Author: Aaron Becker
Illustrator: Aaron Becker
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2013
Length: 38 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Tags: Adventure, Award Book, Fantasy, Picture Book, K-5, Rebecca Cauthorn
Analysis:
Journey is a picture narrative which outlines the adventure of a young girl who is subject to the isolating nature of this world dominated by work and technology. Sad and lonely, she uses her imagination to take her on a journey which allows her to find companionship, the value of kindness, and the power of her own imagination. The illustrations in this book are completed with watercolor and pen.
At the beginning of the book, when the girl is in the world feeling lonely, the illustrations are all done in brown watercolor, apart from one object in each picture which is bright red. These objects, a scooter, a kite, and a ball, are just lying there. This is a symbol of her imagination—filled with potential, if put to use. At the beginning of the book, the girl is pictured on the page multiple times, showing a sense of desperateness and lack of control, as described by the code of diminishing returns. Similarly, she is often pictured within a rectangular frame, creating the sense that we are looking in to her world, not really a part of it.
The fact that the frames are rectangular could indicate that she is not very secure. Also, a lot of the pages have open white space, creating the sense of emptiness or loneliness in her world. Then, once she uses her imagination to open the door into a new, mystical world, the illustrations are in bright watercolors, and she is no longer depicted within a frame, and instead, the pictures take up the entire page, allowing the audience to feel as though they are a part of this world. This shift in the illustrations of the book demonstrate the shift in emotions of the girl and a change in what is possible for her. Where before she was confined to a world which had already determined what she could do, here she is capable of anything.
These bright watercolors demonstrate exhilaration and freedom. Even when she returns to her own world, she is no longer within a frame and instead, the illustrations (while still shades of brown) take up the whole page. I believe that this book can be used as a mirror for children, showing that even when they are bored or feel lonely or like they can’t do anything, there are infinite adventures out there, waiting to be explored.