Questions to Consider:

Construction

• Jacket – Think of the jacket as a poster for the book. Use VTS questions to invite children to discuss the illustrations and what they say about the story they are about to read.
• Spine – How is the spine incorporated into the overall jacket design? Does the jacket image wrap around the spine? Consider the spine’s lettering and color. What do these elements communicate about the text?
• Cover – Cloth bound? Embossed art? Color choices? Composition of front and back?
• Format – What is the shape of the book? Portrait? Landscape? Square? What do these choices communicate or foretell about the book’s storyline?
• Endpapers – How are these pages, which are glued inside the book's cover, the visual overture for the art in the picture book? What do the colors and/or images symbolize? What worldviews are embedded in these choices?
• Front Matter – How do these pages ease you into the book proper? How do they frame the text?
• Gutter – How does the artist accommodate or use the gutter between the recto and verso pages? How does the gutter organize or frame the words and images? What does this use communicate about the storyline?
• Typography – How are all elements of the book proper arranged on the facing pages? How are meanings conveyed in these elements?  Consider the absence or presence of frames, the use and pacing of double spreads and single spreads, font choices, placement of text and pictures, etc.  How do these choices contribute to representing the storyline or information?
• Medium and Style – How does the artist’s choice and use of medium or media suit the story? How does the medium influence and generate particular attention to art elements (color, line, shape, etc.) and principles? How do these choices contribute to expressing  place or culture?