ENG 470: Topics in Children's Literature:
Children's Visual Culture from Picture Books to New Media
Syllabus and Presentation Schedule
- Course syllabus in .pdf format
- Presentation schedule in .pdf format
Final class tonight (Dec. 15): 5:30 to 8:20. I'm bringing pizza and drinks.
Links to Milner Library art project:
- please check out: International Collection of Child Art at Milner Library
- Link to 470 audio project reference page
Children's Video Games and Websites
Articles to read for class
- "Learning by Playing: Video Games in the Classroom" by Sara Corbett, an article in The New York Times, Sept. 2010 (.pdf format)
- "Painkiller Deathstreak" by Nicholson Baker. The New Yorker. Aug. 9, 2010. Or, link to a .pdf of the essay here. (A gamers' responses in Idlethumbs forum)
- Audio podcast of Nicholson Baker on playing violent video games. 16:21 min
- "Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8-12 year olds" a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Use this link to go to the website and then download the report in .pdf format Go to the 5 minute video on the report
Articles and adult ideas on kids' video games.
"Social Networking: A Parent's Guide" information from the Federal Trade Commission on teaching kids virtual world safety
"Designing-websites-for-kids-trends-and-best-practices/est practices on how to attract kids" from Smashing Magazine, a journal on web design. Article explains why Club Penguin and other sites work, or don't.
Understanding Multimedia Learning. Research, funded by BrainPop, on using educational technology (.pdf)
YouTube videos on analyzing video games and virtual websites
James Paul Gee on "Games and Learning" (1:47 min). From Edutopia on "Grading with Games." (3:58 min). on Global Kids in Teen Second Life from 2007
Katie Salen on digital media and learning from MacArthur Foundation. (1:38 min)
"Gaming in Education" from Indiana University School of Education, Robert Appelman. (2:44 Min) with Jackson Creek Middle School Kids
British TV reports on kids using Nintendo DS Brain Game in scientific study
Danah Boyd on "American Teens & Social Media" (7:10 min)
Popular virtual game sites for boys and girls include:
Club Penguin. Children are penguins who decorate their own igloos and waddel around the Club Penguin world. Popular for parties, kids chatting and weekly newspaper.
- Club Penguin YouTube Videos Mini Fall Fair Igloo Party. In the video for Christmas Party 2008 you can see how viewers move through different places Halloween Candy Hunt 2010 "PuffyDestin9 interviews Radrobot" penguins in a talk show format.
Garden Party. Avatars are stylized kids. They live in treehouses and grow magical objects which they can then use or trade. Click "Watch video" to learn about Garden Party.
PopTropica PopTropica is published by Pearson Education division, so it has educational content. Also lots of puzzles and interactive sites. More controlled environment than the 2 above. Puzzles tend to be a little harder.
ToonTown: good characters try to take over the bad guys (Lawyers and suits) by fighting with gags. "Taking Over a Building" video shows how toons fight together against the Bossbots. "ToonTown Funny VP" is similar by more amusing and you see more of ToonTown
Planet Cozmo A virtual reality site that emphasizes tween/teen pop culture and music.
Nick.com. Nickelodeon's website, one of the biggest for children with numerous games, links to tv shows and more.
Popular virtual game sites for just girls include:
Pixie Hollow: create a fairy and fly. Video tour of Pixie Hollow by a girl. "Slate's Visit" video of fairies interacting in Pixie Hollow (a review of Pixie Hollow)
BarbieGirls.com virtual reality And an essay analyzing BarbieGirls.com by Sara Grimes.
BellaSara. Tales about North of North's mysterious lost herds of horses. Play online.
GirlGames4U.com Several online games for girls that feature dress-up characters, restaurants, nail salons and Miley Cyrus.
My Princess Academy Online site with games on how to be a princess. Article about founder
Educational and entertaining games for middle schoolers
- FunBrain
- Brain Pop
- 39 Clues site that links books, videos, games and clues.
- KidzClix.Net. Fun, lively, educational site.
- PopTropica
Videos of first-person shooter and role playing action games
- 5 minutes of playing on Uncharted 2
- Modern Warfare 2 Gameplay
- StarCraft 2 Zerg Demonstration
- Call of Duty: Black Ops. IGN report with focus on Zombies. 3:03
Children's Television
Nickelodeon's website and NickJr. for preschool set
- Nick Jr. Face bumper "loves the rain" YouTube. 26 sec
- Amanda Bynes gets slimed on Figure It Out, a Nick game show. YouTube 14 sec
- Katy Perry gets slimed on Kids Choice Awards
- Johnny Depp gets slimed on 2006 Kids Choice Awards
SpongeBob SquarePants on Nickelodeon
- "Ripped Pants" YouTube video 5:33 min. (slightly sped up)
- "Ripped Pants" just the tune segment YouTube 1:20 min
- Voices behind SpongeBob, a short NPR documentary as they practice. YouTube 3:05 min
- SpongeBob's theme song, with lyrics. Fan created video but fine. YouTube 1 min
- Avril Lavigne singing SpongeBob theme song on MTV. Lively video. YT 45 sec
RugRats on Nickelodeon
- "The Magic Baby" episode where Angelica trades a baby for a horse. YouTube. 11 min
- "No Naps" YouTube 6:02min
Ren and Stimpy on Nickelodeon
- 30 sec Promo from 1994 for Ren and Stimpy on Nickelodeon. YouTube
- "Eat My Cookies" You Tube 2:47 min
- "Climb Inside My World" song. Psychadelic riffs on belly button world. YouTube 2 min.
Blue's Clues on Nickelodeon
- "Arts and Crafts" episode YouTube. 4:56 min
- Link to Blues Clues videos on Nick Jr. website Choose what you want to watch
Little Bear on Nickelodeon
- "Detective Little Bear" episode. video is off TV YouTube. 7:26 min
- Link to Little Bear videos on Nick Jr. Choose the full episodes to watch
Little Bill on Nickelodeon
- Preview for Little Bill after British bumper for Blue's Clues. a quality video with Little Bill. Lots of promos for British Nickelodeon YouTube
Max and Ruby on Nickelodeon
- Link to Nick Jr.'s collection of Max and Ruby videos. Choose your own
- Weston Woods version of Max's Chocolate Chicken. YouTube. 5:18 min
Clarissa Explains It All on Nickelodeon
- Opening to Clarissa YT 47 sec
- An early Clarissa episode when she talks about herself. YT 2:02 min.
- Fan clip of Clarissa when she gets stuck on TV YT. 2:15 sec
PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! for slightly older kids
Barney on PBS
- "I Love You Song" YouTube 55 sec. "I Love You Song" Christmas Style YouTube 1:15 min.
- "Barney Goes to School" YouTube 10 Min
Teletubbies on PBS
- "Here Come the Teletubbies" Counting Teletubbies and Rainy Day YouTube 9:39 min
Arthur on PBS
- "Arthur's Eyes" part 1. YouTube 6 min
- "The Black Out" part 1 YouTube 5:24 min
- "The Making of Arthur: It's Only Rock and Roll" YouTube 1:57
- "Binky Rules, part 2" including the Varttina song. YouTube 6 min
Bill Nye the Science Guy
- "The Three Little Pigs" through the engineer/sciencetific/architect lens of Bill Nye. A nursery rhyme of science. YouTube. 1:10 min
Sesame Street on PBS
- Sesame Street opening in 1970s. YT 50 sec Opening Theme. 1998-2001. YT 1 min
- Ernie: singing "Rubber Duckie" 1969 Bert & Ernie's introduction. The Bananaphone
- The Alphabet with Elmo and India.Arie. YT. 2:12 min The Sky Active with Elmo
- Big Bird & Snufalupagus doing vaudeville. YT 2:34 min. Classic Mr. Hooper's '10' machine
Doug, which has aired on both Disney and Nickelodeon
- "Doug's Midnight Kiss" Part 1 of 3. YouTube 6:33 min
- "Doug Graduates: Looking for Mr. Buttsavich" YouTube 2:41 min
- "The Adventures of Quailman" Part 2 of 6. YouTube 9:28 min
Kim Possible on Disney
- "Opening Theme" 1 min
- "A Sitch in Time" 10 min episode on YouTube
Classic Children's Television
- Opening to The Howdy Doody Show YouTube. 1 min
- Captain Kangaroo opening from 1960. YouTube 48 sec Captain Kangaroo from 1981. YT 3 min
- Mickey Mouse Club "M-O-U-S-E/Alma Mater" song YouTube. 1:26 min
- Romper Room. "Romper Room with Miss Nancy," a news feature about it. YT, 2:24 min. A home video of a boy on Romper Room in 1953. YT
- Vintage toy commercials on television. YT. 4min
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Brian Selznick's site for The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Four color biography of Brian Selznick in .pdf format
Brian Selznick talking about his childhood and writing books for children. Video
Interview with Selznick for BookPage, "Every picture tells a story in Selznick's 'Invention' " 2007.
Al Roker on the summer reading club of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Overview, Meliere images and Roker talks with kids about the book. Video. 7:30 min
LA Times article on The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Automatons
- Henri Maillardet's Automaton at The Franklin Institute. video. 51 sec
- Franklin Institute's Maillardet Automation Demonstration (Nov 4, 2007). Video. 7:11 min.
- Mechanics of Memory, information about automatons.
- Nancy, the automoaton who knits. Video. 45 seconds
- Artist Automaton. A contemporary automaton that draws. Available in a kit. Video
George Melies and early cinema
- "A Trip to the Moon" 1902. Video. 6:52 min
- "The Vanishing Lady" 1896 Video 1:17 min
- "The Astronomer's Dream" 1898 video 3:22 min
- Documentary on George Melies. Video. 15:14 min
- "Le Diable Noir" 1905 Video 3 min
- "The Train Arrives" The Lumiere Brothers 1895. 50 sec.
Video of The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Brian Selznick.
Martin Scorsese interviewed while filming Invention of Hugo Cabret
From an email from Melody (Aronson) Debonnel
Dear Dr. Susina,
I had to share with you this wonderful treat I got yesterday. As you may remember, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" is one of my favorite books, thanks to your graphic novel course. Well, I was going for a walk the other day, and just a couple blocks from my apartment is this lovely children's bookstore, and they had a large display in the window announcing that Selznick would be signing books. As it turns out, not only was he there, but they had another special treat for fans. Once we were seated, they dimmed the lights, and set up a projector that displayed the beautiful images from the text, one after the other, to make it feel like a real movie. When they got to a part with text, actor Nicolas Moreau (using a booklight so the lights could stay dim to maintain the sense that it was a theater) read the story. He was simply wonderful! He read/ the projector displayed the first five or six chapters (until the scene with the fire). After the show, Selznick spoke to a few of us about the train stations he'd used as inspiration. One woman who was there with her grandchildren shared that he had helped her remember the works of Méliès-- apparently this is a common sentiment! At any rate, it was just fantastic.
P.S. I included a picture (yes, I am one of those annoying fans that has to have a picture taken, but it's not often I get to meet authors I adore!). At any rate, you can see the projector in the back, to give you a sense of how it was set up, with Selznick's signing area on the left. He commented that only in France would he be brought a bottle of champagne at a children's bookstore signing!
Toon Books
Toon Books' website
Professor Garfield's Toon Book website
Francoise Mouly video interview segment "Comic Books: Good for Kids?" on bigthink.com (2.17 min). Shows Toon Books images
Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly at the Strand Book Store in New York City 9/10/09. Promoting the Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics and talking in detail about comics, particularly for children and Toon Books. Part 1 of 9 parts. YouTube Video. each segment is about 7 - 9 minutes.
Geoffrey Hayes, author of award winning Benny and Penny Toon Book, The Big No-No and over 40 picture books posts on Imagination Soup "Building Reading Skills Through the Language of Comics"
"Luke on the Loose" a kids' readers' theater version at Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Vimeo. about 3 min.
Video persuing Toon Treasurey of Classic Children's Comics. YouTube 3 min.
Nadja Spiegelman. School Visit. Zig & Wikki Reading. Vimeo Video :38 seconds
Graphic novels and comics
Comixology discussing comics
Sequential Tart a webzine by women about the comicx world
Chris Ware's website for Random House
Art Spiegelman's website for Random House
Lynda Barry's website
Alison Bechdel. Her website is Dykes to Watch Out For: Life in a Box
Craig Thompson's website Doot Doot Garden
Website devoted to Krazy Kat and Coconino County. Lots of color and b/w images.. Good history
Good Edward Gorey site with page by page of text and illustrations from three books
Official Charles Schulz website
The Acme Comic store website in Normal
Gene Kannenberg's Comic Research website
International Journal of Comic Arts website
ImageText: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies (University of Florida)
Lambiek Comiclopedia
The Drawn and Quarterly website
Brian Selznick The Invention of Hugo Cabret website
Gene Yang's website HumbleComics
A Brief History of the Graphic Novel by Stan Tychinski
Babymouse by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm
Babymouse official website, housed at Random House
Jennifer Holm's website. a co-creator of Babymouse
Matthew Holm's official website. a co-creator of Babymouse
Interview with Jennifer and Matthew Holm about their Babymouse series. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 24, 2008
Alphabet Books
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Weston Woods version. YouTube video. 5:25 min.
- Alphabet of Nations. They Might Be Giants. YouTube 1:23 min.
- More They Might Be Giants videos of their Friday night podcasts. E eats Everything. Go for G!
- Sesame Street alphabet video with street signs. YouTube. 1:30 min
- DidiPop: The cool alphabet song. YouTube. 2:16 min.
- Ideas on alphabet books from Brain Pickings blog with images of innovative ones.
- Betty Carter essay in Hornbook on Alphabet Books. May/June 1994.
- Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History & Society entry on Alphabet Books by Melissa Giesler Trafton.
- A is for Archive: One Hundred Years of Alphabet books on Internet Archive.
David Macaulay
Section of video that is part of an exhibit on David Macaulay, especially his childhood. Second section of the video, which was initially prepared by Norman Rockwell Museum on Macaulay. Essay about this exhibit, with a few good illustrations by Macaulay.
David Macaulay's website. Click on "watch video" for several short videos on how he works.David Macaulay discusess his work at a TED conference. 21 minute talk about his creative process and focusing on his book about Rome.
PBS show of Macaulay talking about ancient Rome cities and his Cities book. Google video. 1 hr.
Tacoma Art Museum's exhibit on David Macaulay in 2009
Building Books. Macaulay exhibit at RISD in 2009.
PBS series "Buiding Big" focuses on explaining architecture through Macaulay's work. This page features a transcript of an interview with him.
The Great Pyramid of Giza documentary
Educational ideas for using Pyramid in class, with many good links about Pyramids and Ancient Egypt
David Macaulay speaks at MIT about creating his books. 1hour talk.
Discovering more about Ancient Egypt
Review in Wired of Macaulay's Built to Last
David Macaulay receives the Eric Carle Honor Award in 2010. Article in Publisher's Weekly. Nov. 18, 2010
Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House
"Making Picture Books" Burton's talk in .pdf format
Link to Houghton Mifflin's office Mike Mulligan site
Link to podcast of interview of director and producer of documentary on Virginia Lee Burton (22 min)
Link to website of documentary about Virginia Lee Burton, A Sense of Place (2008)
Link to catalogue of Virginia Lee Burton exhibit at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (.pdf format) Block
Link to open pdf of a May 2008 Vogue article about Virginia Lee Burton
Link to librarian Elizabeth Bird's blog about Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House. includes the Disney animated video (8 min) based on the book. Bird, writing on Publisher's Weekly site, is also fond of Mike Mulligan.
Photo is of Virginia Lee Burton in her studio in Cape Ann, Massachusetts
Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are
Caledecot Medal Acceptance talk by Sendak (.pdf) from his book Caledecott & Co.
Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia, which has the best collection of Sendak materials.
Rosenbach Museum's DVD segment on Sendak on his work, childhood, inspiration. YouTube. 10 min. Sendak on what being an illustrator means. YouTube. 3 min. Sendak on his childhood and movies. YouTube. 1 min. Sendak on Images and Words. You Tube 2:25 min
Original Wild Things animated short. YouTube video 6:50 min.
"A Conversation with Maurice Sendak" by Jennifer Ludden on NPR, June 4, 2005, with additional links
Terrible Yellow Eyes, website devoted to other artists' renditions of Wild Things
Horn Book interview with Sendak. Nov./Dec. 2003 by Roger Sutton
Jan Susina discusses the popularity of Where the Wild Things Are book and film with R.C. McBride on WJBC Oct 19, 2009. Link to mp3 file
Crockett Johnson
Mies van der Rohe information. "Less is More"
Carrot Seed record information with album cover art and mp3
Brief biography of Crockett Johnson on Lambiket.net
Sony Pictures' website for the TV series "Harold and the Purple Crayon." includes brief video promo.
Mathematical paintings by Crockett Johnson at the National Museum of American History
Phil Nell's Crockett Johnson page
Crockett Johnson biographical information
Beatrix Potter
Frederick Warne, official pubblisher of Beatrix Potter Information on Potter, games, news, eating healthy.
Beatrix Potter's life in Cumbria. Lots of info about her life there, many book suggestions, photographs, and info about the film Miss Potter
"The Tale of Miss Potter" Daily Telegraph article about the film Miss Potter and her life in England. (16 Dec. 2006)
Beatrix Potter, Fabulist. Online exhibit from Cotsen Children's Library at Princeton. Click on the images on top of the screen.
A biography of Potter from University of Pittsburgh site.
The Beatrix Potter Society website.
The National Trust's homes of Beatrix Potter and links to more information about her.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
The British Library's virtual tour of the original manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground. 1. Opening description with images only (not as interactive). . 2. Shockwave version so it's easy to turn pages. 3. A page with link to Silverlight version (most interactive)
Jan Susina's interview with Martin Gardener on Annotated Alice from Five Owls. (.pdf file)
Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Filled with links. Lewis Carroll home page, hosted by the LCSNA.
Lenny's Alice in Wonderland page. Good links to basic info on the book.
Victorian Website links on Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll's scrapbook from Library of Congress
Illustrations of Alice that are not by Tenniel
Florence Milner's 1903 essay explaining poems in Alice and original
Lesson Plan for teaching Alice in high school. From Discovery Channel
Ruth Ann Zarnoff's interactive Alice site.
Tim Burton talks with Johnny Depp about Alice in Wonderland and Batman in LA Times (Oct. 15, 2008)
Blog on Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland and pop culture related materials
Penguin Books USA's reader's guide to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Middle school and high school level.
Cooper-Hewitt Museum video of page-by-page of Tony Sarg's Treasure Book. Video focuses on Alice in Wonderland and shows the pop-ups and details. YouTube. 1.5 min.
Trailer for 1999 television version of Alice in Wonderland. YouTube 1 min.
Unusual online text version with illustrations by many artists from many books. A Bedtime Story Classic
Link to information on Jan Susina's The Place of Lewis Carroll in Children's Literature
Lucy Crane's Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Walter Crane.
- Wonderful World of Walter Crane. from the University of Manchester. cool, interactive online exhibit about Crane.
- Biography and numerous images by Crane at SurLaLuneFairyTales' site. Click on an image from book which links to all Crane's images from that book.
- Detailed biography and bibliography about Crane from the University of Pittsburgh's library
- The Working Class Movement Library's section on Walter Crane, with images of book covers.
- Artcyclopedia's many links to Crane's images in museums in the world, auction prices, etc.
- Modern reinterpretation of Little Red Riding Hood. Slagsmålsklubben. Vimeo video.
Childhood & Globalization: An International Colloquium. Sept. 13-17, 2010. Remember: Our class is attending the Wednesday evening session rather than our regular meeting time & place. See you there!
- Complete Program, in .pdf format
- Link to Illinois Wesleyan Univ. press release
- Readings for the conference are posted at http://elecres.iwu.edu/eres/coursepass.aspx?cid=731 The password the following word, in lower case type: child
Picture This by Molly Bang
Molly Bang's website
- The Artist's Toolkit: Visual Elements & Principles. Great introductory site. Interactive
- Art Foundations. Many examples
- "Some ideas about Composition and Design: Elements, Principles & Visual Effects" by Marvin Bartel. A good teaching resource.
Upcoming readings
"Painkiller Deathstreak" by Nicholson Baker. The New Yorker. Aug. 9, 2010. Or, link to a .pdf of the essay here.
"Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8-12 year olds" a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
- Use this link to go to the website and then download the report in .pdf format
- Go to the 5 minute video on the report
Readings of note
"Picture Books No Longer A Staple for Children" from the New York Times, Sept. 2010 (.pdf format)
Visual Literacy Resources
- 21st Century Skills, article in .pdf format
- Director Martin Scorsese talks about the importance of teaching visual literacy in an interview on Edutopia. Also watch an 11 min. video
- PBS document, in .pdf format, on "Focus on Visual Literacy"
- The Center for Graphic Facilitation, an organization encouraging professionals, especially in large corporations, to think more visually and value images
Interesting links related to course
YouTube video ad of iPhone being inserted into picturebook. (1:52min)
Visual literacy introduction a PowerPoint document
American Library Association's Banned Book Week.
- Information from the ALA bout 2010 banned books
- Banned Book Week, more information
- Banned Book readings at Milner Library Sept. 28 and 29. Jan Susina is reading a section from To Kill a Mockingbird Wed, Sept. 29 at 11:30 am in the library