During a classroom-based study that explored the teaching and learning of visual elements of art and design, Grade 7 students had the opportunity to read four graphic novels. Theoretically, the research was informed by social semiotics, visual literacy, sociocultural theory, and Rosenblatt's transactional theory of reading. The instructional unit…

This essay discusses 13 pictorial devices with which one must be familiar to understand the illustrations in Virginia Lee Burton's "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel." Color constancy, implied background, sharply drawn lines, abstractions of caricature, use of perspective, face on objects, and picture book narration are noted. (EJS)

Discusses the use of picture books of folk tales to develop literature appreciation and cultural awareness in children and the need to select books that retain the style of the original version of the folk tale, rather than loose adaptations of the story. (CLB)

The picture books in John Goodall's "Edwardian Series" can enrich the curriculum materials of the upper elementary social studies, reading, language arts, or art instructor. The books in the series are more than artistically correct--they also envelop history in warmth and humor. The books range from the earliest to the most recent:…