Jen Glazier

TE850
October 6th, 2014
More Than What Meets the Eye
David Macaulays (1990) picture book Black and White brings together four stories to
show how there is never just one side to any story. The first page of text shows four titles, Seeing
Things, A Waiting Game, Problem Parents, and Udder Chaos. Each of the four titles have a very
distinct color scheme, style of illustration and text font allowing the reader to think of these as
four different stories. The book appears to follow the story of a boy and his first trip by himself
on a train; children dealing with parents; people waiting at a train station; and cows - four text
themes that appear to have nothing in common visually and textually. As the book progresses
small connections and similarities are made through the illustrations. An argument can be made
for how these four stories work together to tell a fifth story of a train that has been delayed
because of a robbery which has made parents and other people late for catching the next train.
The images that Macaulay plays with are trains, newspapers, waiting, time, and parents. These
themes work separately, but also connect with each other at the end of the book. We see the
image of a newspaper slowly start to make its way throughout all of the stories, being connected
by words and also through illustrations. At certain points, four images merge together into one or
two images, eliminating the contrast between illustrations. Macaulay plays with the idea of
perceptions and dissimilarity through his use of text and illustrations which forces the reader to
question and challenge the similarities that are going on between the four different stories. In
this paper I will examine the relationship between words and illustrations, and question whether
they are meant to tell two different stories or work collectively for the reader to make an
interpretation.

Nodelman and Reimer (2003) said that pictures are no more concrete and no less
abstract than words are (p. 275). After deeply analyzing this statement, a claim can be made that
pictures or illustrations can work as another text feature when reading a book, not just
complementing the text or there to look pretty. In the example of the book Black and White, the
pictures and illustrations work not only to visually show a difference, but create the idea of four
different plot lines happening simultaneously. Pictures and illustrations can show hidden
messages or ideas that help the reader to make connections to the text and larger themes
happening within the story. In Black and White, Macaulay (1990) chooses to create the images
in Udder Chaos to represent more than one object. At first glance the reader might see a cow,
but after careful inspection, a person in a prison jumpsuit is noticeable. What is Macaulays
(1990) intention for doing that? Is it for confusion, frustration, challenge, or to offer a place for
fascination to take over? Macaulay (1990) is playing with what the reader knows and is
assuming is happening. Through the use of illustrations, the relationship between reality and
fantasy starts to become blurred. Is the man in the jumpsuit trying to tell the reader something?
What is the connection that the reader is supposed to make between the hidden images? Also in
Udder Chaos the image of a choir is shown, with hidden cows, and the reappearance of the
burglar spread throughout the picture. The idea of camouflage or something darker takes place.
Nodelman and Reimer (2003) mentioned how people generally identify dark with evil and light
with goodness, many picture books show evil characters in the shadows (p.287). The idea that
the burglar is hiding or in the shadows suggests slyness or that something is going on that
requires looking deeper. The interpretations that are made by individuals are different based
from personal experience, background knowledge, ability to look beyond what is literally being
said, and imagination. The hidden message might be noticed right away by some, but will not be

noticed by others until it is read a few times. This implies that the pictures and illustrations not
only are there to complement the story, but to make picture books a work of two types of text
working together to get a larger idea across to the reader.
Reading is not just defined by seeing and understanding words, it is also reading and
understanding pictures, and understanding the connection made in the story. Often things are
read and interpreted as true, or trustworthy, especially in the minds of children and young adults.
Young minds are not only constantly soaking up information, but questioning, reflecting, and
comparing to their own lives. The audience of this book must also have the tools to dissect and
interpret pictures, as well as analyzing words. Nodelman and Reimer (2003) explained how,
viewers must consider not only the beauty of the pictures but also how they contribute to an
unfolding knowledge of the story theyre part of (p.278). On page 5 of the book, the top left
story Seeing Things shows the illustration of the boy in the train alongside an old woman. The
old woman resembles the robber in the jail uniform found in the Udder Chaos story. Here is an
example of how Macaulay (1990) is showing how illustrations are just as powerful and
influential as text. The illustrations are taking on their own story by being used as the connection
between the four separate stories, its contextual knowledge that allows viewers to look at a
picture, recognize part of it as a representation of something familiar, (Nodelman and Reimer
2003, p.286). In Seeing Things the illustrations also show the images of cows in front of the
train. Here another connection is being made between two of the shorter stories. After
synthesizing these images, an argument can be made on how these work together with the title
Seeing Things. The reader is seeing different images and how they relate to the other stories.
Another image that starts showing up in the different stories is the newspaper. In A Waiting
Game civilians are seen holding up newspapers, appearing to be reading to pass the time while

waiting for the train. In Problem Parents a newspaper is seen stuffed in a briefcase, then
parents reading the newspaper on the couch. The image of the newspaper gets transformed when
the parents start wearing it as a costume, and then less and less people are seen reading the
newspaper while waiting for the train. When reading, it is through the pictures that the
connection between the stories started to appear to me. This leaves the question of why those
images were there and the significance as to what they meant. What was being perceived as
something different slowly starts to become the same through the use of illustrations.
Macaulays (1990) Black and White not only plays with imagery by paying close
attention to details, but also with the idea of different points of view and standards of concepts of
print. Instead of writing using quotes or creating a lot of different characters, Macaulay is able to
designate different points of view through seemingly completely different stories. Nodelman and
Reimer (2003) said that viewers understand events differently when they see them from
different points of view, (p. 291). Macaulay manipulates and pushes this idea by not only
creating different points of view, but seemingly different stories. It is not till the end of the story
that connections can be made to see how the stories relate. What appears to be a different story
slowly emerge as different points of view about one situation. What is left up to the reader is
how those connections are made. These four different sections appear in the way that the reader
will read from top to bottom, left to right. Did Macaulay intentionally select each story in a
particular place, or was it an inadvertent decision? According to Nodelman and Reimer (2003)
they claimed that viewers have learned to expect heavier objects to sink, the bottom of a picture
usually suggests more weight than the top (p.290). The idea that traditionally images have a
heavier emphasis at the bottom is challenged in this book, because of the placement of the four
sections. This idea shows that the images are playing just as an important role in the story telling

as the words are, if not a greater significance. Was Macaulay (1990) intending for readers to read
the stories in any particular order, or as it makes sense to the reader? The interesting part of
creating and placing images in this way is the room for interpretation that is allowed. There does
not appear to be a right or wrong way to read the images. The way the images are presented
allow for readers to see the connection between what appeared to be unrelated at the beginning.
By visually allowing readers to make connections, it shows the significance that illustrations play
when one considers text.
Macaulay (1990) plays with a lot of traditional picture book ideas which transform Black
and White into a book that is full of a lot of different complex stories. Macaulay (1990)
demonstrates how stories are not just told with words, that there are a vast number of details that
can be explained and one left to wonder about through illustrations and images. Separately and
collectively the images work to make connections and show how the themes and ideas of the
story come together. Macaulay (1990) creatively uses images to manipulate the reader by
creating four visually different stories, but then works together to show how they are intermixed.
It is left up to the reader to make connections and ask questions about the images that are seen.
The idea of text in this book is shown through images and illustrations which is a spin on
traditional text. Macaulay (1990) uses pictures to relay a message and relies on the reader to
make observations and connections through the transitions of the pictures. The pictures in his
story are working independently and collectively to show multiple sides of one situation.
Macaulay (1990) has manipulated the way text is traditionally read by his use of four separate
stories that are made to show different perspectives happening during one situation. In doing so,
Macaulay (1990) is expecting that readers will be able to find and make these connections,
making for a sophisticated read of a picture book.

Works Cited
Macaulay, David. Black and White. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
Nodelman, Perry, and Mavis Reimer. "Picture Books." The Pleasures of Children's Literature.
New York: Longman, 2003. 274-301.