Task 2 Research Task

1. Art Styles & Audience 

Information/ Reference title - aimed at 9-11 year olds.

Dogs Days: Diary of Wimpy Kid (Book 4) byAuthor and Illustrator Jeff Kinney

Genre: Comedy

Age Range: 9-11 year olds

Paperback: 240 pages (Available in Hardcover)

Publisher: Puffin (3 Feb 2011)

Language: English

Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.7 x 2 cm

Art Style: 

Firstly, lets talk about the front cover of the book. The colour used is a dull yellow and it does have some form of texture that resembles leather, along with a stitch border. I can see that the illustrator has used five different font styles. For example; "Diary" the font is formal which is usually seen on existing diaries, "of a Wimpy Kid" looks like it has been written by kid using a red marker and the same goes for "Dogs Days" but in black. 

The image on the front cover obviously is made to look like it has been ripped out and stuck on with tape. However, the drawing itself is quite interesting as it is a simple doodle of young boy. Traditionally, in a child's diary adults would find scribble and doodles especially if the child likes to draw. The scribbles and doodles carry on throughout the book. 

The pages throughout the book is designed in a manner of how a child's diary would look. Jeff Kinney used lined paper and chose a font that represents how a child may write at the age of 9 - 11. This is a clever thing to do as the art style immediately declares who is the audience.  A nine to eleven year old can easily relate to illustration as they demonstrate what happens in a child daily life. For example, watching TV, embarrassing parents and annoying siblings. 

What elements/criteria do you believe are important when looking for an illustration style for this particular age range/ genre of books?

When it comes to 9-11 year olds, I believe the book has to have a strong character who brings emotions such as laughter and tears, which makes the reader care for the character. The story "Dogs Days: Diary of Wimpy Kid " is simple as it is about a lazy nine year old who is constantly being bullied by his older brother, being pestered by his little brother and his mom telling him to try and get out of the house instead of playing video games all day long. However, the story does come with a twist while Greg's plans fail he manages to the put on a big show. The point of the story is that he is always learning from his experience, no matter how bad his life is.

Billionaire Boys by David Williams and Illustrated by Tony Ross

Baby and Toddler - First Object Book 

What's That? by Author and Illustrator Rod Campbell 

Picture Book- aimed at 3-6 year olds

The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Author and Illustrator Judith Kerr 

Reference 

http://thewritepractice.com/childrens-book/

Image 
https://www.waterstones.com/book/dog-days/jeff-kinney/9780141331973

http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Days-Diary-Wimpy-Book/dp/0810983915

https://www.waterstones.com/book/billionaire-boy/david-walliams/9780007371082

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Billionaire-Boy-David-Walliams/dp/000737108X

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billionaire_Boy

https://www.waterstones.com/book/early-starters-whats-that/rod-campbell/9781447243151

Weblink
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/mar/24/childrens.library

http://www.wimpykid.com

http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/feb/07/review-jeff-kinney-diary-wimpy-kid-dog-days

https://www.waterstones.com/author/david-walliams/50422

https://www.waterstones.com/author/jeff-kinney/50442

https://uk.pinterest.com/susanmbarrett/books-3-6-year-olds/

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-tiger-who-came-to-tea/judith-kerr/judith-kerr/9780007215997