Picture books are not just for children; they are keeping adults hooked too
By Divya Shekhar
Economic Times Bureau, India
September 2018
BENGALURU: A recent wave of picture books hitting the US market narrate stories of migrants, refugees and same-sex relationships. They are apparently appealing to people across age groups. Publishers and readers back home point out that picture books in India too are breaking the mould of catering only to children.
“Illustrations are art, which means they are being interpreted differently by people across age groups,” said Kavita Gupta Sabharwal, co-founder of Neev Literature Festival. The three-day event started on September 27 with panel discussions and an award dedicated to picture books. The idea behind this, she explained, was to create awareness about Indian picture books on relevant social issues that get drowned in the noise created by international titles.
‘I Will Save My Land‘ by Rinacina, for instance, talks about land-grabbing that leads to villages being gobbled up in the name of ‘development’. Bijal Vachharajani’s ‘So You Want To Know About The Environment’ addresses climate change, food and water security. Neha Singh’s ‘I Need to Pee’ makes a case for safe and hygienic public toilets while ‘Pink and Blue‘ by Ritu Vaishnav breaks down gender stereotypes.
“Picture books often occupied a minuscule part of our list of titles. The print run was smaller and more expensive. Now, we have changed our strategy to annually publish three-four titles that get people talking about contemporary issues,” said Sohini Mitra, an associate publisher at Penguin Random House. “The best kind of picture books are the ones that both children and adults access and derive a value addition out of. For that, one needs to pay attention to the packaging and illustration quality.”
Artist Bakula Nayak often buys picture books for her sons (aged 8 and 13) in order to get them into the reading habit. She, however, ends up reading them, herself. “In an age where we are inundated with information and have short attention spans, I find picture books engaging and informative without needing to concentrate or analyse.”
Priya Krishnan, editor at Tulika Publishers, said that the narrative must be balanced…
