An Evaluation of the Graphic Design, Content and Writing A Style of Christian Books for Children by Kenyan Authors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the graphic design, content and writ- ing style of Christian books for children written by Kenyan authors. The graphical aspect looked at in-depth were the use of colour, picture mediums and picture types. The content studied in these books were the various values conveyed in the stories. The writing style studied was the characters used, plots, settings and styles in terms of repetition, humour, dialogue, rhyming words, songs, poems, riddles, exaggeration, Bible versus and proverbs. Ten books were chosen and studied. These books represented the five main Christian Publishing Houses that deal with books for children. The publishing houses are in alphabetical order, Christian Learning Materials Centre, Evangel Publishing House, Focus Publications, Paulines Publications and Uzima Press. The books studied were written in English and had to be picture books. The results of the research revealed that some of these books had a strong Chris- tian leaning in terms of values while others were purely for entertainment. Some of the books contradicted Christian values in terms of glorifying that which is wrong. The strongest Christian value that has been highlighted is the importance of prayer when in need, in the family and in confessing sin. Three other Christian values that have come out strongly are obedience, hard-work and generosity. These val- ues the researcher noted were important values in the African cultural set up. Christian values that do not appear at all in the stories are peace and gentleness. Findings of this study have revealed that graphically colour has been used spar- ingly on the book covers and in the illustrations within. Clarity and content are an issue that need improvement in some of the books. There is a limited selection in terms of picture mediums. This means only three mediums have been used, paint, lines and dots and colour pencil drawings. There is a need for more creativity and imagination in terms of content and design. The study in a nutshell discovered the need to improve in graphic design, con- tent and writing style of Christian books for children written by Kenyan authors. It is hoped that the recommendations will be taken seriously by publishers, writ- ers and graphic designers.