Tereza Rowe - MISTER PIP

I BOUGHT A NEW BOOK!

I keep seeing this book around and am always enthralled by the beautifully delicate illustrations. On a recent visit to the Tate, I got a copy of the book and now having read it, I can see that Tereza Rowe's lovely image making is complimented also my a similarly charming narrative. Taking us on a journey of all the mischief and troubles of a cat, Mister Pip, the narrative explores actions and sounds, perfect for an engaging early children's book. 

VISUAL DEVICES AND DECISIONS

A decision Rowe has made about composition is to allow scenes and actions to interplay across spreads. These ever-changing visuals drive the action-packed narrative and drive the pace of mischief and trouble. It is interesting also that Rowe has decided to use scale in her images to create a hierarchy. Logically, the little girl and cat wouldn't be too far different in size but Rowe chooses to scale down the little girl to enhance the prominence of Mister Pip, perhaps using the girl then as a visual device to explore a sense of observation. This seems to play to ideas and experiences children might have about their own pets, as such, creating an engaging narrative.

Texture is used throughout the book to mimic pencil crayon, contrasted by warm block colours that create a very fun and exciting tone of voice. Texture works to add visual interest to the more minor elements of Rowe's images, enhancing the impact of block shapes forming the base of each illustration. Variation in font size also works to enhance the sense of action and pace of the narrative, drawing attention to sounds and actions that children can mimic, again encouraging audience engagement.

This final spread explores a merging of all the components we have seen throughout the book, achieving a very busy scene only to highlight the adventures of Mister Pip. As a final spread, I think this works really well to encourage children to imagine the life of Mister Pip and or their own pets, and the exciting adventures thy may have, enabling the narrative to continue outside of the book.