| The purpose of this multiple case study was to trace the oral, written, and art production responses of four transitional readers to the picture books of Patricia Polacco and Gerald McDermott. The classroom instruction in which this data were collected considered the picture books as an art object. Children's transcribed responses to the picture books of the two select author/illustrators and to their own art productions created during the study of the artists were coded using a modified art criticism model which included the following areas: description, interpretation, evaluation, and thematic trends. The children were found to give interpretive comments most often when talking about the picture books they read and heard read to them. When children were asked to talk about their own art productions that had been created with the illustrative techniques used by each author/illustrator, they most often gave descriptive comments. Interestingly, the four children in this study did not offer evaluative comments about the picture books they encountered but they did offer evaluative comments about their own art productions. In addition, the types of responses the children offered remained consistent for both author/illustrators. This study supports classroom instruction that considers the picture book as a complete aesthetic object worthy of intense study that encourages children to engage in art criticism that expands their thinking of how art education plays an active role in their literacy learning. |
