The cover says, "It's easy and fun!" Ha! Kindergarten to 2nd graders will have a good time with this earnestly absurd story. It's really more of an instruction book, so it could probably use a disclaimer, but I'm glad there's not one. If a kids asks to borrow your old garden hose, you'll know what they're up to... ( )

The narrator, unable to go tot he Moon to plant sunflowers to cheer the moon up, brainstorms a plan to bike to the moon to pant sunflowers. He writes a 24-step plan to gather the necessary materials, connect a hose from the earth to the moon, bike safely there, plant flowers, and return to earth.
Science Fiction, as the fact given to get to the moon are accurate, however it is unrealistic to actually excecute.
Medium: colored pencil, ink

Visual Literacy and the Look of the Book – Learning to Read the Pictures
After examining the Artistic Technique PDF, select a picture book from any of the lists or the slide show and answer the following in complete sentences. If you wish you may respond on this document but be sure to be sensitive to spacing for the reader.
TITLE OF BOOK: How To Bicycle to the Moon To Plant Sunflowers

AUTHOR: Mordicai Gerstein

ILLUSTRATOR: Mordicai Gerstein

Copyright: 2013 Publisher: Roaring Book Press

Artistic Technique: (Book Jacket, back of Title Page may reveal technique used)

What medium or technique has the artist used? (watercolor, pastels, ink, oil, acrylic,
collage, paper cut, pencils, charcoal, etc.) Make an educated guess.
The
The artist seems to use pencil or pen drawings with ink or water color overlays. The .illustrator uses lines on certain pages to really add detail over the more general inking or watercolor.
Why has this technique been selected? What is the book’s theme? The choice of technique often relates to the book’s theme
The technique allows for an element of realism and silliness which correaltes to an instructional book about biking to the moon. The theme is to dream and plan big. The art goes along with the step by step instructions to build a catapult, ride a line of hoses to the moon on a bike, negotiate the support of NASA, your neighborhood and parents and finally bike to the moon to plant sunflowers.
What is the relationship between mood, setting, time or feeling and the technique and/or use of color?
The mood of the story and the technique of the drawing makes for a blurred reality between the reality of an instruction book and the zaniness of the subject. The drawings are very light and comic book like which goes with the theme of the book.

Artistic Style: (It is the arrangement of line, color, shape perspective and texture into a visual image based on the artist’s skill and vision of the text)
Determine the illustrator’s style


Cartoon (playful distortion of reality in flat two-dimensional figure –
Think Cartoons/Comics!)

The illustrator used a comic book style for this book. It allows for a blending of reality and fantasy that goes with the story.

Design, Composition and Layout:

Has the artist selected a vertical or a horizontal format for the book? (Does the action go across the pages from left to right /horizontal or does it travel up and down/vertical?)
The action in the book is verticall. There is a range of panels from one to two panels of action on each page

How does this format affect the content (plot/action) of the story?

It works in two ways. One is that it is supposed to be instruction so it is numbered and follows roughly the format of instructions you would get in a boxed item. Second the story is about going to the moon which is traveling up into the sky and then returning home.
7. Does the vertical or horizontal format change? If so, why do you think this decision was
made?
No
8. Does the artist use graphic design and motifs throughout the whole book? (Graphic design is how the text and pictures are organized on the page. Motifs are repetitive designs, frames, borders….) Describe any that you see.

The graphics are set up to best give the instruction with the illustration highlighting showing what would need to be done to complete this step. There are times when the set up of the text and picture reflects what’s happening in the story. For example, the majority of wording is leveled horizontal on the page. Yet when he is floating out in space the text begins to be written crooked across the page. The illustrator uses borders for the instructions when he is on the ground. Once he heads towards space the borders disappear and goes to full page pictures. This lasts until he starts to head back towards earth.

Front Art
Do the endpapers have a special design or color? (endpapers are the pages right after the front cover and before the back cover. Describe what you see.
No they are simple yellow pages
Does the title page contain special art? Describe. The title page shows the boy with his bicycle staring up at a sad moon who is sighing. The boy is looking in awe of the moon.

11. What does the title page art reveal about the story? Infer.
The title page brings you into the story and why it was written. It lets you know that the boy thinks the moon looks sad and is planning on doing something about it. The boy stands with his bicycle and you are left to wonder how he is going to bike to the moon.

12. Posture: (Body language and facial expression.)
What are the facial expressions and/or body languages of all of the characters?
The body language and facial expressions really relate the thoughts of the characters throughout. The main character seems overly eager and pleased throughout the book. The illustrator drew him with a toothy grin which really bring this out. People who support him in the book are viewed with wide smiles while his parents showing either concern or reluctance are drawn with tight lips.

13. Point of View: (The perspective created by camera angle. Tilt up is making the character strong, powerful and vice-versa for weakness. This could be used for propaganda purposes.) Does the artist use different perspectives? Does the artist through point of view influence how the reader looks at the characters or scenery? Describe.

There is only one point of view and that is pictured on the boy. We are brought into his mind as he comes up and puts together his plan for reaching space. For example while he is in space we only see what he is doing and not what his parents, friends or neighbors are doing. The one way we get perspective on how others in the story feel is through their expression, thought bubbles and words. His best friend who needs to help him put together his giant sling shot shows her unhappiness through her words and her facial expression

14. Props: (The artifacts in a frame that helps the reader to understand something about the lifestyle of the characters and the story's time and setting.) Describe the props and state how they compliment the setting and time.

The props are all the items the boy will need to carry out his plan. They are simple items that a child would think to use to fly to space including a bicycle with yellow streamers on the ends of the handlebars, bike tires, an anchor, a tractor, a flagpole, compost, a space suit, seeds, hose, etc. The props speak to the simple plan of the boy yet they are creatively put together to add to the humor of the book.
15. Position: (The position that a character occupies in a frame may indicate something
about the significance of his or her role in the story. Pay attention to the characters in the foreground and in the background.) Using an example from the book, describe a character's position and explain how it emphasizes the significance of the story situation.

The perspective of the camera angle though highlights what is happening in the story. For example, when the main character is feeling lonely in space, he is drawn in the foreground while earth is drawn far away. Another example is how much his body takes up the frame. As the main character asks his parents for permission, he is drawn bigger and bigger in the frames as he continues to ask permission.

Social Representation and Cultural Context: (This may not apply in the book you examined)
16. Are their social stereotypes present in the story? How might the gender or race of the illustrator or author influence the story? Are the gender representations fair and balanced in terms of both the number of characters and what they actually do? Are the ethnic representations phony or realistic?
The author is a man and writes a story from a boy’s perspective. This may have come from his own experience as a young boy and his wonderings. There is a split between the genders. There are only a few people of color drawn in the story and they aren’t engaged in activities that would be considered over stereotyped.

17. If the story is set in another culture, do the story and the artwork accurately and fairly represent their traditions, perspectives and culture? No
Describe and give examples.

Beyond the TEXT

18. What information do you find in the pictures that are not in the text of the story?

The pictures really pair with the words but give added detail Without the illustration, the story would be confusing. The illustrations add to the story by adding in details such as what it looks like to build a giant slingshot using two trees, bike tires and a tractor. As he bikes through the air we see what else he is biking by such as airplanes, eagles and other birds. The illustration also give a sense of time by showing various times of day.

19. What details in the last picture reflect the meaning of the story?
The last picture brings the story full circle. The first picture showed the family looking up at the moon looking sad. The final picture shows the same image but the sun is smiling due to the sunflowers planted on the moon.

Visual Elements

20. Reflect on the significance and the effect of some (not all) of the visual elements used by the artist. The last slide in Artistic Technique Slide Show will help you decide on the significance of some of the following: dot, line, texture, scale, direction, hue, shape, motion, saturation, value and dimension.

The artist uses scale throughout to give you a sense of how big of a task this is. The boy is often drawn tiny compared to what he is building. Scale is also used to give a sense of the boy’s emotions. When he is feeling positive about his journey he looms large in the illustration. Other times his size seems more in scale with the distance of his trip.

What new information have you learned about graphic novels, early/beginning readers, early chapter books and novels with pictures? How might this knowledge affect your teaching practice?

Reading through the slideshow made me appreciate the idea that graphic novels aren’t a way to “turn on” students to reading but a legitimate form of reading in their own right. I always separated in my mind my comic book reading from my “school reading’. I am very interested in reading the graphic novels that are listed as adding relevance to a language arts class so I can incorporate these into my class. I am also amazed at the growth in this area from when I read Maus as a kid and sought more graphic novels.

A very simple take on what a child might think it takes to get to the moon.

Summary: This story is all about a child whose parents tell him that the moon looks sad. His parents tell him it is because the moon is lonely and so he gets a wonderful idea. He decides that the moon needs a friend and that he would like to ride his bicycle to the moon and plant sunflowers on it! The remaining 20 pages consist of a step by step plan how he believes he will get to the moon on his bicycle so that he can make the moon happy and plant sunflowers on it.

Uses: It is a really great story that I would use to show listing and step by step instructions. I also would use it as a book for enjoyment just to amuse the students.

Genre: Fantasy- This book fits the fantasy genre because the boy in the story attempts to ride his bike to the moon. He creates an amazing plan so that he can plant sunflowers on the moon.

Media: Pencil sketches and watercolor