Lone Pine And The Arrival By Marisa Montes

Authors of picture books use various elements to appeal to the audience. Marisa Montes’ statement “The best picture books are warm, humorous, and can be read again and again. There must be something new to take away each time you read it. It has to hold up to multiple readings. There must be substance, depth and layering” is not true in every case because not every picture book will contain all of these elements. Some texts do not contain warm and humorous content, but are still considered to be ‘the best’ examples of this include Lone Pine and The Arrival. These books do not contain warm and humorous context but still deal with serious themes. However, texts that do contain humorous and warm content are still valuable; the Dr. Seuss series demonstrates this.

By having a serious theme addressed in the book not only will it have multiple readings but it may also contain depth, substance and layering. A picture book that best demonstrates this is Lone Pine by Susie Brown and Margaret Warner. This picture book tells the extraordinary tale of a pinecone saved from the battle of Lone Pine and its journey in becoming a national symbol of remembrance. This tale does not display any humour although it illustrates the importance of the war in Gallipoli, layering of the journey undertaken and illustration to support it. By Lone Pine being based on a true story, it allows the audience to be able to connect through both the illustrations and text due to the powerful and heart melting story. The story doesn’t need humour in order to be the successful. Lone Pine is not the only picture book that does not involve humour, however, it is still known as one of the best picture