Caldecott Illustration Analysis Re-do

1. A Ball for Daisy
by: Chris Raschka
Presentation by: Danielle Smith

2. Basic Information
• A Ball for Daisy
– Author: Chris Raschka
– Publisher: Random House
– 2012 Randolph Caldecott Medal

3. Style & Media
• Surreal visuals
• Daisy the dog looks like a cartoon version of a real life dog.
• A bit dream life, but realistic.
• This demonstrates the realness of the situation in the book as
it could really happen in reality.

4. Line
• Horizontal lines emphasize movement from one outing to
another during Daisy’s day (It is understood that we read left
to right in sequence, just like Daisy’s day is read from left to
right, top to bottom)
• Also demonstrates order and sequence. First, Daisy gets a new
ball, she then loses it, her day is altered, then she receives a
new ball.
• As you go through the pages, you can visually see the
sequences stated above coming to life

5. Shapes
• The shapes in this wordless book are quite simple
• This is visually appreciated by young readers of this book,
demonstrates the innocence of both the readers and Daisy
• The shape allows the visuals to be understood and identified
completely
• For example, the ball below is no longer round like a ball, but
deflated and bumpy as though it were flat

6. Color
• Other than Daisy herself, everything else is bright/
Achromatic.
• Colors used: green, blue & red; the dominant colors
• Visually appealing to the younger eye, stands out.
• Daisy’s ball is bright red and clearly is the most crucial
element in the story
• The colors stay consistent throughout the book, regardless the
emotion of Daisy

7. Texture
• Watercolor based texture
• Two-dimensional
• Clear brushstrokes
• Texture stays the same throughout the book
• The ball is the only thing not “see-through”, demonstrating
the critical importance of the ball

8. Composition
• Symmetrically dispersed pictures on each page, creating a
sense of sequence
• Background is white against colored pictures
• White space is used, no border
• The ball is the most vibrant and focused on in the illustrations
• Wordless book, so the sequence of the pictures tells the story
• Some pages show one setting, other pages show a sequence
of events