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Flame » in reply to Help me Mary Anne Kenobi, you're my only hope

Oh, gee...
Mary Anne — (archived)

Too much daVinci Code?

I was only talking about the gradual change of the light in the room, and the interspersement of the b&w plates. It's another psychological cue that it's bedtime, because the pictures mimic light changes subtly, as happens in nature. Not just "turn out the light and BLACK".

The b&w plates make it less noticeable, and act as cues of their own because we only see blacks, whites and greys in very low light. So those plates play with the physiology of the eye.

On the very last page, the pattern of lights takes the eyes in a circle. Round and round and round. Kind-of hypnotic, n'est-ce pas?

Also, the mouse moves around the room. But that's the "I Spy" aspect that encourages a child to study the book and get pulled into its fading light.

For 12-year-olds to realize that even the most innocuous pictures can have hidden purposes teaches them a little about advertising and media manipulation. If it can be there, and so effective, it can be anywhere.

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