Graphic Design NarrativeResearchNiamh Darby

The Bad Tempered LadybirdAuthor and illustrator: Eric CarlePublisher: Puffin BooksNumber of pages and page size: 39 pages with different page sizes throughout but the illustrations are landscape but the overall book size is square (21cm x 21.5cm).Text and images layout: The layout of this book is different compared to other children’s books. The text is different sizes throughout the book to keep the child interested. Also, the illustrations take up some full double pages and some single pages with text.Font and text per page: The font is clear and easy for the child to read and is consistently black. The book’s text has consistently short sentences throughout.Visual Style: The book features bright primary colours of red, black and green for the main character in the book, which use texture and look very realistic but have a hint of cartoon to them.

Hairy Maclary’s Rumpus at the VetAuthor and illustrator: Lynley DoddPublisher: Puffin BooksNumber of pages and page size: 30 pages with landscape, rectangle (25cm x 19cm) pages.Text and images layout: The layout is consistent throughout the whole book with the left page filled with image and the right with one or two short sentences.Font and text per page: The font stays the same all the way through the book, which is black serif. As mentioned before, the right page has one or two sentences, centered on the page in a medium font size.Visual Style: The colours are bright with each of the images being busy yet understandable for children. Also, the image is hand drawn by the author and illustrates the story well. Unlike The Bad Tempered Ladybird, the images are not textured and use only some primary colours in the images as they are more detailed than the previous book.

The Song of the TreesAuthor: Kenneth StevenIllustrator: Lily MoonPublisher: Little Tiger PressNumber of pages and page size: 24 pages with a landscape, square (22cm x 22cm) page size. Text and images layout: The layout is not consistent throughout the book, it has some pages filled with double images and others with just one page filled with an image. The images have texture to them, but some images can be misinterpreted if you haven’t read the text on the page.Font and text per page: The font is not suitable for younger children as the letters all merge together and it is difficult to read and understand. Although, the font is black, which makes the text a little more legible. Visual Style: The colours used are primary colours and attract younger children’s attention. The colours and drawings featured are very Aztec-esque. There are borders around the images on some pages, so they text is separate from the text.