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“Everything Comes from Seeing Things”: Narrative and Illustrative Play in Black and White

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Abstract

In 1991, David Macaulay was awarded the Randolph Caldecott Medal for his picturebook, Black and White (1990). He believed the Caldecott committee’s choice communicated many messages to readers of all ages: “that it is essential to see, not merely to look; that words and pictures can support each other; that it isn’t necessary to think in a straight line to make sense; and finally that risk can be rewarded” (p. 419). This article focuses on how Macaulay uses play to engage readers—to arouse their curiosity, to make them think, and to incite them to ‘see things’ in Black and White. Excerpts from Grade 5 students’ written responses illustrate some of their responses to and interpretations of various kinds of narrative and illustrative play in Black and White.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Victoria, Box 3010 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8W 3N4

    Sylvia J. Pantaleo

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  1. Sylvia J. Pantaleo
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Correspondence to Sylvia J. Pantaleo.

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Illustrations from BLACK AND WHITE by David Macaulay. Copright © 1990 by David Macaulay. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Sylvia Pantaleo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in children’s literature and all areas of the language arts.

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Pantaleo, S.J. “Everything Comes from Seeing Things”: Narrative and Illustrative Play in Black and White . Child Lit Educ 38, 45–58 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-006-9029-x

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