{"id":13319,"date":"2026-10-23T10:12:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T02:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=13319"},"modified":"2026-10-23T10:13:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T02:13:42","slug":"on_david-wiesner_2021_03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2026\/10\/23\/on_david-wiesner_2021_03\/","title":{"rendered":"The third in a series of ten lec\u00adtures on David Wies\u00adner: Tues\u00adday (Part 1) \u2013 A Fan\u00adta\u00adsy Block\u00adbuster in a Pic\u00adture Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last time, we talked about the artist who is known as the \u201cmas\u00adter of word\u00adless books\u201d. His pic\u00adture book \u201cHur\u00adri\u00adcane\u201d has a lot of text and is actu\u00adal\u00adly semi-auto\u00adbi\u00ado\u00adgraph\u00adi\u00adcal, pre\u00adsent\u00ading the stan\u00addard of \u201cper\u00adfect child\u00adhood\u201d.<\/a>Today, let\u2019s read togeth\u00ader David Wies\u00adner\u2019s mas\u00adter\u00adpiece, \u201cTues\u00adday,\u201d which is almost a \u201cword\u00adless book.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

When we say this book is \u201calmost word\u00adless,\u201d we mean there are only a few words left. How many? Let\u2019s quick\u00adly flip through it. Let\u2019s say the page with the pic\u00adture is page 1, the copy\u00adright page is page 2, and the title page is page 3. Turn\u00ading to page 4, there\u2019s text: \u201cTues\u00adday evening, almost 8 pm.\u201d Mov\u00ading through three folios, we reach page 12, which says \u201c11:21 pm.\u201d Then, skip\u00adping three more folios, we reach page 20, which says \u201c4:38 am.\u201d Then, after four more folios, we reach page 30, which says \u201cNext Tues\u00adday evening, 7:58 pm.\u201d Turn\u00ading to the next page, the sto\u00adry ends with a pic\u00adture on page 32. Now let\u2019s look at the text togeth\u00ader:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Tues\u00adday evening, around 8 pm<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11:21 PM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4:38 AM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next Tues\u00adday at 7:58 PM<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

You see, it\u2019s only 29 words in total, includ\u00ading num\u00adbers, with\u00adout punc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtion, just record\u00ading time, so it\u2019s not sto\u00adry\u00adtelling at all. What kind of text is it then? Imag\u00adine this: if this were a movie, would\u00adn\u2019t this text sound like nar\u00adra\u00adtion? \u201cTues\u00adday night, almost 8 pm,\u201d tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock\u2026 time con\u00adtin\u00adues, the sto\u00adry unfolds\u2026 then a scene plays out, and the nar\u00adra\u00adtion comes again, \u201c11:21 pm,\u201d tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock\u2026 the sto\u00adry grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly builds to its cli\u00admax. You think, it\u2019s almost mid\u00adnight, a full moon night, in a remote town, should\u00adn\u2019t some\u00adthing mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous hap\u00adpen? \u2014Yes, *Tues\u00adday* tells such a mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous sto\u00adry. The whole book is pre\u00adsent\u00aded in a movie-like for\u00admat; the text in the movie is like nar\u00adra\u00adtion, in the book it\u2019s like chap\u00adter titles. So this almost word\u00adless book is rough\u00adly divid\u00aded into four chap\u00adters, plus the pro\u00adlogue, mak\u00ading it five parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tues\u00adday the pro\u00adlogue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Okay, now I\u2019ll try to describe these five parts. Please note that there are no stan\u00addard answers in a word\u00adless book; every\u00adone may see dif\u00adfer\u00adent things. So here, I\u2019m just pro\u00advid\u00ading a sim\u00adpli\u00adfied ver\u00adsion by A\u2011Jia, as a start\u00ading point for dis\u00adcus\u00adsion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with the first part. This part begins with the cov\u00ader. The most strik\u00ading ele\u00adment on the cov\u00ader is the clock tow\u00ader, its hands point\u00ading towards almost 9 o\u2019clock, indi\u00adcat\u00ading it\u2019s 9 PM. In the fore\u00adground are large lotus leaves, through which you can see a small part of a frog. Strange\u00adly, the frog is on the lotus leaf, while the leaf itself seems to be sus\u00adpend\u00aded in mid-air. In the dis\u00adtance, a house is lit up, and a large brown dog lies at the door\u00adway, look\u00ading up war\u00adi\u00adly\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turn\u00ading to the next page reveals a pre\u00adlude to the copy\u00adright page. The image is ver\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly divid\u00aded into three long sec\u00adtions, which are actu\u00adal\u00adly three con\u00adsec\u00adu\u00adtive shots. First, three frogs are rest\u00ading on lotus leaves with their eyes closed. These lotus leaves are close to the water\u2019s sur\u00adface, so they are not lotus leaves but water lily leaves. Then, in the sec\u00adond shot, the lotus leaf on which the dark-col\u00adored frog was rest\u00ading sud\u00adden\u00adly ris\u00ades into the air, and all three frogs open their eyes in sur\u00adprise. In the third shot, the dark-col\u00adored frog ris\u00ades high\u00ader and high\u00ader, and the green frog also begins to rise. The two frogs, one high and one low, seem to be com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adcat\u00ading, per\u00adhaps say\u00ading, \u201cHow strange,\u201d or \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d In real\u00adi\u00adty, there is a third frog that has\u00adn\u2019t risen yet, curi\u00adous\u00adly observ\u00ading from the side\u00adlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orig\u00adi\u00adnal title page of Tues\u00adday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The great\u00adest plea\u00adsure of read\u00ading such a word\u00adless book lies in dis\u00adcov\u00ader\u00ading the details with\u00adin the illus\u00adtra\u00adtions and then con\u00adjur\u00ading up your own sto\u00adry in your mind. Turn\u00ading to the title page, the scene sud\u00adden\u00adly becomes incred\u00adi\u00adbly qui\u00adet: a still blue sur\u00adface of water, a bloom\u00ading water lily in the cen\u00adter, a few lotus leaves beside it, and the lotus\u2019s reflec\u00adtion in the water. This tran\u00adquil scene, com\u00adpared to the three long, dynam\u00adic images just moments before, cre\u00adates a stark con\u00adtrast; the qui\u00adeter it is here, the more you feel some\u00adthing sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant is about to hap\u00adpen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first part, from the cov\u00ader to the pro\u00adlogue and then to the title page, con\u00adtains only a few illus\u00adtra\u00adtions, but already boasts many note\u00adwor\u00adthy details. Here, I main\u00adly intro\u00adduce the per\u00adspec\u00adtive and meth\u00adods for inter\u00adpret\u00ading these illus\u00adtra\u00adtions; it\u2019s impos\u00adsi\u00adble to cov\u00ader all the details. The lat\u00ader parts are far too numer\u00adous to list; I can only pro\u00advide a gen\u00ader\u00adal out\u00adline. To tru\u00adly enjoy this book, you must exam\u00adine it care\u00adful\u00adly your\u00adself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Okay, let\u2019s move on to the sec\u00adond part, \u201cTues\u00adday night, almost 8 o\u2019clock.\u201d This part uses four dou\u00adble pages. The first dou\u00adble page only has an image on the right page. It is three long hor\u00adi\u00adzon\u00adtal blocks, which are also three con\u00adsec\u00adu\u00adtive images. The cam\u00adera grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly zooms in from a dis\u00adtance, from sun\u00adset to moon\u00adrise. A tur\u00adtle lying on a piece of drift\u00adwood sud\u00adden\u00adly rais\u00ades its head, and you feel that some\u00adthing strange is about to hap\u00adpen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next three dou\u00adble-page spreads depict the frogs fly\u00ading from the pond all the way to the town. The tur\u00adtle men\u00adtioned ear\u00adli\u00ader, perched on the drift\u00adwood, sud\u00adden\u00adly retracts its head on the first dou\u00adble-page spread, watch\u00ading the frogs fly over\u00adhead with ter\u00adri\u00adfied eyes. Most amus\u00ading\u00adly, the frogs on the lotus leaves sit proud\u00adly, eyes wide, look\u00ading very solemn, like gen\u00ader\u00adals going into bat\u00adtle. On the next dou\u00adble-page spread, the frogs have flown to a place with tele\u00adphone poles, and in the dis\u00adtance, the clock tow\u00ader on the cov\u00ader can be seen. The night sky is full of frogs; nor\u00admal\u00adly, the sky is the birds\u2019 domain, right? Look at the three close-up panels\u2014the frogs are already flip\u00adping, swoop\u00ading, and chas\u00ading after birds, scar\u00ading crows into a fran\u00adtic flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hitch\u00adcock sur\u00adround\u00aded by flocks of birds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I high\u00adly rec\u00adom\u00admend watch\u00ading Alfred Hitch\u00adcock\u00ad\u2019s 1963 film *Birds*. It\u2019s a hor\u00adror film about birds sud\u00adden\u00adly attack\u00ading humans. David Wies\u00adner like\u00adly saw this movie as a child (he men\u00adtioned in an inter\u00adview that he\u2019d seen all of Hitch\u00adcock\u00ad\u2019s films). The scene of frogs scar\u00ading birds is prob\u00ada\u00adbly a trib\u00adute to Hitch\u00adcock, but in *Tues\u00adday*, the effect isn\u2019t scary; it looks like a fun\u00adny prank, quite com\u00adi\u00adcal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Turn\u00ading to the next dou\u00adble-page spread, the frog army has arrived in the town. The image is tak\u00aden from the frogs\u2019 side and slight\u00adly behind, look\u00ading towards the town. By this time, most of the hous\u00ades are dark, indi\u00adcat\u00ading that it\u2019s quite late, per\u00adhaps close to 9 pm as shown on the cov\u00ader. Why is it called an \u201carmy of frogs\u201d? Main\u00adly because of their impos\u00ading pres\u00adence and the over\u00adall atmos\u00adphere of the scene. From this angle, the lotus leaves look like fly\u00ading saucers, inevitably evok\u00ading thoughts of an alien inva\u00adsion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Okay, let\u2019s move on to the third part of the sto\u00adry. \u201c11:21 PM,\u201d the cam\u00adera shifts to an inte\u00adri\u00ador room. A man hav\u00ading a late-night snack dis\u00adcov\u00aders the frogs invad\u00ading the town. Look close\u00adly at the man; he\u2019s actu\u00adal\u00adly a self-por\u00adtrait of the author, David Wies\u00adner, look\u00ading ter\u00adri\u00adfied. But the frogs out\u00adside the win\u00addow seem rel\u00ada\u00adtive\u00adly friend\u00adly; one even smiles and waves a small paw in greet\u00ading, \u201cHi!\u201d\u2014well, the frogs seem to find it amus\u00ading. Next, the frogs fly\u00ading close to the house encounter an acci\u00addent. They crash into bed\u00adsheets and clothes dry\u00ading in the sun, some falling off lotus leaves. Look close\u00adly at the bed\u00adsheets; the frogs that hit them still man\u00adage to fly for\u00adward, so you can still see the frog\u2019s raised shape on the sur\u00adface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A detailed and humor\u00adous dou\u00adble-page spread from Tues\u00adday, Tues\u00adday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next two dou\u00adble pages are par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly inter\u00adest\u00ading. We see a group of frogs fly\u00ading into a house, some through open win\u00addows, oth\u00aders through the chim\u00adney. There are peo\u00adple inside; an old woman is watch\u00ading tele\u00advi\u00adsion alone, but she\u2019s already asleep. The frogs imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly take con\u00adtrol. One frog even picks up the remote and is chang\u00ading chan\u00adnels with its tongue; anoth\u00ader frog is admir\u00ading a land\u00adscape paint\u00ading on the wall in the upper right corner\u2014is it start\u00ading to miss the woods and pond? Per\u00adhaps the most inter\u00adest\u00ading detail is the cat in the low\u00ader left cor\u00adner, stand\u00ading at the door\u00adway on high alert, look\u00ading like it wants to attack but does\u00adn\u2019t dare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the fourth part, the big dog on the cov\u00ader final\u00adly starts attack\u00ading the frogs. It\u2019s \u201c4:38 AM.\u201d The dog first attacks a lone frog fly\u00ading close to the ground, which attracts an army of frogs that chas\u00ades after the flee\u00ading dog. Just as the frogs seem to have con\u00adquered the entire town and are com\u00adplete\u00adly invin\u00adci\u00adble, turn the page, and sud\u00adden\u00adly, the frogs start falling from the lotus leaves, some land\u00ading direct\u00adly on the rooftops. What hap\u00adpened? As dawn breaks and the town wel\u00adcomes its first rays of sun\u00adlight, the mag\u00adic van\u00adish\u00ades in an instant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next two dou\u00adble-page spreads depict an army of frogs that fell from the sky at dawn, hop\u00adping back to their pond. A close-up of a dark-col\u00adored frog is shown, perched on a lotus leaf, chin in hand, eyes wide with bewil\u00adder\u00adment, seem\u00ading\u00adly won\u00adder\u00ading, \u201cWhat hap\u00adpened?\u201d The next scene shifts to the human world: a town lit\u00adtered with lotus leaves, where a group of police offi\u00adcers are inves\u00adti\u00adgat\u00ading. A close-up of a detec\u00adtive crouch\u00ading on the ground stares at the lotus leaves, his hat askew, as if he\u2019s rack\u00ading his brains try\u00ading to under\u00adstand. A large dog and a small cat are beside him, but nei\u00adther can speak. Only a man eat\u00ading a late-night snack, still in his paja\u00admas, is being inter\u00adviewed by a tele\u00advi\u00adsion reporter, but the police are clear\u00adly unim\u00adpressed by his fan\u00adtas\u00adti\u00adcal tale, ignor\u00ading the frog-shaped clouds in the sky. Only the female reporter seems to be lis\u00adten\u00ading atten\u00adtive\u00adly. Who is she? Here\u2019s a lit\u00adtle secret: that lady is Kim, David Wies\u00adner\u2019s wife, a Kore\u00adan-Amer\u00adi\u00adcan sur\u00adgeon, haha\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The fifth part of the sto\u00adry, actu\u00adal\u00adly the epi\u00adlogue, leaves a cliffhang\u00ader: \u201cNext Tues\u00adday at 7:58 PM,\u201d and some\u00adthing else flies out of the barn\u2014the pigs have tak\u00aden to the skies too! What will hap\u00adpen to the fly\u00ading pigs? To find out, stay tuned\u2026 Well, almost 10 years lat\u00ader, David Wies\u00adner did indeed draw a book called *The Three Lit\u00adtle Pigs*, but that\u2019s anoth\u00ader sto\u00adry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here I\u2019ll give a quick, gen\u00ader\u00adal descrip\u00adtion of the illus\u00adtrat\u00aded sto\u00adry of *Tues\u00adday*. It\u2019s basi\u00adcal\u00adly about a group of frogs sud\u00adden\u00adly pos\u00adsessed by mag\u00adic who invade a small town at night. How\u00adev\u00ader, I can assure you that what I\u2019ve described is prob\u00ada\u00adbly less than a tenth of the orig\u00adi\u00adnal book. This is what makes word\u00adless books par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly chal\u00adleng\u00ading; you real\u00adly can\u2019t tell the sto\u00adry, and read\u00aders need a lot of patience to read it them\u00adselves. How\u00adev\u00ader, read\u00ading this kind of book does require some meth\u00adods and some under\u00adstand\u00ading of the author\u2019s back\u00adground and thought process. Oth\u00ader\u00adwise, you won\u2019t know what they were try\u00ading so hard to achieve, or what ben\u00ade\u00adfits chil\u00addren actu\u00adal\u00adly gain from read\u00ading this kind of book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Okay, that\u2019s all for today. In the next episode, we\u2019ll talk about why David Wies\u00adner cre\u00adat\u00aded these kinds of sto\u00adries and why these kinds of books won the Calde\u00adcott Medal.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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