Inside Picture Books

by Ellen Handler Spitz

An exploration of the profound impact of the experience of reading on children. It discusses well-known picture books, including Goodnight Moon, Babar and Little Black Sambo, and reveals how they transmit psychological wisdom, moral lessons, tastes, and subtle prejudices.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 10, 1999

Reviews

[Sarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful for essay on racism in picturebooks, on Children's Lit MA

[Catherine Gillespie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author, a lecturer at Stanford, studies art, culture, and psychology, so her approach to books is interesting. She clearly loves children’s books and explores “the profound impact of the experience of reading to children.”

Although I felt at times that she read too much into the books she discussed, for the most part I found the author’s perspective interesting. She wrote about quite a few of our favorites, including less well-known titles like Wee Gillis. I also found a handful of books that we haven’t read but would like to try.

If you enjoy finding new books to read to your kids, or are interested in the psychology of reading and how reading impacts culture, I'd recommend Inside Picture Books.

This review was previously posted on A Spirited Mind

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

For pure readability, this is probably a 2-star, but it did yield a few interesting insights about the longevity and themes in a number of classic children's picture books. If nothing else, it was worth it for the explanation of why kids (and so many adults) adore Goodnight Moon (even if I'm not among their numbers) and for the reminder that it's worth finding stories with female protagonists, especially those who defy classic gender conventions, so my boys can learn to flex their perspectives as readers -- and thinkers.

[Huda Fel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Ellen discusses the debate about the effect children's books have on children. She started by giving some examples of "adults" who are still connected to their fav books from their childhood. However, her method was analyzing a number of picture books which unfortunately most of them were new to me.
I felt lost like I didn't get the full picture :$

[Meaghan Steeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting in that it gave me a new perspective on some of my childhood favourites growing up. There were some opinions she voiced that I didn't agree with, and there were a couple of views I found outdated. On the whole, I was happy I read it though I still wish there were more books that talk about this subject!

[Waller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not popular among children's lit scholars when it came out, in large part because it ignored the contributions of major figures in this field of scholarship. Nevertheless, I found several parts useful in considering picture books; one could do worse.

[Nojood Alsudairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One sentence: it is different.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

detailed analysis of various classic picture books--insightful, but maybe reading in a little too much!