Children’s Illustrator:
David Shannon
Laura Alger
NCCU/Fall 2012
LSIS5505 Assignment #10
David Shannon
Children’s Illustrator
"Shannon tells his stories with vibrant, imaginative pictures. Working
with acrylic paints, he creates characters and settings that both illustrate
and expand the story being told. His artwork is richly colored, and the
results can be funny, mischievous, ironic, sensational, spooky, serious,
even epic” (Garner, 2002, as cited in Wikipedia. com, para. 7).
David Shannon: Biography
Born in Washington, DC on October 5, 1960. Grew up
in Spokane, Washington.
Went to school & graduated from Art Center College of
Design in Pasadena, CA. Then moved to NY.
David was always artistic, first homemade picture book
he did was at age 5 (a book of everything he did wrong
and his mom’s words “NO DAVID!”). Later, when his
mother mailed him this homemade book, he was
inspired to illustrate/author the now famous, award
winning book, No, David.
Currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and
daughter.
David Shannon & Children’s books
“Shannon's first book, was How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball
(1994), where Shannon was able to incorporate his dark painting
style, which came from his love of villains, with a story about
baseball” (Bolle as cited in Wikipedia, 2012, para. 4). Currently
working on a screenplay of this book for a DreamWorks film.
“Shannon's book No, David! (1998) was named a Caldecott Honor
Book in 1999. This book is the story of a mischievous child whose
mother is always telling him 'no' But she reassures him at the end
when she finally says, "Yes, David, I love you." According to a review
in the CLR, "Readers won't be able to resist taking a walk on the
wild side with this little rascal, and may only secretly acknowledge
how much of him they recognize in themselves.” (Peacock, editor, as
cited in Wikipedia, 2012, para. 5).
After No, David! (1998) came David Goes to School (1999) then David
Gets in Trouble (2002).
Bibliography
It’s Chirstmas, David!
Oops!
What a Wreck!
Oh, David!
David Goes To School
Melvin Might?
How Georgia Radburn Saved Baseball
Duck on a Bike
Snow Trucking!
The Ballad of the Pirate Queens
The Rough-Face Girl
Pete’s Party
Encounter
Robot Zot
Truckery Rhymes
The Bunyans
Amazing Christmas Extravaganza
The Rain Came Down
How I Became a Pirate
Good Boy, Fergus!
Zoom! Boom! Bully
No, David!
Smash That Trash!
On the Move!
The Acrobat and the Angel
Alice The Fairy
Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
Too Many Toys
Who’s That Truck?
A Bad Case Of Stripes
David Smells!
Kat’s Mystery Gift
David Gets in Trouble
Kat’s Maps
Pirates Don’t Change Diapers
Meet Jack Truck!
Uh-Oh, Max
No, David!
1999 Caldecott Honor
No, David!
No, David includes vibrant and rich colors (yellow, green, orange) together
with basic shapes in a childlike manner. Shannon uses acrylic for the 32
pages of illustrations to tell the story of a boisterous boy always getting
into trouble doing naughty acts (coloring the walls, tracking mud into the
home/carpet, etc.)
Reasons the book is a Caldecott winner:
The highly praised illustrations are bright, colorful, fun, and full of action.
They are bold, and in my opinion ‘not perfect’ looking; they are very
realistic, as if actually done by a child with lots of ‘messy’ basic shapes.
His artwork helps to tell and support the story of a boy always getting into
trouble and hearing his mom say “No, David!” after he does something
naughty!
Booklist states: "aims at a younger audience with this tally of no-nos inspired
by a plainly autobiographical book he created as a small child." It is
humorous and children see themselves or siblings in the story.
The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza
The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza
The artwork in this book really is in contrast to the fist book
presented, No, David!. The illustrations are very realistic, the
book overall has a somber fell t it and is without the humor
found in the David Series by Shannon.
Color in this book is darker.
Overall, the artwork contains a lot of detail that will be
interesting to the older child reader.
The pictures really narrate the story, rather than the text.
THE RAIN CAME DOWN
THE RAIN CAME DOWN
Illustrations and words tell the story of a shower of raindrops that
then begins a string of issues, aggravations, and tensions. Once the
sun comes out, relief is expressed in text and is also reflected in the
pictures.
The illustrations in the books include “bright witty caricatures”
(amazon.com review, para. 1).
One interesting artistic element that Shannon uses in this book are
many different angles. For example, the reader sees paint splattered
on the “backside” of a painter, the reader is almost looking up a
ladies’ nostrils, and at other times we get aerial views.
"Shannon expertly uses vertiginous angles as he builds suspense,
then calms things down with a set of subdued portraits and a view
of a quiet afternoon picnic.” (Peacock as cited in wikipedia.com,
para.8). Pictures really appear to set the tone in this book.
Pirates Don’t Change Diapers
Pirates Don’t Change Diapers
The colorful pictures in this book are comical and humorous.
The goofy illustrations along with text help tell the funny story of
pirates who wind up being babysitters to Jeremy’s little sister
instead of treasure hunting.
The exciting artwork in this book is oversized and helps the author
tell the silly adventure.
“Shannon's signature artwork is a vibrant concoction of rowdy
colors; Magoo-eyed, snaggle-toothed characters” (Krasniewicz, as
cited in Amazon.com).
Conclusion:
David Shannon’s Artwork
David Shannon’s illustrations are notably different
from other illustrators artwork.
The boldness, largeness, imperfect and messy shapes
found in David series and some of his other works, and
vividness of the illustrations permit his work to stand
out from the others.
An observant reader can detect some of Shannon’s
artwork from afar very quickly!
The illustrations always help to tell the story and
provide humor for the reader.
Works Consulted
(2012) David Shannon in Wikipedia retrieved on
October 27, 2012.
(2012) Amazon Reviews in amazon.com retrieved on
November 1, 2012.
Long, M., & Shannon, D. (2007). Pirates don't change
diapers. Orlando, Fla: Harcourt.
Shannon, D. (1998). No, David!. New York: Blue Sky
Press.
Shannon, D. (1995). The amazing Christmas
extravaganza. New York: Blue Sky Press.
Shannon, D. (2000). The rain came down. New York:
Blue Sky Press.