Reading Contemporary Picturebooks takes a look at one of the most vibrant branches of children's literature - the modern picturebook. This exciting new book takes a sample of contemporary picturebooks and closely examines the features that make them distinctive and then suggests a way of characterising the 'interanimation' of words and pictures that is the essence of the form. The reasons for the picturebook's vitality and flexibility are also explored and the close bond between the picturebook and its readers is analyzed. Advances in our understanding of how visual images are organized are examined and the book concludes with an attempt to redescribe the picturebook in such a way that pictures, readers and text may be drawn together. Picturing Text will be of interest to students, teachers and researchers interested in reading, children's literature and media studies.

Despite being a source of continuing interest to educational scholars, research into the literary understanding of elementary school students has emphasized written materials over multimodal mediums such as picturebooks. Focusing on students in Grades one and five, this book describes children's interpretations of and responses to a variety of contemporary picturebooks, specifically those books that employ Radical Change characteristics and metafictive devices. In dealing with picturebooks, Sylvia Pantaleo seeks to show the ways in which literature teaches artistic codes and conventions, critical thinking skills, visual literacy skills, and interpretative strategies. Aside from investigating specific picturebooks, Pantaleo discusses the broader implications of reading, viewing, and creating print and digital texts in schools. These exercises, she argues, reflect the changing nature of communication and representation in the world of elementary school students. Incorporating postmodernism, social constructivism, and other theoretical frameworks, Pantaleo contextualizes her research and examines ways in which literature highlights broader social and cultural characteristics. An extensively researched look at the pedagogical value of literature in the classroom, this book introduces new dimensions to discussions of contemporary picturebooks in elementary education and the social nature of intertextuality.

Discusses the place of the illustration in children's picture books, looking particularly at how pictures can express abstract themes, such as moods, which cannot be shown directly. Uses examples from well-known works to illustrate the points discussed.

"This is an enriched reference guide for picture books published by Canadian houses between 2017-2019. Chapters cover a brief history of picture books, key themes in contemporary Canadian titles (matching broad curriculum outcomes in education), and response activities, including frameworks for critical literacy discussions, along with annotated bibliographies that specifically recognize titles by Indigenous authors and illustrators. Also included are original interviews with a dozen rising stars in Canadian writing and illustration. While the book is specifically geared for educators, it also supports public libraries, research in Education, and future picture book creation as well as families who are interested in supporting reading development and related literacy activities in the home setting"--

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.

The picturebook is now recognized as a sophisticated art form that has provided a space for some of the most exciting innovations in the field of children’s literature. This book brings together the work of expert scholars from the UK, the USA and Europe to present original theoretical perspectives and new research on picturebooks and their readers. The authors draw on a variety of disciplines such as art and cultural history, semiotics, philosophy, cultural geography, visual literacy, education and literary theory in order to revisit the question of what a picturebook is, and how the best authors and illustrators meet and exceed artistic, narrative and cultural expectations. The book looks at the socio-historical conditions of different times and countries in which a range of picturebooks have been created, pointing out variations but also highlighting commonalities. It also discusses what the stretching of borders may mean for new generations of readers, and what contemporary children themselves have to say about picturebooks. This book was originally published as a special issue of the New Review of Children’s Literature and Librarianship.

This book describes the fascinating results of a two year study of children's responses to contemporary picturebooks. Children of primary school age, from a range of backgrounds, read and discussed books by the award-winning artists, Anthony Browne and Satoshi Kitamura. They then made their own drawings in response to the books. The authors found that children are sophisticated readers of visual texts, and are able to make sense of complex images on literal, visual and metaphorical levels. They are able to understand different viewpoints, analyse moods, messages and emotions, and articulate personal responses to picturebooks - even when they struggle with the written word. With colour illustrations, and interviews with the two authors whose books were included in the study, this book demonstrates how important visual literacy is to children's understanding and development. Primary and Early Years teachers, literacy co-ordinators and all those interested in children's literature will find this a captivating read.