Books, pictures and memories
By Gabby Dawnay
I
cannot remember a time when I wasn’t aware of books - logically perhaps
because memories often start at around the time a child begins to read. But
more than this, there is a special alchemy that occurs in a child’s mind when
pages of words and pictures move from shapes on paper, to seeds in the
imagination. I have memories of the books from my childhood that are more
vivid than much else. When I recall individual illustrations, I remember
exactly how they made me feel and think. I could tell you page by page the
colour and designs of Cinderella's dresses from the Ladybird 'Well-Loved
Tales' series and was fixated by Snow White and Rose Red's perfect
black shoes. These picture-book memories are sometimes inextricably bound
with more general memories of events and places, changing seasons and outdoor
spaces, gardens and dim rooms in the house where I grew up...Whether it was
reading The Hobbit in deepening autumn evenings in front of
the fire, or climbing into an old wardrobe to see if Narnia lay beyond
the musty coats; the books and stories of my childhood fed my hopes and
inspired me. Books made me dream and imagine and I remember far more about
them than any school lessons.
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The relationship between words and pictures is one that illustrator
Alex Barrow and I like to describe as being akin to a piece of music; a dynamic
symmetry between what is said and what is seen. Pictures and text together can
be playful, uneasy even, adding extra layers of narrative, humour and meaning;
an expression or small detail missed at first, spotted the next time read. The
two components work with one another to create a harmonious whole where neither
is stronger than the sum of their parts. Alice’s
world, drawn by Steadman’s pen, became an even darker interpretation of a
curious tale - no benign dream but the stuff of real nightmares.
And perhaps here lies the very heart of the matter; children can
adventure safely in books. A child
may fly to the moon and back, travel into the jaws of an angry alligator
unscathed and reach the heart of the volcano without getting burnt. They can
try green eggs and ham – if they are persuaded by the pester-power – and watch
a garden grow in the time it takes to reach the end of a story. They might
devour the pictures in a book like hungry
caterpillars or close their eyes and let the music of words build images in
their imagination. Books help children learn accidentally that kindness and
bravery are usually rewarded, but not
always: that Love conquers all but that life is unpredictable, unfair and sometimes
cruel, as the Little Prince and Mermaid will attest to. The potency of
books is immeasurable, subtle, stealthy; their magic is intoxicating and
addictive. They are an escape and a comfort: a learning tool and a life
enhancer. Books make you laugh, cry, believe in possibility because they interpret
and communicate reality whist offering a means of escape. Sometimes, a single
story is enough to put a child’s world to right. After all, Tom Kitten only lost his coat in the
end.
Gabby Dawnay
Ladybird Well-Loved Tales, written by Vera Southgate, Illustrated by Eric Winter
The Tale of Samuel Whiskers illustrated by Beatrix Potter
Alice Through the Looking Glass illustration by Ralph Steadman
The Hobbit illustration by JRR Tolkien
#welllovedtales
#ladybirdbooks
#thehobbit
#illustration
#childrensillustration
#childrensbooks
#literacymatters
#fairytales
#beatrixpotter
#jrrtolkien
#ralphsteadman
#lewiscaroll
#cslewis
#narnia
#thelionthewitchandthewardrobe
