Task 3 - Double page spread (i can cook)

For my double-page spread i decided to use the 'Rockpooling pies' Recipe from the i can cook recipes range on the bbc food website. 

I decided to produce an information/reference spread as the target audience are at school age and are coming across info books regularly. I used photoshop to produce the final piece, using free clip art imagery and other photographs found on the cbbc website. I wanted to keep a balance between both text and imagery in order to keep the child engaged. 

I took inspiration from the name 'rockpooling' into considering the design layout, colour scheme and imagery. This is shown from the beach themes colours, and beach hut slat design towards the top half of the page. The various clip art and photographed images have been used in tandem as seen in my research section. I feel this brings both the child's imagination together with the reality of the real world. I thought the addition of the cartoon crabs create a familiar character with the children which they are used to seeing in other books and on tv. With the use of the speech bubble it allows the child to have an interaction with the character whilst learning a fun fact. 

For the typography on the page i decided to use a type called kg primary penmanship, which i feel relates to the children well as it is easy to read and is playful as it has the lines used when learning to write. 

The design definitely flows between the two pages, as the same visual language has been put into place. The background provides a consistency. Perhaps to enhance the flow even more I could have placed an image spreading across both pages.

I think next time I may consider using a different font for the main body of text instead, as the font i used is san-serif. I think I would use a serif font next time as we learnt that this is appealing to children in last weeks session. 

I am pleased with my overall design . 

Task 3 - Mock up a double page spread for Cbeebies 'I can cook' recipe (research)

As this task requires me to produce a double-page spread for a recipe taken from the 'i can cook' page on the Cbeebies website. In order for me to consider any initial design ideas, I thought it was important for me to gain an understanding of how existing childrens cookbooks are laid out, the illustrations used, the information given and also the typography used.

Roald Dahls Revolting Recipes






-Famililar illustrations have been put into use.
- Large sections of text. However, the illustrations stop this from appearing overwhelming.
- Colour brings life to the page.
- "What You Need" is usually displayed in a different section at the side.
- Some images travel over the two pages, keeping a consistency. 
- Illustrations are fun and creative. They often interact with the photographed food.
- Same typefaces used throughout. Playful and larger title, with easy-to-read body text. 


Usbourne Farmyard tales cookbook.




- Familiar illustrations have been used throughout 
-fairly large sections of text, however there are lots of illustrations to stop the text from seeming to overwhelming.
-use of bold colour in places to bring life to the page, makes it fun and exciting.
-use of photographs with hand rendered drawings. 
-same typeface used throughout, easy to read and the title is very playful. 


overall i can see that it i very useful to use a mixture of both illustrated drawings and real photographs. The typeface needs to be considered well, along with the page layout and colour scheme. 

Task 2 - art styles and audiences

Baby/Toddler - First Objects Book

"First objects" book are educational as well as enjoyable for the young mind. They encourage babies/toddlers to grasp the concepts of day-to-day life. Some recurring features are:

•  Bright, contrasting colours so that the target audience can distinguish between colours.
•  Small, usually square books for small hands.
• Simplistic illustrations to make objects more obvious and identifiable.
• They can sometimes be tactile, in order to encourage interaction.
• A few words per page, usually one or two, as the target audience might not be able to read yet.

As mentioned in my previous blog post, Jan Pienkowski produced a set of "Nursery books", which introduce young children to certain concepts, such as the weather, food and time. The visual language is reminisce of his Meg and Mog illustrations, though with less text and larger, more simplistic and bold images. The colours are vivid and contrasting so that they catch the eye and are intriguing to this young audience. 

Usborne produced a set of books that educate babies about animals. Some include textures for the child to explore on each new page and have colourful illustrations with that adopt exaggerated shapes that makes the animal more identifiable to the viewer. 

Few words feature. The text explains what noise each animal makes, which encourages the child to join in with their parent and will help with their speech development.

Picture Book – aimed at 3-6 year olds.

There are a modern range of popular books that are picture books, which each introduce various different characters and stories and are popular and memorable for not only for the children but for the whole family. For this particular genre there tends to be a minimal amount of text which is surrounded by a bigger picture. In books such as Spot the Dog for instance, this is targeted at 3-6 range as it gives the reader a visual storyline but also gives them a little bit of text. This is to help the reader to start learning simple words, it doesn’t over complicate and offers a totally readable story if they are being read to by an adult. The art style again is simplistic, eye-catching, colourful and memorable for the younger audience.  The second example here again is very similar Elma the Elephant  is another picture book which describes Elmer’s adventure, where she meets up with different friends along the way. As you can see from the imagery above this book also includes simple text and provides the reader with key words, to give them an idea of what noises the animals make. The typography is another important key element which makes the page spread much more eye-catching and interesting. As the word ‘lake’ stands out to give readers an idea of what the key words are. The use of typography here is interesting and can add different effects to various words, which represent various connotations for the meaning of them. 

9-11 YEAR OLDS - INFORMATION/REFERENCE 

The illustrations are still quite detailed, with a lot of information in each of them. There is a lot for the audience to look at and explore within these illustrations. They also give the reader further insight into the subject matter, by presenting the subject in a realistic and detailed way.

The illustrations should provide and present information in a clear and concise way. The colours should be true to real life, as the books these are for are generally non-fiction and the audience will use them as reference points for the real world.

A Brief History of childrens book design

1600’s

Czech educational reformer and religious leader John Amos Comenius – 1600’s

Fold tales and stories have been passed on by word of mouth throughout centuries, therefore it is difficult to pinpoint the time when books were first produced specifically with children in mind

Comenius is though the have produced the world’s first book for children called ‘ The Visible World’ .

Thinking around this time people were thought to be born evil and needed education and knowledge put into them. Comenius belied the opposite, and was the first person to recognise that children were different to adults in terms of reading. He also believed that children learn better through pictures.

Charles Perrault a French Parisian is said to have created the genre of fairytales. in 1697 he collated a group of traditional folk tales together which formed ; Tales of Mother Goose’ and contains many tales we know today such as Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella.

1700’s

in the mid 1750’s when John Newbury ( bookseller and publisher) published his Juvenile Library that began to design books for children’s entertainment rather then education.

The stories he published were shortened versions of the longer classics such as Gulliver’s Travels and Robinson Crusoe, in which the illustrations emphasized the key moments in the story. Most popular at the time were A little Pretty Pocket Book and The History of Little Goody Two Shoes.

Thomas Bewick, illustrator, ornithologist and wood engraver frustrated by the quality achieved in the printing. Overcame this problem by using the end grain of the box-wood block instead of the softer grain on the side, resulting in a consistent printing that didn’t deteriorate over numerous printings and allowed for half-tone effects and hairline detail.

1800’s

Thomas Bewick, illustrator, ornithologist and wood engraver frustrated by the quality achieved in the printing. Overcame this problem by using the end grain of the box-wood block instead of the softer grain on the side, resulting in a consistent printing that didn’t deteriorate over numerous printings and allowed for half-tone effects and hairline detail.

Significant changes in the illustration of books developed during the industrial revolution. Due mainly to the improvement in print production and the development of the photography.

The market was also growing for children’s books as the literate middle classes expanded and became eager to buy books for their children.

1800’s/1900’s

With the introduction of the photo-engraving printing process and publishers fighting for the best illustrators the late 1800’s/early 1900’s became a golden age for book illustration.

The use of photography eliminated the need for a middleman and, for the first time, artist was finally free to use whatever medium they preferred with the confidence that their work would be appropriately reproduced.

In this climate children’s book illustrators flourished, seeing the emergence of many influential illustrators,including Beatrix Potter, Mabel Lucie Attwell and Cicely Mary Barker.

1900’s

Universal literacy, innovations in photography and printing led to an explosion during the 20th century in children’s illustration.

Educational improvements and health (children’s life expectancy increase). Disposable income for the middle classes contributed to expansion of books aimed at kids.

Extremely diverse and wide ranging styles. Traditional styles sit happily on book shelves alongside more modern and contemporary images.

Understanding the needs and requirements of each stage in a child’s development has seen the banner of children’s publishing divide into very specific areas or genres.

One relatively new genre is for new born/ young children. Scientific research has discovered that very young babies initially have poor eyesight and respond better to high contrast images. Images produced for this age group only tend to have one or two main colours.

Todays designs

This is the area where the illustration is crucial. The children choosing and looking at these books are either unable to read or just learning to read, so the importance of the illustration to explain what’s happening is vital.

Image has to engage the child, conveying the key elements of the text and adding humour, suspense, hidden narrative where appropriate.

It’s also a area where typography can be merged and played with to enhance the story telling or the visual impact.

Task 01- Children's illustrators- initial resources

I have chosen to look at the illustrator and author,  husband wife combination of Janet and Allen Ahlberg. Between the pair of them they have created many children's books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" lists for public libraries. 

Janet Ahlberg won two Kate Greenaway Medal for illustrating their books and the 1978 winner Each Peach Pear Plum was named one of the top ten winning works for the 50th anniversary of the Medal (1955–2005). As well as the Jolly christmas postman winning the other medal. (no one has ever won 3 medals).

I find the couple very interesting that they produce books together, I was brought up with many of their books such as the 'Jolly postman' stories, 'Each peach pear plum', 'Funnybones' and 'Buffalo bill' just to name a few. So looking into their work again was nostalgic for myself. 

Janets illustrations are very full of detail and distinctive in style.Her style is simple, clearly accessible to the very young, but underpinned by an impressive professionalism. Her pictures are full of humour which is never over the head of the smaller reader, but is still equally entertaining for the adult. Who can join in the pleasure after countless re-readings. She uses soft earth-colour washes. With precisely observed interiors for example...

 As Burglar Bill sits down in a warm yellow glow to his well-earned tea of fish and chips and KO sauce, what really prompted him to appropriate that box of six dozen hairnets.

In The Jolly Postman - one of Allan's most inventive ideas - and The Jolly Christmas Postman, Janet matched him all the way, setting an atmosphere which is just right, not quite never-never land, but certainly not the real world. 

BBC2 Picture Book film 'when we were young'

Looking at the BBC2 hour length film, I was able to see various different influences of how children's book design has developed throughout various decades/century.

Starting from the beginning it was identifying the origin of children's book were focused and based around nursery rhymes, this being because nursery rhymes allowed the reader and the child to have a special binding experience. Nursery rhymes are popular due to rhyme, rhythm and repetition. Even though they may not always make sense they are very catchy and easy to learn. This is why children love them so much.

First illustrators to show illustration in children's book depicting nursery rhymes were;

Arthur Rackham
Walter Crane
Kate Greenaway

However it was the artist Randolfe Cauldecotte (who created various illustrated books from the years 1877-1886), stood out the most and helped develop children's books into a different dynamic.

By created books based on nursery rhymes, using both imagination and humour throughout them. This allowed them to appeal to both the children and the reader.










All of his books have vast amounts of detail.












Beatrix Potter







In 1902 a book was published called 'the tale of peter rabbit'. This was the first children's book where both the illustrations and the writing had been produced by the same person. Beatrix potter was both a talent artist as well as being a very talent author. By combining the two together she was able to produce a series of short stories.

These were proven to be very popular, by creating a series of short stories with a unique world and memorable loveable characters. Children became engrossed and felt as if they knew the characters. A winning formula in book design.

Rev. Wilbert Awdry

In 1942 'the 3 engines' was published. W.Awdry produced both the illustrations and the stories. Thomas the tank engine became very popular and remains popular to date. The success is said to be because of the faces used in the drawings, as the emotions of the trains can be seen.

Enid Blyton





'Noddy books' were introduced to the nation in 1949. The books were bright and colourful, which attracted alot of attention and buyers. Enid wrote the stories and the illusrations were produced by Harmsen Van Der Beek.



By creating a series of books they were able to create a logo, they had consistency and they were able to bring toys to life.

However the books created controversy with readers, due to the golliwogs made people feel uneasy, there was a lot of violence.  The stories were about doing naughty things and then getting told off and punished. (This was not the right message at the time)

Brian Wildsmith

In the 1960's parents were very liberal minded therefore they wanted something different for their children. 'ABC' by Brian Wildsmith was produced, this book was not like a normal ABC book. It help both text and a very detailed drawing.






It is the way the painting are not entirely neat and in uniform that links to children well. Creativity is essential.

Children's books took a high rise in demand with an increase of 4 publishers to around 50. This meant that the overall look of children's book became very high quality.

Pat Hutchins



'Rosie's walk' was a very unique book. That allowed the audience to engage with the book in a manner not yet seen before. The book consisted of only 24 words, however was illustrated in large detail. The words given on the page of which the adults read to the children do not hold the biggest information through the story (the silent fox), children have the superiority when reading as they notice the fox before the adult and they also are in control of what the fox does as they turn the page.



The overall concept behind the book is very clever.

Shirley Hughes

Her first book was 'Dogger' this book was about a small boy who loses his toy dog. She focuses in her stories the small dramas of a childs life and how through the eyes of a child these dramas can seem like the end of the world. She used her own childhood as inspiration in many of her books, allowing readers to feel a variety of emotions.
Her illustrations are very realistic, with the immense detail throughout. This is down to the fact that most children cannot read who look at her books, therefore they are perceiving the story through her illustrations.



John Burningham

The book 'Grandpa' allows the reader and child to talk about what they think may be going on in the pictures. This allows children to be creative themselves. The book also breeches a very difficult topic at the end as 'grandpa is gone'. This introduces this to children at an early age.





Helen Oxenbury

A series of 'Baby born books' were created by Helen Oxenbury in the 1980's. She noticed that even though babies cannot read or speak doesnt mean they do not know what things look like or associate them with things.

In the book 'Friends' there are no words, however these words are not needed as the illustrations do the talking.



Janet and Allan Ahlberg


With an illustrative wife and author husband combination. The Ahlberg's were able to reinvent children's book. By creating books which allowed the readers to interact as well as look as listen to the rhyming story.

Each,Peach,Pear, Plum was one of the first books published by them. This allowed children to play a game of hide and seek whilst reading. (very clever).



Michael Rosen

'We're going on a bear hunt' was adapted by Michael Rosen from a song used by american indians. It has became one of the best selling children's books of all time. With the use of repetition and the illustrations by Helen Oxenburg.




Trish Cooke

'So Much' by Trish Cooke focuses on anglo-carribean community. Looking through the eyes of the baby in the family. She based the book on stories of her own family. It related to children perfectly as it is worded to suit children. This is also illustrated by Helen Oxenburg.

Lauren Child 

Today (2000's), Lauren child uses collage to create her books (Charlie and Lola). This allows the readers to look at various different textures, mixing both photographs with drawings.