The quote is from Arnold Lobel’s essay, “A Good Picture Book Should . . .” in which the author and illustrator is at first understated and equivocal about what makes a picture book good. Soon his opinion comes into focus, and Lobel (1933-1987) expresses that the best picture books are self-contained sanctuaries filled with good feeling and positive thoughts. “When I am brought low by the vicissitudes of life, I stumble to Zemach or Shulevitz . . . Goffstein or Marshall . . .Steig or Sendak. I always feel much better.”
Lobel’s position, even limited to the domain of children’s picture books, may seem naive, aloof, or privileged at such a time as this—a time of suffering and fear, a time of pandemic and unrest. But Lobel’s position is deeper: he testifies to a book’s creative inevitability (it is purposeful and not arbitrary), he speaks for the author and illustrator’s emotional involvement in their subject, and he hopes for the connection with an appreciative reader—the child who consumes, ingests, chews up, and loves the book.
Perhaps, even at a time such as this, a picture book ought to be nice? “Now come out of this dark place.” (Uncle Elephant, 1981)
