Project Evaluation

I decided to do a global theme for my children's book. This is because the basic geography that I could incorporate into the plot would be a touchstone for an educational transition which children aged 4-5 would be experiencing as they start preschool.

I decided to rewrite the narrative to use a stronger rhythm and rhyming pattern. This is because the original narrative, although slightly engaging, did not flow as well as the rhyme and rhythm of this one. It is due to the pace set by the narrative which makes it easier to follow for young children. It will also mean that children will retain the narrative more easily, like the works of Dr Seuss or Lauren Child who take care to set a rhythm and rhyme, meaning they can identify the words and work on learning to read with the book.

My characters were simple and hand-drawn, then edited on the computer. This is because I decided to create the characters in a static and adaptable position and then simply change their position on the page. This worked well as it means the characters are easy to recognise for young children, due to the fact that they are identical and the signifiers are clear. The secondary characters are all drawn boldly and using the clear identifying factors of the species or job (animal or person) such as the astronauts or the elephant.

The watercolour backgrounds worked out very well, as it provided the contrast that I wanted between the scenery and the characters. The backgrounds were clear but did not overwhelm the page, meaning that the text and the characters stood in the forefront and aren't difficult to distinguish. I made sure to use brighter colours for the characters or areas that needed the attention drawn to them in order to set a priority for the pages. This is simply a case of phsychology; the eye is drawn to the most prominent object.

If I was to redo the project, I think that I would add more pages. It is typical for a standard full colour children's picture book to be 32 pages long, and I feel that it would be ample to add more locations which I cut out of my plan, such as jungles, because they were more complex and would have taken a lot longer to sketch and enhance. 

Overall I am very pleased with the project, and think that it was a success. I managed to incorporate all areas of my project proposal and didn't lose any of the integrity of the book whilst creating it. I feel that it is an innovative and original concept that will appeal to parents and young children and has the potential for merchandising and other expansions to the primary book.