Picture Books – Discussion Questions
How do you feel in response to this book/image?
Write down your feelings quickly without thinking too much – your gut feelings are the most valuable.
What does this book/image make you think of?
Your response should be spontaneous. The idea is to capture your first impressions.
What is the subject matter or topic?
Is the text real or make believe? Is there a recurring theme or idea?
Why do you think the author wrote the text?
Who do you think is the intended audience? Why?
What knowledge does the reader need to know in order to understand it?
Who would feel “left out” in this text?
How is the reader positioned in relation to the author?
Does the reader feel like a friend, opponent, confidant, someone who needs to be persuaded?
Are there any “gaps” or “absences” or “silences” in this text?
Does the author write about any groups without including their perspective?
What does the author want us to think about?
What do the words suggest? What do the pictures suggest? What about the layout?
Do you think the author/illustrator is trying to teach us something?
What is the message?
Does the information in the text match what you know (about the world and about people)?
Examining Visual Texts
Comment on the author’s and illustrator’s use of the following:
| Colour | bright/dull, warm/cold, black and white vs colour. Which colours are used, how are they used? |
| Position | close up, personal and intimate or far away, impersonal/public. Where is the centre of interest |
| Lighting | Bright/dull, warm/cold. What can and can’t be seen. How is shadow used? |
| Direction | Front on to viewer? Who are the objects in the images looking at? |
| Angle | Where has the illustrator placed us in the picture? |
| Setting | Is the setting symbolic? Who is/is not in the setting? What is the setting implying? |
| Body Language | |
| Symbolism | |
| Objects
Shapes Figures |
What connections are there between objects and/or people? Are the objects symbolic? Examine comparison in size between characters and objects. |
| Contrast | How is contrasting size and colour used? |
| Humour | |
| Gender Stereotypes | |
| Clothing | |
| Design/Layout |
