Children's Book Illustration:
Eleanor by Barbara Cooney

This visual interpretative analysis is designed by Kay E. Vandergrift

What does the placement of the title character in this illustration communicate to viewers?

Study the sample illustration from: Eleanor by Barbara Cooney. (New York: Viking, 1996.) It is best to examine the entire book to see the interrelationships established among the illustrations and text.

It is important to read the accompanying text to this illustration.

 

Choose the answer that reflects your interpretation of the illustration:

 

  • She is off to the side and behind the other characters placing her outside of the action, distant from other characters.
  • Her placement at the bottom of the enclosed vertical blue space emphasizes her isolation.
  • The sofa which encompasses the other characters actually cuts off a part of her.
  • Her placement emphasizes her outsider status, that she is ignored and forgotten within her own family.
  • Her placement is reflective of the importance of male children in wealthy families at the end of the 19th century.
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    This page contains information on Barbara Cooney.

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    This page contains information on Eleanor Roosevelt.

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    Created August 5, 1997 Last Reviewed and Updated July 26, 1998