Children's Literature - Illustration

Illustration

Children's stories have always been accompanied by pictures. A papyrus from Byzantine Egypt shows illustrations accompanying the story of Hercules' labors. Today children's books are illustrated in a way that rarely occurs in adult literature in the 20th or 21st century, except in graphic novels. Generally, artwork plays a greater role in books intended for the youngest readers (especially pre-literate children). Children's picture books can be an accessible source of high quality art for young children. Even after children learn to read well enough to enjoy a story without illustrations, they continue to appreciate the occasional drawings found in chapter books.

According to Joyce Whalley in The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, an illustrated book differs from a book with illustrations, in that "a good illustrated book is one where the pictures enhance or add depth to the text." Using this definition, the first illustrated children's book is considered Orbis Pictus by the Moravian author Comenius. Orbis Pictus had a picture on every page, followed by the name of the object in Latin and English. It was translated into English the year after it appeared, and was used in homes and schools around Europe and Great Britain for years.

Early children's books like Orbis Pictus were illustrated by woodcut, and many times the same image was repeated in a number of books regardless of how appropriate the illustration was to the story. Newer processes, including copper and steel engraving began being used in the 1830s. One of the first uses of Chromolithography, a way of making multi-colored prints, in a children's book was Struwwelpeter, published in Germany in 1845. English illustrator Walter Crane refined its use in children's books in the late 1800s.

Another illustration method appearing in children's books was etching, used by George Cruikshank in the 1850s. By the 1860s top artists in the west were illustrating for children, including Crane, Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway and John Tenniel. Most pictures were still black-and-white, and many color pictures were hand colored, often by child labor. The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators credits Caldecott with "the concept of extending the meaning of text beyond literal visualization".

In India Nandalal Bose, whose paintings are considered artistic treasures, illustrated books for children from the late 1800s into the 1900s. The early Twentieth-century brought more highly regarded illustrators to the pages of children's books. Artists like Kay Nielson, Edmund Dulac and Arthur Rackham produced illustrations that are still reprinted today. The development in printing capabilities found itself reflected in children's books. After World War II offset lithography became more refined, and by the 1950s painter-style illustrations like Brian Wildsmith's were common.