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Writer's Room => Picture Books (PB) => Topic started by: JodyJS on August 17, 2010, 01:11 PM
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I need your help! Again. :yup
I'm trying to think of PBs written in the third person omniscient POV, where the narrator gets inside all the characters' heads, not just one character's head. Rare, I know, for PBs. Still, I can't believe there aren't any.
Can you help?
:thankyou
Jody
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Every fiction PB I've sold has been omniscient POV. Most fairy and folk tales are. I just checked LOUD EMILY by Alexis O'Neill--that's omniscient POV. It's pretty common, actually.
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Curious George? Frog and Toad? Harvey's Hideout (by Russell Hoban)? Duck and Goose?
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I'm pretty sure a few Dr. Seuss books are....?
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Wow! I guess I thought most PBs would have been written in third person limited or third person close (inside ONE character's head more than the others), rather than third person omniscient (inside ALL characters' heads equally).
I agree the Frog and Toad books are probably examples of 3rd person omniscient. But "Amazing Grace," for instance, is in third person limited. We don't get inside the head of Grace's Nana or Ma, even though they are part of the story.
Could one make the argument that books with titles that include the MC's name are probably not third person omniscient? Therefore, "Curious George" would not be third person omniscient.
Any more examples of third person omniscient?
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Hmm....Dr. Seuss. I'll have to see if we have one lying around.
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I think most PBs are written in third-person omniscient but not with multiple POVs, which is what I think you're asking about. I can't think of any PBs with multiple POVs! But I'm sure there must be some.
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That's a fine line, isn't it! Telling a story by getting inside several characters' heads vs. telling a story from several characters' viewpoints. Is it the same thing?
I need caffeine.
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PS I could be wrong, but from what I remember of Curious George we don't get into the heads of the other characters, so I'd say it's omniscient third-person, but a CLOSE omniscient third-person. We're in his head, we know his motives and so on, but we also know, for example, that when he's opened the bunny's cage, the bunnies are escaping, even when he doesn't know that. So that's why it's omniscient.
I found this, which might be useful:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/33167
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If you tell a story from different viewpoints, it's the same as getting inside several characters' heads. At least, with my morning head on, that sounds right!
Although... I guess it's all in the style. Consider this:
Sarah felt very tired. I need coffee, she thought.
When Jane arrived, Sarah was happy to see her.
Jane noticed the dark shadows under Sarah's eyes. She's not sleeping properly, she thought.
"Hi!" Sarah said, trying to remember if she'd fed the cat.
The cat meowed. It was hungry and bored.
Is that omniscient? Or is it from different POVs? I think it's from different POVs. I think omniscient might be more like this:
Sarah felt very tired. She made herself a coffee to wake up a little.
When Jane arrived, Sarah was happy to see her.
Jane noticed the dark shadows under Sarah's eyes. She guessed that Sarah wasn't sleeping properly.
"Hi!" Sarah said. Her mind, however, was on other things – whether or not she'd fed the cat.
The cat meowed. Sarah hadn't fed it or paid it any attention for two days.
I think those might be rubbish examples, but it kind of helped me!
And now for more coffee...
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Thanks for the link, Franziska! I found this one, too. http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/omniscient.htm
I think if the narrator expresses the thoughts and feelings of many/all the characters = third person omniscient and = multiple PsOV.
Your examples are very close to one another, in my mind, with perhaps just differences in style. One uses "thought," the other uses "guessed," for instance. Maybe these are examples of different VOICES, but the same points of view = omniscient. Oy! :)
My guess is this style of writing is far more prevalent in works for older kids, rather than in works for the PB crowd, which is why I asked. I agree with Ellen that fairytales are probably written in 3rd person omniscient POV.