I am the same age as David Wiesner, and I am certainly in awe of him, for I do not have any friends who have experienced this much success in their chosen field of endeavour. He has won the Caldecott medal three times! Wow! Each of his books is so different from the one before. There is no 'sameness' about his books. The winning books are Tuesday which won the 1992 medal, The Three Pigs which won in 2002 and Flotsam in 2007.
Wiesner's books have minimal text and rely very heavily on visual literacy and the reader's ability to read pictures and then make inferences and connections. The layout of his illustrations varies with every double-page spread. Nothing is predictable or governed by a preconceived pattern. I love the surrealism, especially in Flotsam, but my favourite is The Three Pigs. I love the way Wiesner uses white, perspective and literary and artistic imagery. This book reminded me of David Macaulay's books, so I wasn't surprised when I read that he taught Wiesner at art school and then read that this book is dedicated to Macaulay.
You too, can read the article at www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/wiesner/ .
Read tomorrow's entry to find out about Daniel Postgate.
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