Sunday, January 22, 2017

Different Points of View? Let's Work it Out



You may have noticed that not everyone sees things the same way. Once again, picture books come to the rescue. Whether you are teaching children about point of view in literature and composition, or trying to understand fellow citizens, these books show the dilemma.

They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel has been touted as a Caldecott Medal contender this year. The artwork shows a cat pacing its territory, and how a child, fox, fish, mouse, bee, bird, and other creatures see it. At the end, the cat sees itself in the water's reflection. None of the images is quite like the other. (Remember, if this book wins the Caldecott or Caldecott Honor, you heard it here first or second, or one hundredth....The ALA Youth Media Awards will be given tomorrow morning, with the announcements livestreamed here.)

UPDATE 1/23/17: This book is a Caldecott Honor Awardee!!

Here's Emily Arrow's song based on this book:




Friend Linda recently reminded me of this award-winning older title, Duck! Rabbit!, that also shows how people can look at something and see it so differently. Look at the cover. The drawing is a well-known optical illusion. What do you see? A duck or a rabbit? Therein lies the tale, written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld.

I'll leave you with this classic from the Beatles: