This book situates the picturebook genre within the widespread international phenomenon of crossover literature, examining an international corpus of picturebooks — including artists’ books, wordless picturebooks, and celebrity picturebooks — that appeal to readers of all ages. Focusing on contemporary picturebooks, Sandra Beckett shows that the picturebook has traditionally been seen as a children’s genre, but in the eyes of many authors, illustrators, and publishers, it is a narrative form that can address any and all age groups. Innovative graphics and formats as well as the creative, often complex dialogue between text and image provide multiple levels of meaning and invite readers of all ages to consider texts that are primarily marketed as children’s books. The interplay of text and image that distinguishes the picturebook from other forms of fiction and makes it a unique art form also makes it the ultimate crossover genre. Crossover picturebooks are often very complex texts that are challenging for adults as well as children. Many are characterized by difficult "adult" themes, genre blending, metafictive discourse, intertextuality, sophisticated graphics, and complex text-image interplay. Exciting experiments with new formats and techniques, as well as novel interactions with new media and technologies have made the picturebook one of the most vibrant and innovative contemporary literary genres, one that seems to know no boundaries. Crossover Picturebooks is a valuable addition to the study of a genre that is gaining increasing recognition and appreciation, and contributes significantly to the field of children’s literature as a whole.

This book situates the picturebook genre within the widespread international phenomenon of crossover literature, examining an international corpus of picturebooks — including artists’ books, wordless picturebooks, and celebrity picturebooks — that appeal to readers of all ages. Focusing on contemporary picturebooks, Sandra Beckett shows that the picturebook has traditionally been seen as a children’s genre, but in the eyes of many authors, illustrators, and publishers, it is a narrative form that can address any and all age groups. Innovative graphics and formats as well as the creative, often complex dialogue between text and image provide multiple levels of meaning and invite readers of all ages to consider texts that are primarily marketed as children’s books. The interplay of text and image that distinguishes the picturebook from other forms of fiction and makes it a unique art form also makes it the ultimate crossover genre. Crossover picturebooks are often very complex texts that are challenging for adults as well as children. Many are characterized by difficult "adult" themes, genre blending, metafictive discourse, intertextuality, sophisticated graphics, and complex text-image interplay. Exciting experiments with new formats and techniques, as well as novel interactions with new media and technologies have made the picturebook one of the most vibrant and innovative contemporary literary genres, one that seems to know no boundaries. Crossover Picturebooks is a valuable addition to the study of a genre that is gaining increasing recognition and appreciation, and contributes significantly to the field of children’s literature as a whole.

New York Times bestseller ∙ Newbery Medal Winner ∙Coretta Scott King Honor Award ∙2015 YALSA 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults∙ 2015 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers ∙Publishers Weekly Best Book ∙ School Library Journal Best Book∙ Kirkus Best Book "A beautifully measured novel of life and line."--The New York Times Book Review "With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering, " announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander. Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.

A thought-provoking conversation about the diamond industry presented in words and pictures by the multi-award-winning creator of The Island and The Mediterranean. Mama, if I was to dig a hole in our garden, would I find a diamond? No, darling, there are no diamonds here. Where are diamonds, then? Oh, in other countries. In Africa for example ... A powerful parable that explores how the desire for endless riches perpetuates chains of inequality and corruption.

In this electric follow-up to Newbery Medal–winner The Crossover, soccer, family, love, and friendship take the field as twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Like lightning/you strike/fast and free/legs zoom/down field/eyes fixed/on the checkered ball/on the goal/ten yards to go/can’t nobody stop you/ can’t nobody cop you . . . Nobody can stop Nick . . . at least not on the field. Off it is a different matter. But helping him along as he deals with bullies and problems at home are his best friend and sometimes teammate Coby, and The Mac, a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read. This heartfelt novel-in-verse by poet Kwame Alexander bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion of a World Cup match!

From the New York Times best-selling author Kwame Alexander comes Rebound, the dynamic prequel to his Newbery Award–winning novel in verse, The Crossover. Before Josh and Jordan Bell were streaking up and down the court, their father was learning his own moves. Chuck Bell takes center stage as readers get a glimpse of his childhood and how he became the jazz music worshiping, basketball star his sons look up to. A novel in verse with all the impact and rhythm readers have come to expect from Kwame Alexander, Rebound goes back in time to visit the childhood of Chuck "Da Man" Bell during one pivotal summer when young Charlie is sent to stay with his grandparents where he discovers basketball and learns more about his family's past.

This volume discusses the aesthetic and cognitive challenges of modern picturebooks from different countries, such as Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and USA. The overarching issue concerns the mutual relationship between representation and narration by means of the picturebooks’ multimodal character. Moreover, this volume includes the main lines of debate and approaches to picturebooks by international leading researchers in the field. Topics covered are the impact of paratexts and interpictorial allusions, the relationship between artists’ books, crossover picturebooks, and picturebooks for adults, the narrative defiance of wordless picturebooks, the representation of emotions in images and text, and the depiction of hybrid characters in picturebooks. The enlargement of the picturebook corpus beyond an Anglo-American picturebook canon opens up new horizons and highlights the diverging styles and genre shifts in modern picturebooks. This tendency also demonstrates the influence of specific authors and illustrators on the appreciation of the picturebook genre, as in the case of Astrid Lindgren’s picturebooks and the picturebooks created by renowned illustrators, such as Anthony Browne, Wolf Erlbruch, Stian Hole, and Bruno Munari. This book will be the definite contribution to contemporary picturebook research for many years to come.