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Communication
Aliki. 1993. Communication. New
York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 0688105297.
This short book is a primer about the basics of communication written
at a child's level. Aliki uses simple text and an abundance of
colorfully illustrated examples to explain this concept.
Aliki has packed her informative text with details about the process of
communication. The book starts out with a basic definition, and then
moves into examining the different aspects such as who communicates,
how they do it, and the emotions involved in the give-and-take. The
author adeptly informs the reader of each new concept to be discussed
by using headings that flow into each other. For example, one page is
headed by "We communicate through language" (Aliki, unpaged). The
illustrations on this page show children talking, speaking, writing,
and reading. The next page is headed by "But..." (Aliki, unpaged), and
contains examples of communication that are not language, such as a
baby rejecting food by showing his displeasure in a facial expression.
The following page is titled "There are other ways" (Aliki, unpaged),
and shows vonverbal forms of communication such as cavepaintings,
modern symbols, and physical gestures. Taken together, these headings
seem to form a text of their own. This book is an excellent example of
a book for browsing, as each page offers choices of information that
can be read alone, such as the headings, short bits of text, and
captions in the illustrations.
Although filled with information about the mechanics of communication,
Aliki uses her illustrations to focus on the aspect of human emotion
that is such a factor in communication. She shows examples of
etiquette, problems with miscommunication, and characters who
understand their own emotions by writing in a diary. Bush commented on
this aspect of the book in her review by stating, "There is an inherent
message throughout the book that the principles and problems of
communication are universal human experiences."
Aliki uses cartoon-like, full color illustrations that are shown in
both strips and full pages. The blocks of pictures and bright colors
make them very eye-appealing. McCoy stated in her review, "The vivid
illustrations represent a variety of ethnic groups and a wealth of
emotional textures." Text and caption are differentiated by having the
text typed and the captions printed in the author's own handwriting.
Another feature of the book is small animals at the bottom of each page
that add relevant quips. The endpapers also include illustrations and
examples of the sign language alphabet, braille alphabet, and upper and
lowercase alphabet. Notes on the Cataloging-in-Publication page inform
the reader that the illustrations were done in watercolor, colored
pencils, and a black pen. There are no further access features.
This book is certainly about a topic that has not been explored much in
print for this level of reader. Although McCoy states in her review,
"Youngsters may enjoy the illustrations and grasp a point or two, but
it is unlikely that independent readers will seek it out," a skilled
teacher will be able to use this text to work with students to give
them an excellent grasp of the subject matter. It is an excellent
starting point for exploring many other aspects of communication in our
world today.
Bush, Margaret A. 1993. Booklist: Nonfiction. Horn Book Magazine 69(3). In
EBSCOHost (database online). Available
from http://search.epnet.com/login.asp. Accessed 11 April 2005.
McCoy, Jody. 1993. Book review: Preschool and primary. School Library Journal 39(4). In
EBSCOHost (database online). Available
from http://search.epnet.com/login.asp. Accessed 11 April 2005.
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