Visual text analysis - Six Dinner Sid

Visual Texts Analysis:

Six Dinner Sid
By Inga Moore

“Sid has six owners, lives in six houses and has six dinners a day. Since each owner believes that Sid is theirs and theirs alone, life is just about perfect… until the day his is found out!”

The cover of this book still entices me! A large black cat sitting on a wall looking completely content with life, and why… well next to him is a stack of six empty bowls. I must admit that even though I have read this book hundreds of times, I have only just realised the significance of the pile of plates!

This book is illustrated throughout using bright pastel colours, which contrast well with the title role, a black cat. The colour scheme does not seem to change much, even when Sid is in trouble. Instead the illustrations complement the words in the expressions on the characters faces and body language.

One of the aspects I enjoy about this book is the variety in size and location of the pictures. The first four pages consist of two double spread images giving different perspectives of the street where Sid lives, Aristotle Street. The wording on these pages is rather limited and it is left entirely for the pictures to set the scene. Sid can be found in every illustration, however often in the double spread pictures, such as these, he is not the focus, and is more likely to be found in a corner of the picture behaving like a typical cat. I feel that this is certainly intentional and helps in establishing his character as content and independent, as well as allowing space to explore the settings in which he lives.

A key aspect of this book is the repetition. Sid lives at six different houses, he has six different names, six different personalities, six different tickling spots, six different beds and of course, six different dinners! To add to the descriptions, there are often six small pictures on a single page to illustrate exactly what Sid’s six beds look like or where his six scratching places are. These groups of pictures add much to the interest and humour of the book. The narrative remains simplistic, but it is the various snap shots of Sid’s lives that set the scene and give an indication into character. Effectively, although the pictures complement the narrative, they also tell much of the story.

Sid is the only named character throughout the book, although his six owners are alluded to, it is primarily the pictures of these people and their homes that allows us to determine their characters. They vary from a typical old lady, to a rather butch looking lady to a slightly evil looking theatrical man. The only information the text gives regarding their personalities is in the names they each give to Sid (the dodgy looking man refers to Sid as Satan!)

Throughout the book their characters are developed slightly more through the illustrations. We learn about their social position by their chosen mode of transport and are allowed an insight into their character by their reaction to the news that five other people own Sid. Without the pictures, the reader would not gain this understanding.

Interestingly, most of the illustrations have a background, even if it is just shaded in, however on two occasions the background is absent. One of these is when Sid is being reprimanded by his six owners on discovering his secret. The other is on the last page of the book, where Sid has been accepted and more importantly feed by a new street as a six dinner cat. Upon reflection, I feel that the background is absent so as to not detract from the facial expressions and body language of the people pictured, emphasising their mood.

One aspect, which I have never noticed in his book before, is the possible social message the pictures portray. Aristotle Street is full of beautiful and carefully looked after homes, with hanging baskets, bay windows and a well-kept park. Essentially it is an upper middle class area where the neighbours don’t speak to each other. Sid’s second street is Pythagoras Place. In contrast to Aristotle Street, Pythagoras Place is on a small cobbled street lined with plainly built houses. In the background there are signs of industry and an old water tower. It does not really compare with the idyllic accommodation on Aristotle Street, however there is a clear sense of community and we understand that the locals actually speak to each other. Is this the underlying message which the pictures are trying to depict? The importance of a sense of community and that an area does not need to be affluent in order to achieve this. A slightly socialist interpretation… but who knows?

Alice The Red - it's always good when you see things you've never seen before: that means some learning has happened...