Meg's Mummy, Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski |
This post will have some copyright-violating pictures of double-page spreads. I am showing these for the purposes of review and comment, OK? And I think these are good books, so I could even suggest you buy them.
Let's start with picture books. The two pages of a picture book spread can be used as a single entity or as two. If you use them as a single entity, there is often text on only one side (if there is any text at all).
What can rabbit hear? Lucy Cousins |
Mon ami crocodile, Fred Bernard |
This spread contains a surprise set up on the previous spread. To maximise the impact, most of the spread is taken up by a rather cryptic image and the surprise comes right at the end, a single word on the far right.
Wolves, Emily Gravett |
Amit az Orrszarvúkról Feltétlenül, Tudni Kell |
But the rule of the spread is notoriously pernicious in non-fiction. The amount of information on a topic is limited by the page design rather than the needs of the reader. Silly, isn't it? A hard topic is not allowed more space than a simple topic because they both have to fit onto the same sized spread.
On this page, Oswald Mosley is given as much space as Hitler!
Take me back, various authors, DK |
Volcano, Anne Rooney |
Working spreads are those which you are actually allowed to use as content (as the author). The first working spread is often pages 4-5, with the pages before that used up by gumph (official name 'prelims') such as the title page and perhaps a contents page.
The two pages of a double-page spread (dps) can be referred to as any of these:
a, b
l, r
v, r
left, right
verso, recto
In case it's not obvious, v, r refers to verso (=left), recto (=right).
To finish, here is a spread from my favourite picture book which makes supreme use of the double-page spread. Every spread is the same except for the toucan's eye, the beak, and the text. The shape of the die-cut pages, with the two halves of the spread struggling to get apart, embodies the sentiment of the book.
Le toucan jaloux, Bénédicte Guettier |
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Oh yes! Love it indeed! (Wish I had written that line!)
ReplyDeleteOh! so nice posting!Love it surprising
ReplyDeleteThanks