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ABSTRACT
Picturebooks have an important place in every primary classroom, and teachers use them in various ways to help children develop skills in reading and writing. This article provides a brief introduction for teachers who want to explore other ways of studying picturebooks: ways that enhance children's visual literacy. Picturebooks are unified artistic wholes in which text and pictures, covers and endpages, and the details of design work together to provide an aesthetically satisfying experience for children.
Note: In this article, the spelling picturebook-as one word-is utilized intentionally in order to emphasize the unity of words and pictures that is the most important hallmark of this type of book.
Visiting the children's section of a bookstore can be an experience of wonder and delight. Examining the many picturebooks, we find ourselves in the presence of beautiful art of every imaginable medium and style and an endless variety of stories. Contemporary picturebooks are now recognized as more than useful pedagogical tools or nursery entertainments: they are seen as unique combinations of literature and visual art, worthy of serious attention. This article outlines a model for picturebook criticism which focuses on the formal aspects and elements of the picturebook as an aesthetic object. It is intended for teachers and other educational practitioners who want an introduction to discussing the visual aspects of picturebooks with children.
WHAT IS A PICTUREBOOK?
Sutherland and Hearne (1977) suggest that "a picture book is one in which the pictures either dominate the text or are as important" (p. 158). Their goal is to define so as to include "the broadest possibilities of the genre" (p. 160). Stewig (1995) focuses on the "picture storybook, in which the story and pictures are of equal importance. The two elements together form an artistic unit that is stronger than either of them would be alone" (p. 9). The present discussion follows Kiefer's (1995) criterion of interdependence of text and illustrations and adds Marantz' (1977) elucidation: "A picturebook, unlike an illustrated book, is properly conceived of as a unit, a totality that integrates all the designated parts in a sequence in which the relationships among them-the cover, endpapers, typography, pictures-are crucial to understanding the book" (p. 3).
In semiotic terms, each part of the picturebook...