A profile of the Laureate
Anthony Browne. Here.
Browne’s first move as laureate, he says, will be to attempt to reinvigorate the role of picture books in society, “to encourage everybody to value the act of looking. In recent years, picture books have become the sole province of the very young; children are encouraged to move on to ‘proper’ books earlier and earlier. Looking is just as important as words: if vision is marginalised, we lose our ability to really see.”
July 5th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Many quality picture books are ‘onion’ books – layer upon layer. Total depth of meaning can be beyond the comprehension of young children – insufficient life experience and education. Many of Anthony’s books in particular reward exploration by all levels of Primary School as I use them from Prep to Year 7.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Thanks for your thoughts, Pamela. Unfortunately the perception that they are just for little people persists, hence the regular media outcry with the PB category in the CBCA Awards.