Journey…A Story Told Through Pictures
Journey by Aaron Becker
My mom and I collect Caldecott and Newberry Medal and Honor books. So, when she sent me this book Journey by Aaron Becker, I was drawn to opening the book right away. The cover of a girl on a boat headed toward a castle is elaborately drawn, which draws the reader in and leaves the reader wanting to see what this unique book is all about. The title page shows a girl on a red scooter. The next couple pages show the girl in different pictures where she is alone.
At about this point, the reader begins to notice that this book is a story told through pictures. The girl draws a door with her red crayon that she walks through into a beautiful forest. The reader then see her at a dock where she draws a boat and she floats toward an intricately drawn castle . In the castle structure she finds herself at waterfall, so she draws herself a hot air ballon. The girl sees some people in a flying machine trying to catch a magnificent purple bird. They catch the bird and put it in a cage. She recuses the bird and releases it. The people catch the girl, throw her red crayon into the sky and put her in a cage. The purple bird catches the red crayon and brings it the girl. The girl draws a red carpet and the two soar through an Arabian nights type of setting.
The bird and the girl come upon a door in a tree drawn in purple. The girl and the bird go through the door to find a boy with a purple crayon. They use their crayons to draw wheels for bike and they ride away together with the bird flying above them.
Activities
This book lends itself well to a discussion about how stories can be told through all different types of mediums: hands (pantomime), movement (dance), pictures, music (musicals), words, and other mediums.
One of my favorite things about this book is how the girl uses her red writing utensil to create the story she wants to see happen. For students who love to draw, I would use this book to encourage them to create a book that tells a story. I would encourage students to watch this video where the illustrator talks about the process that he went through to illustrate the book: Aaron Becker.
Ideas for stories created with illustrations:
Students could create a story using illustrations based on a story that they already have in mind.
Students could follow the format set up in Journey where the character uses something like a writing utensil to change settings based on where the character wants to go next in the story.
Since this is a travel/education blog, I think that another story that could be created using illustrations is a story based on a trip that a student has taken. If a student does not enjoy drawing, the student could use pictures taken from the trip. The student would need to be mindful while taking pictures on the trip that the pictures need to be taken in such a way that the pictures can be brought together to tell a story without words.
Fun Facts
This book is the first book in a series of three books. The following link has information about Becker’s books: Aaron Becker books.
Becker also provides resources for parents and educators.
