SALISBURY, Martin. Illustrating children's books; creating pictures for publication. Barron's. 144p. illus. c2004. 0-7641-2717-9. $22.95. SA
You'd expect an overview of children's book illustration to be chock-full of pictures, and this book does not disappoint Each delicious page is designed to appeal to the reader. Salisbury, who is an illustrator himself, clearly adores the world of children's lit. He has organized the book into logical topics, beginning with a brief history of the genre. He moves on to the importance of drawing, then covers most of the media used to illustrate children's books: watercolor, acrylic, collage, prints and even computer-based illustration. No one book could or should stand as drawing teacher, and there are hundreds written on the individual media, but Salisbury's cursory tour is well done, with many fine examples to illustrate. To his credit, his choices are eclectic. He does not believe there is one "way" to draw that is particularly suitable for children, rather he supports any good art that has passion, surprise, imagination, and the ability to enchant.
The book also deals with differences between picture books, books for older children, nonfiction illustration, character development, design and typography, and concludes with some helpful advice when trying to get published. It would be a delightful browse-through for anyone, although it seems particularly directed at the student or artist intending to enter the field. The writing is not nearly as interesting as the author's ideas or his visual examples, and occasionally he talks about pictures that are not shown, so we need to rely on his writing even more. Small criticism, however, for a lovely book that encourages the artist to enter the field. Susan Avishai, Artist, Newton, MA
S--Recommended for senior high school students.
A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Kliatt
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group
