MEDIA AND
TECHNIQUE IN
CHILDREN’S
LITERATURE
By: Hannah McClung
hannah.mcclung@smail.astate.edu
PreK–Grade 4
WHAT IS MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE??
 Element of Visual Art
1. Line
4. Texture
2. Color
5. Design
3. Shape
6. Media/Technique
 Media – Materials Used
 Media often portrays the mood of the story
 Some Media is combined (Mixed Media)
 Technique – How materials are used
 Each artist develops own technique
MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE
 1. Acrylic - paint
 Books:
When I Met the Wolf Girls by Deborah Noyes
Mama’s Saris by Pooja Makhijani
 2. Cut Paper and Collage
 Cut Paper – Intricate detail; takes a long time
 Collage – Torn paper; arranged and pasted
 Books:
On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier
A Closer Look by Mary McCarthy
MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE CONTD.
 3. Computer-Generated – Digital art; inserting artist
illustrations into photographs
 Books :
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems
Beauty and the Beaks: A Turkey’s Cautionary Tale by
Mary Jane Auch
 4. Gouache – type of paint consisting of pigment;
similar to watercolor; opaque.
 Books:
Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler
Abracadabra!: Magic with Mouse and Mole by Wong
Herbert Yee
MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE CONTD.
 5. Graphite and Pencil – most are black and white;
great amount of detail; hatching and crosshatching
 Books:
Jamie and Angus Together by Anne Fine
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
 6. Oil Painting – grinding paint into oil base; great
amount of detail; different textures
 Books:
Rapunzel by Paul Zelinsky
A Night of Tamales & Roses by Joanna H. Kraus
MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE CONTD.
 7. Pastels/Crayons/Charcoal – soft, chalky, delicate
colors, layering
 Books:
The Story of Giraffe by Ronald Hermsen
A Piece of Chalk by Jennifer Ericsson
 8. Scratchboard – board covered with ink; artist
carefully scratches away ink to make illustration
 Books:
Duke Ellington; The Piano Prince and His Orchestra by
Andrea Davis Pinkney
The Faithful Friend by Robert D. San Souci
MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE CONTD.
 9. Watercolor – transparent washes of color; dissolves
in water
 Books:
Happy Birthday, Jamela! By Niki Daly
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
 10. Woodcuts – draws image on wood; cuts around
design; rolls ink onto raised surface
 Books:
Once a Mouse by Marcia Brown
If You Want to See a Caribou by Phyllis Root
MORE MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE
 Mixed Media
 Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
 Outline Drawing and Comic Strip
 What Will Fat Cat Sit On? By Jan Thomas
 Pen-and-Ink
 Midsummer Knight by Gregory Rogers
MORE MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE
 Photographs
 Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford
 Scratchboard and Engraving
 Peggony-Po: A Whale of a Tale by Andrea Davis Pinkney
http://www.amazon.com/Peggony -po-Whale-Andrea-Davis-Pinkney/dp/B001736FHQ
ILLUSTRATORS
Look out for these award-winning illustrators!
David Weisner
Eric Carle
Jerry Pinkey
Marla Frazee
Steve Jenkins
Chris Raschka
2014 CALDECOTT WINNERS
 Medal Winner
Locomotive – illustrated by Brian Floca
 Honor Books
Journey – written and illustrated by Aaron Becker
Flora and the Flamingo – written and illustrated by Molly
Idle
Mr. Wuffles! – written and illustrated by David Weisner
REFERENCES
 Galda, L., Sipe, L. R., Liang, L. A., Cullinan, B. E.
(2014). Literature and the child (8 th ed.).
Wadsworth, CA: Cengage Learning.
 Peggony Po Picture provided by
http://www.amazon.com/Peggony-po-WhaleAndrea-Davis-Pinkney/dp/B001736FHQ
 http://childrensbooksguide.com/illustrators