A good picture book can almost be whistled. ... All have their own melodies behind the storytelling.
Interpretation
A good picture book resonates with the reader, much like a melody that evokes emotion.
Margaret Wise Brown highlights the intrinsic beauty and rhythm of a well-crafted picture book, suggesting that the storytelling within it produces a unique emotional resonance, akin to a melody that captivates and enchants. This metaphor emphasizes the importance of both visual and narrative elements in children's literature, where the combination creates a harmonious experience for the reader.
In practice
During a reading event, I used this quote to highlight the artistic value of children's books.
In this modern world where activity is stressed almost to the point of mania, quietness as a childhood need is too often overlooked. Yet a child's need for quietness is the same today as it has always been--it may even be greater--for quietness is an essential part of all awareness. In quiet times and sleepy times a child can dwell in thoughts of his own, and in songs and stories of his own.
I don't think I'm essentially interested in children's books. I'm interested in writing, and in pictures. I'm interested in people and in children because they are people.
If I knew where the good songs came from, I’d go there more often. It’s a mysterious condition. It’s much like the life of a Catholic nun. You’re married to a mystery.
Just as music is noise that makes sense, a painting is colour that makes sense, so a story is life that makes sense.
Musicals are plays, but the last collaborator is your audience, so you've got to wait 'til the last collaborator comes in before you can complete the collaboration.
When people say 'What are underground comics?' I think the best way you can define them is just the absolute freedom involved... we didn't have anyone standing over us.
There’s no “correct path” to becoming a real artist. You might think you’ll gain legitimacy by going to university, getting published, getting signed to a record label. But it’s all bullshit, and it’s all in your head. You’re an artist when you say you are. And you’re a good artist when you make somebody else experience or feel something deep or unexpected.
Being a writer is part of a noble tradition, as is being a musician – the last egalitarian and open associations. No matter what happens in terms of fame and fortune, dedication to writing is a marching-step forward from where you were before, when you didn’t care about reaching out to the world, when you weren’t hoping to contribute, when you were just standing there doing some job into which you had fallen.
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