THE PICTURES ON THE PAGES

I was never the type of kid that gravitated towards a bookshelf looking for a funny or interesting book to read. Instead, I looked for the book with the most interesting cover. That is because, for me, the words on the pages were indecipherable, but the pictures were. My name is Jonathan Greenberg and I was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of six. 

Reading was difficult and frankly, frustrating for me. It was a constant attempt to understand the symbols on pages followed by crushing failures over and over again. I knew I couldn’t read, but didn’t know why that was the case. When my teachers would read books out loud in school, I would listen closely to the words as they came out of their mouth and was able to memorize them and parrot them right back. But, it was the times that we were told to read to ourselves, that the pictures on the pages and illustrations became my lifeline. Even though I couldn’t decode any of the actual written words, I was able to use the images and my imagination to create my own plot and storyline. Sometimes, I didn’t have to attempt to read the book, as sometimes the images on the page could tell me everything that I needed to know. 

There was, however, one book that always intrigued me as a child and impacted me in a way that none other did; that was the children's edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.  I constantly found myself picking it up and staring at the covers and flipping through its pages. The cover had a visual of a submarine being latched onto by a giant squid. I wished to know what the words on the pages were actually saying, but the illustrations led me to my own fascinating version of the story. As a result, when I finally could read, this was the first book I picked up.

Once fully remediated and able to read and write proficiently, I realized I could use my imagination to create stories, not just with words, but also with my art. It became clear to me that my life’s journey, which began with art as my guide, would be full of this form of self-expression, and I knew I had to have a future with a career in art.

My love for art continued to grow as I got older. I realized that the most authentic way for me to express myself was through art. It started off by being just an activity and it grew into something more, much more. While some children played sports after school, I went to the art studio instead. My mom signed me up for art classes at a nearby arts center and it is there, combined with my teachers at school, that my pastime started to grow into my passion and future. 

As a child with dyslexia, I never even considered that books would have a place in my professional future. While I am currently a graduate level art student, my desire to tell a story led me to become an illustrator and co-author of a children’s book, Robby the Dyslexic Taxi And the Airport Adventure. There is no better feeling than knowing that my artwork just might be telling a story to a young child who can’t read,  just like Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea did for me.

Art is the driving force in my life and my days are filled creating pieces that reflect my story. There is not one type of art that I don’t enjoy creating and I’ll use whatever tools and materials I can get my hands on to make it. If I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, I would happily find a rock and use it to scratch images into a wall. It is this passion that I hope I bring to all my artwork, and that I will continue to bring to the children’s books that I co-create.