Daniel Kelly - Picture Book: The Tale of The Dark Crystal

The Tale of The Dark Crystal is written by Donna Bass and Illustrated by Bruce McNally. The story is based on the film “The Dark Crystal” by Jim Henson and Gary Kurtz. First published in 1982, this picture book provides an engaging read aimed at a mature youth group. The stories are riddled with an essence of fantasy and imagination. Unlike many picture books there is a string emphasis on the use of written text. In order to understand this story the reader must also use the written component as the illustrations serve best as an aid to the powerful language. The illustrations are particularly useful for depicting the setting and even showing the extreme characters.

 

The written text is very dense and the reader must pay particular attention to the important names which are specific to the story. Words such as “urSkeks” and “urRu” provide a challenge even for the most avid reader as they do not conform to the rules of English written language.

 

The illustrations rely heavily on the use of very earthy colours with stronger colours reserved for emphasising important things or even the type of character. The illustrations are also focussed on depicting the emotions of particular characters in order to intensify particular situations. Common throughout most of the book is the presence of fear, shock and surprise. Towards the finish of the story more intense emotions such as happiness and tears and sadness are used. The intense detail in the illustrations allows for a great deal of attention. An Interesting observation of this book is the lack of page numbers.

This picture book has the potential to capture the imagination and fantasy of young adults and adults alike. There is a depth to the story that demands mature thought and ability.

Daniel C. Kelly