Faculty of Humanities School of Translators and Interpretors 9809116e karirankin@mweb.co.za / The aim of this paper is to explore the various translation problems that may arise from the verbal-visual relationships characteristic of picturebooks. Based on the inherent interaction of two semiotic systems, namely the verbal and the visual, picturebooks must be read, interpreted and translated as a ‘whole’. Translators must thus pay equal attention to the words and pictures as well as to other visual elements that contribute to the overall effect of picturebooks. The case study involves an analysis of two picturebooks written and illustrated by Babette Cole: Princess Smartypants (1996) and Prince Cinders (1997), and their French translations – Princesse Finemouche (1999) and Prince Gringalet (1999). By analysing the ways in which two semiotic systems (the verbal and the visual) interact in the two picturebooks and their translations, the study attempts to answer the following question: to what extent does the translation of a picturebook maintain a unity of words, pictures and effects?

The technology of the codex book and the habit of reading appear to be under attack currently for a variety of reasons explored in the Introduction of this Dissertation. One natural response to attack is a resulting effort to adapt in a bid to survive. Noël Carroll, leading American philosopher in the contemporary philosophy of art, touches on this concept in his discussion of the evolution of a new medium in his article, “Medium Specificity Arguments and Self-Consciously Invented Arts: Film, Video, and Photography,” from his Cambridge University Press 1996 text, Theorizing the Moving Image. Carroll proposes that any new medium undergoes phases of development (and I include new technology under that umbrella)). After examining Carroll’s theory this Dissertation attempts to apply it to the Children’s Picturebook Field, exploring the hypothesis that the published children’s narrative does evolve, has already evolved historically in response to other mediums/technologies, and is currently “e-volving” in response to emerging “e-media.” This discussion examines ways new media (particularly emerging e-media) affect the published children’s narrative form, content, and function (with primary focus on the picturebook form), and includes some examination of the response of the child reader to those changes. Chapter One explores the formation of the question, its value, and reviews available literature. Chapter Two compares the effects of an older sub-genre, the paper-engineered picturebook, with those of emerging e-picturebooks. Chapter Three compares the Twentieth Century Artist’s Book to picturebooks created by select past and current picturebook creators. Chapter Four first considers the shifting cultural mindset of Western Culture from a linear, word-based outlook to the non-linear, more visual approach fostered by the World Wide Web and supporting “screen” technologies; then identifies and examines current changes in form, content and function of the designed picturebooks that are developing “on the page” within the constraints of the codex book format. The Dissertation concludes with a review of Leonard Shlain’s 1998 text, The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image, using it as a departure point for final observations regarding unique strengths of the children’s picturebook as a learning tool for young children.

This paper explores photography in children’s picturebooks and its ability to extend image-making and reading by creating a hybrid genre that merges real and non-real worlds. In analysing the use of photography in such a hybrid genre, the work of Lauren Child (2006, 2001a, 2001b, 2000), Polly Borland (2006), Shaun Tan (2007, 2000, 1998) and Dave McKean (2004a, 2004b, 1995) is deconstructed. These artists utilise photography in contemporary picturebooks that are fictional. In addition, David Doubilet’s images (1990, 1989, 1984, 1980) are discussed, which fuse underwater photojournalism with art, for factual outputs. This research uncovers a gap in picturebook literature and creates a new hybrid by merging genres to produce a work that is both factual and fictional. The research methodology in this study includes a brief overview of photography and notions of truth, contemporary picturebook trend theory, use of a student focus group, industry collaborations and workshops, and environmental education pedagogy. This thesis outlines summaries of research outcomes, not the least of which is the capacity for photography to enrich narrative accounts by providing multilayered information, character perspectives and/ or a metafictive experience. These research outcomes are then applied to the process of creating such a hybrid children’s picturebook.

Research consistently shows that students from historically marginalized populations have difficulty accessing texts that represent the realities of their lives. Concerned that such might be the case for my students, I conducted an inventory of my classroom library and sought out award-winning texts that could make my library more diverse and inclusive. I then analyzed these award-winning texts using Bishop's (1992) categories of multicultural literature in order to better understand the picturebooks' underlying messages and ideologies. My examinations showed that the majority of the texts fit into the same category (culturally specific), though I was able to identify award-winning texts that were culturally generic and culturally neutral as well. Additionally, each category yielded salient themes--ranging from acceptance of one's complex identities to America's racialized and politicized tensions--and activist educators will wish to carefully consider said themes as they select texts and engage in critical conversations with young readers.

The purpose of this study is to examine if a difference exists in the quantity and/or quality, in terms of effectiveness in the portrayal of teachers, and according to gender, in New York Times best selling picturebooks, 2008 to 2012. This study examines the depiction of a teacher in terms of their effectiveness, as defined by Robert Walker’s 12 Characteristics of an effective teacher. Examining each of the portrayed teachers for both the 12 effective characteristics, as well as their direct antithesis, presents a clear image of the teachers presented to young audiences through picturebooks. In addition to comparing the presentation of a male teacher as opposed to a female teacher, this study revealed the depiction of teachers to be one who is almost always female, generally prepared, creative, and positive. Educational implications for choosing picturebooks and highlighting positive qualities to children are also provided.

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The aim of this study was to explore learning experience of EFL elementary school students during peer-led English picturebook discussions. This study primarily addressed the following aspects: 1)elements that constituted EFL learners¡¦co-construction in terms of intersubjectivity; 2) the processes of co-construction among EFL learners; 3) the relationships between EFL learners¡¦perceptions of English picturebook discussion experience and their participation in co-construction. The present study adopted a single instrumental case study and recruited four sixth-grade EFL learners in Kaohsiung City. Procedures of data collection included observations and interviews, lasting from June 2009 (excluding July and August) to January 2010. The researcher transcribed the data and employed the constant comparative method for data analysis. In addition, the researcher adopted Matusov¡¦s (1996) idea of intersubjectivity as her analytical framework in the later stage of the data analysis. The study showed the following results. First, the four EFL learners¡¦co-construction constituted both agreements and disagreements. Second, during the processes of meaning co-construction, the four EFL learners drew on single and multiple resources to clarify confusions and extend meanings. Third, during the English picturebook discussions, the four EFL learners¡¦perceptions of peer interaction and participation towards co-construction were mutually affected. The findings of this study are consistent with Matusov¡¦s (1996) concept of intersubjectivity for revealing that some disagreements may encourage co-construction among the four EFL learners. Also, this study echoes Wertsch¡¦s (1979, 1984) idea of situation definition and demonstrates the nature of the four EFL learner¡¦s shifting perceptions when interpreting the activity of English picturebook discussions. For further studies, researchers can explore why some of the disagreements among students cannot encourage co-construction. In addition, future studies can investigate the fluctuating nature of situation definitions and the mutually affected ways of the learners¡¦situation definitions. For EFL elementary teachers who are interested in incorporating English picturebook discussions into peer-led group activities, this study provides two pedagogical implications. First, EFL teachers are encouraged to pay more attention to students¡¦ co-construction processes in peer-led English picturebook discussions, instead of only focusing on the product of co-construction. Second, EFL teachers are suggested to be aware of possible factors that can negatively affect students¡¦willingness to participate in group discussions, such as peer influence and peer pressure.

Against the background of previous research regarding the interplay between pictures and text in teaching materials and picturebooks which shown an ambivalent approach to the use of pictures in narrative texts (Carney & Levin 2002) (Jonsson 2006) I set off to investigate the interplay between pictures and text in childrens litterature with the aim to illuminate how different interplays could be used in teaching. The study proceeded from the following questions: In which ways do pictures and texts interplay in some newly published reading textbooks? In which ways do pictures and texts interplay in some commonly read picturebooks for 8 year-old children? Which didactic consequenses could derive from this? Through a multimodal literacy-theory I analyzed three commonly read picturebooks for eight year-olds and three newly published reading textbooks in which I labeled the pictures using an analyzing-tool created by Joel R Levin, professor of Educational Psychology vid Department of Educational Psychology, University of Arizona where the relation between text and picture can be representative, decorative, organizing or informative, or interpretive as Levin puts it (Levin 1981). The total result showed that most text-picture-interplays are representative och informative, two interplays in which the reader is invited to interpret, make predictions, and make connections to own experiences or other stories. The organizing interplays create preconceptions and invites the reader to summarize the content and retell sequences or the whole story. The decorative interplays could through a multmodal literacy-theory rise questions about genres and social codes. The interplays between pictures and text are found being a great resource rather than an obstacle.

Many caregivers for children of incarcerated parents report that they struggle to speak with children about their parent’s incarceration or substance use (Manby et al., 2015; Smyke, Bailey & Zeanah, 2017). Children’s picturebooks are promising tools to aid caregivers in this regard (Colomer et al., 2010; Lowe, 2009: p. 3; Wolf, 2017). However, research that explores the content of children’s picturebooks as effective communication tools on the topics of parental incarceration and substance use is limited. This thesis uses arts-based methods including thematic narrative analysis, techniques of visual criminology, and autoethnography to explore the textual and visual narratives that are present in a series of picturebooks for children under the age of ten on the topic of parental incarceration and substance use. It also explores how these narratives resonate with my lived experience as the daughter of a former drug user and prisoner. Mobilizing a theoretical framework based on the sociology of emotions literature and picturebook studies (Hochschild, 1980; McCarthy, 1994), I conceptualize the role of specific emotions, including hope, in children’s literature. While the picturebooks accurately depict children’s emotional experiences when their parent lives with addiction or experiences incarceration, they fail to manage children’s expectations about the barriers their family may face when their loved one is released, such as barriers relating to poverty, mental illness, and relapse. The picturebooks in this study present young children with fairy tale endings and risk providing them with a false sense of hope regarding their parent’s release. Authors of picturebooks for children under the age of ten must consider how to balance truth-telling with age-appropriateness and the desire to provide young children with hope in these circumstances.

Children's literature is crucial in shaping the way young children see and think about themselves in the eyes of society. Although diversity is increasing, a need remains for books that feature Black children as well as accurate portrayals of their lifestyles. According to the Cooperation Children's Book Center (2020), only 400 books out of 3,299 are about Black Americans, while a little over half of that number are actually written by Black authors. Why should children of color have to suffice with reading books that have no connection to their real-world life? Black children should have access to and enjoy quality, award winning books that accurately represent their everyday lifestyles and not merely retell stories from the past. To address these concerns, this thesis examined 16 of the Coretta Scott King (CSK) Award and Honor picturebooks, awarded in 2013-2020, to explore the contents in terms of themes to support young Black American children on their journey of finding meaning and joy in reading. Within the analysis, a total of 16 picturebooks showed that 8 featured Black Americans in struggling contexts highlighting historical events, while 8 focused on the everyday lives and culture of Black Americans. Delving deeper, two trends, artistic expression and self-confidence, were identified. Within the eight books Within the books focusing on everyday Black culture, four themes were agreed upon: 1) Navigating real societal problems within the Black community, 2) Realizing empowerment within ourselves, 3) Valuing relationships with others, and 4) Finding value in everyday activities.