A lot of people at /r/whatsthatbook are looking for picture books

[conuly]

Although, for some inexplicable reason many of them straight up refuse to say "picture book" and will instead talk themselves into circles describing picture books instead.

Anyway, for what probably is a more explainable reason, lots of them falter when trying to describe what the artwork looks like. They'll either say "It's sorta like a cross between X and Y" or they'll say "It's weird/unusual/unique", which is a completely useless statement.

I've got a few standard questions I ask when I'm trying to get them to actually be clear, but I'm wondering if anybody has any other suggestions that might be helpful. 1. Are the images very realistic, somewhat realistic, or not realistic at all?
2. If they're not realistic, are they more cartoony or more abstract? Or maybe just lacking in detail?
3. You mention animals. Are these animals that are basically people, are they animals with some people traits like walking on two feet but not wearing clothing, or are they really just animals?
4. To your best guess, are the images photographed, collaged, drawn, painted with oil or watercolors, sketched without much detail...?
5. In some picture books, especially older ones, the images are on every other page instead of every page, or they're on every page but they only take up part of the page and the text is separate. In others, the images are on every single page and the text is on top of the images. Do you remember which it was in this book?
6. Were the images full-color, partial color, or black and white?
7. You say the images look like Roald Dahl. His books were illustrated by Quentin Blake, is your book on this list?

Also, don't want this getting buried in links: Compilation of Protests and Actions Against the UK Supreme Court

*********************

You can't lick a badger twice, but if you stare at the sea you'll eat your beans

Proofreader's Marks

The Secret Lives of Moths

A painter who lived in Depression-era Williamsburg captured the struggle of the neighborhood around him

Why Has America Ignored Its Best Addiction Treatment?

Study: bigots who hate one marginalized group increasingly hate all of them (Okay, but that top image is something, right?)

The killing of an autistic teen highlights potential police violence that people with disabilities face

Almost half of Americans are now exposed to unhealthy air pollution

A deadly E. coli outbreak hit 15 states, but the FDA chose not to publicize it

Hegseth pulled airstrike info from secure military channel for Signal posts (Again with this!?)

S&P 500 tumble as Trump ratchets up his attacks on Fed Chair Powell

Trump’s War on Measurement Means Losing Data on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change and More

Comments

[hilarita]

Thanks for the UK Supreme Court protests link.

[gingicat]

Hmm. From your questions, I'd describe a Todd Parr book like this:
1. Not abstract, but not realistic.
2. Definitely cartoony.
3. The rare animal sometimes walks like a human and sometimes doesn't.
4. Kinda like stick figures. No texturing at all.
5. Pictures on every page, full bleed, text on top.
6. Full color, no texturing, deep solid high-contrast colors.
7. They're on this list: https://www.toddparr.com/landing-page/todd-parr-books/

How'd I do?

[conuly]

I'm 95% sure that if anybody ever looks for a Todd Parr book they'll either say nothing but "weird colored people" or they'll say everything else and not mention the illustrations at all!

Though I don't think I've ever seen anybody looking for one of his books. Hm. You know, I genuinely don't know why some books are searched for over and over again and others almost never.

[magid]

Possible other question for describing a picture book could be about how much the art illustrates a story rather than carries the story in itself. Hrm. That's not worded so elegantly, but there's a difference in how much plot the pictures carry in some of the (admittedly not recent) picture books I have.

[conuly]

I absolutely understand what you're going for there!