Post by **Elizabeth Pass** » 02 Jul 2018, 07:52

The illustrations are engaging. I like the strong, bold colors used. I can point to something and ask, "What color is this?" Some illustrations can be interpreted differently. Toni is dancing with someone. Is that his sister? He's helping to wash the dishes with someone. Is that his aunt? Since the book doesn't say, I can tailor the answer to the child.

KitabuKizuri · Post by **KitabuKizuri** » 02 Jul 2018, 19:07

Cristal2408 wrote: ↑01 Jul 2018, 14:48
MsTri wrote: ↑01 Jul 2018, 12:39 I too thought the cover and pictures were very well done. Children for whom this book is intended love all of the color. Even beyond that, as I noted in my review, "a couple of pictures don't even have words, they're just for looking at. In several instances, it's clear that the pictures are a continuation from the previous page and even though it's just okay in the .pdf version, I imagine that it makes for a very nice two-page spread in the print version."
I hadn't noticed that pictures were part of a continuation. That's great! After reading your comment I put it on double slideshow and the continuation looks very pretty.

I think what an adult considers good quality would not be as captivating to a young mind. The illustrations are well thought out for children in my opinion, and neat too.

holsam_87 · Post by **holsam_87** » 03 Jul 2018, 00:52

I loved the cover. As for the pictures, they correlate with the words and give context clues that would a child with reading.

chelhack · Post by **chelhack** » 03 Jul 2018, 02:37

I think that the cover is really good. I like how they showed Toni as a super hero yet still engaging in activities that any ordinary child would do.

kfwilson6 · Post by **kfwilson6** » 03 Jul 2018, 13:05

KitabuKitamu wrote: ↑02 Jul 2018, 19:07
Cristal2408 wrote: ↑01 Jul 2018, 14:48
MsTri wrote: ↑01 Jul 2018, 12:39 I too thought the cover and pictures were very well done. Children for whom this book is intended love all of the color. Even beyond that, as I noted in my review, "a couple of pictures don't even have words, they're just for looking at. In several instances, it's clear that the pictures are a continuation from the previous page and even though it's just okay in the .pdf version, I imagine that it makes for a very nice two-page spread in the print version."
I hadn't noticed that pictures were part of a continuation. That's great! After reading your comment I put it on double slideshow and the continuation looks very pretty.
I think what an adult considers good quality would not be as captivating to a young mind. The illustrations are well thought out for children in my opinion, and neat too.

The PDF isn't the best format to view this book in. When I got to what should be the left picture of the cat in the tree, it was just the tree. I was thinking that was a wasted page. Then I realized if it were a hard copy I would be seeing the two side-by-side. It made a lot more sense.

Charlaigne · Post by **Charlaigne** » 03 Jul 2018, 22:05

I loved the use of colour but I personally did not like the style and also thought it was 'sloppy'. But I don't think the target age group is going to notice, quite honestly. I think they would appreciate the colour.

Post by **Kibet Hillary** » 05 Jul 2018, 07:19

The cover displays a lot of creativity since it shows Toni having balanced a lot of things. Every item on the cover is very symbolic and I like the fact that the author never leaves books out. The illustrations are very helpful in that they are able to communicate a message easily to a kid. One picture speaks a lot than a thousand words.

Carly-maricque · Post by **Carly-maricque** » 05 Jul 2018, 09:21

Cristal2408 wrote: ↑01 Jul 2018, 01:32 This is a discussion on the cover and illustrations. Did you like how the cover was done? Do you think the illustrations can have an effect on children's behavior? According to the author, the book was written in order to give children confidence while reading, do you think the illustrations help make that happen?

I love how the cover and illustrations were done! They are very engaging for beginning readers. Children can use the pictures clues in order to help read the story, which is so important for beginning readers. This also gives children confidence while reading! Illustrations are important to engage young children and get them liking the book.

Britty01 · Post by **Britty01** » 05 Jul 2018, 22:56

I really liked the cover and felt that the illustrations went nicely with the words. The pictures are colorful so I expect they would be very appealing to children.

khusnick · Post by **khusnick** » 06 Jul 2018, 10:58

I think the illustrations are cute, and the fact that there is a diverse set of characters probably does help children feel more confident about their reading.

P Reefer · Post by **P Reefer** » 06 Jul 2018, 11:22

Kmykel wrote: ↑01 Jul 2018, 13:24 I'm going to be the odd one out here, but I thought the illustrations were far too simple. I speak as a cartoonist myself (be it not a professional one), and I thought they were just a wasted opportunity. A book like this needs big, beautiful, detailed pictures and these look unprofessional and sloppy. There was a nice sense of movement, but that's about the only positive thing I can say about it.

Having a different opinion should not mean that you are odd. But hats off for sharing your critical opinion. I am not a cartoonist, so from my layman's perspective, I liked the colorful illustrations within the book. However, I disliked the jumble of the cover illustration especially the inclusion of Toni holding a feline creature in his hand which held a plate of food.

ereason · Post by **ereason** » 06 Jul 2018, 13:28

I enjoyed the illustrations. My first thought was how well they provided a clue to the new word, and then how the use of bold simple colours could help with colour recognition as well as word recognition. On looking further, if I became an illustrator or author, I wouldn't mind having three full pages on Amazon when I keyed my own name in! I think the simplicity of the illustrations reflects that this is a book for learning, rather than a bedtime story book.