Crossover Picturebooks

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.

It is often assumed that picturebooks are for very young readers because of their emphasis on the illustrations and their scarcity of text; however, there are increasing numbers of picturebooks where the age of the implied reader is questionable. These are picturebooks whose controversial subject matter and unconventional, often unsettling style of illustration challenge the reader, pushing them to question and probe deeper to understand what the book is about. In addition to the book challenging the reader, the reader often challenges the book in an attempt to understand what is being said. These increasingly popular picturebooks work on many different levels; they are truly polysemic and worthy of in-depth analysis. They push the reader to ask questions and in many instances are intrinsically philosophical, often dealing with fundamental life issues. Challenging and Controversial Picturebooks examines these unconventional, non-conformist picturebooks, considering what they are, their audience and their purpose. It also considers: Children’s and adults’ thoughts on these kinds of picturebooks. How challenging and unsettling wordless picturebooks can play with the mind and promote philosophical thought. What creates non-conformity and strangeness ... is it the illustrations and their style, the subject matter or a combination of both? Why certain countries create, promote and accept these picturebooks more than others. Why certain picturebooks are censored and what factors are in play when these decisions are made. The role of publishers in translating and publishing these picturebooks. Children’s creative and critical responses to strange, unsettling and often disturbing visual texts. This inspiring and thought-provoking volume explores the work of a number of highly respected, international picturebook experts and includes an exclusive interview with the legendary Klaus Flugge, Managing Director of Andersen Press, one of the few remaining independent children’s book publishers in England. It is an indispensable reference for all interested in or working with picturebooks, including researchers, students in higher and teacher education, English advisors/inspectors, literacy consultants and classroom teachers.

Containing forty-eight chapters, The Routledge Companion to Picturebooks is the ultimate guide to picturebooks. It contains a detailed introduction, surveying the history and development of the field and emphasizing the international and cultural diversity of picturebooks. Divided into five key parts, this volume covers: Concepts and topics – from hybridity and ideology to metafiction and emotions; Genres – from baby books through to picturebooks for adults; Interfaces – their relations to other forms such as comics and visual media; Domains and theoretical approaches, including developmental psychology and cognitive studies; Adaptations. With ground-breaking contributions from leading and emerging scholars alike, this comprehensive volume is one of the first to focus solely on picturebook research. Its interdisciplinary approach makes it key for both scholars and students of literature, as well as education and media.

Translating Picturebooks examines the role of illustration in the translation process of picturebooks and how the word-image interplay inherent in the medium can have an impact both on translation practice and the reading process itself. The book draws on a wide range of picturebooks published and translated in a number of languages to demonstrate the myriad ways in which information and meaning is conveyed in the translation of multimodal material and in turn, the impact of these interactions on the readers’ experiences of these books. The volume also analyzes strategies translators employ in translating picturebooks, including issues surrounding culturally-specific references and visual and verbal gaps, and features a chapter with excerpts from translators’ diaries written during the process. Highlighting the complex dynamics at work in the translation process of picturebooks and their implications for research on translation studies and multimodal material, this book is an indispensable resource for students and researchers in translation studies, multimodality, and children’s literature.

In March 2015, the eleventh edition of The Child and the Book Conference was organized at the University of Aveiro in Portugal. The conference was related to the theme of fracture and disruption in children’s and young adult literature. This publication provides not only a synthesis of the main reflections, but also a starting point for understanding the issues of fracture and disruption within children’s and young adult literature. The volume gathers texts from consolidated figures within the field of research in Children’s Literature, as well as contributions from junior researchers, creating bridges and dialogue between both generations and critical and theoretical approaches. It includes chapters on violence, war, sexuality and politics, discussion around formal-stylistic perspectives, analysis of fringe works and hybrid literary forms as well as the issue of audience and the crossover universe. Special reference should be given to the inclusion of contributions from lesser-known countries and literatures such as Brazil, Italy, Norway, Poland, and Portugal. The volume will be of interest to children’s literature specialists, graduate and post-graduate students, librarians, and mediators of reading.

Der didaktische Wert von picturebooks für den Englischunterricht in der Grundschule gilt als unumstritten. Jedoch gibt es in Forschung und Unterrichtspraxis derzeit kaum Ansätze, wie der Transfer dieses vermeintlich kindlichen Literaturmediums in die Sekundarstufe gelingen kann. Dieser Band legitimiert picturebooks als komplex angelegte Textform, die sich auch mit fortgeschrittenen Lernenden zu kompetenz- und inhaltsorientierter Arbeit im Englischunterricht anbietet. Die im Band versammelten konzeptuellen und empirischen Perspektiven zeigen angehenden und praktizierenden Lehrkräften konkret auf, wie vielfältig picturebooks den Unterricht bereichern können. Eine große Bandbreite praktischer Beispiele verdeutlicht ihr Potenzial für den Englischunterricht der Sekundarstufen - von der Förderung verschiedener literacies und literarischen Lernens bis hin zur Fokussierung von Themen wie Umwelt, sozialer Gerechtigkeit oder kultureller Diversität.

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.

A COMPANION TO CHILDREN'S LITERATURE A collection of international, up-to-date, and diverse perspectives on children's literary criticism A Companion to Children's Literature offers students and scholars studying children's literature, education, and youth librarianship an incisive and expansive collection of essays that discuss key debates within children's literature criticism. The thirty-four works included demonstrate a diverse array of perspectives from around the world, introduce emerging scholars to the field of children's literature criticism, and meaningfully contribute to the scholarly conversation. The essays selected by the editors present a view of children's literature that encompasses poetry, fiction, folklore, nonfiction, dramatic stage and screen performances, picturebooks, and interactive and digital media. They range from historical overviews to of-the-moment critical theory about children’s books from across the globe. A Companion to Children's Literature explores some of the earliest works in children's literature, key developments in the genre from the 20th century, and the latest trends and texts in children's information books, postmodern fairytales, theatre, plays, and more. This collection also discusses methods for reading children's literature, from social justice critiques of popular stories to Black critical theory in the context of children's literary analysis.