Picturebooks were one format of multimodal text used during the classroom-based research that is featured in this article. Although the research conducted with a class of grade 7 students had several overarching purposes, the two most relevant to this article were to investigate student development of visual meaning-making skills and competencies…

Young children notice and make use of illustrations in picture books as they read independently as evidenced by statements such as this one from Sarah's retelling of "The Wolf's Chicken Stew": "He couldn't catch him; so he did like this (child folds arms across chest) against the tree". Scholars in the field of children's literature have long…

The Coretta Scott King (CSK) Award, instituted in 1969 and recognized as an official award by the American Library Association (ALA) in 1982, is conferred annually to an African American author and an illustrator for their outstanding contributions to literature about the Black experience for children and young adults. A partial impetus for the…

If an entire village is needed to raise a child, and the successful launch of the Apollo XI required 400,000 men and women, then surely it stands to reason that a book that wins the 2009 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction also must have required a team of talented individuals, each contributing some direction and adding some…

Multicultural literature today is characterized by rich language, captivating illustrative techniques, and authentic stories within all genres. Never before have so many possible topics and cultures been available in books to share the diversity of both local and global societies as well as to validate the life experiences of readers. In the…

Scholars agree that reading pictures is a multifaceted act. Interestingly, children often look at illustrations more closely and "see" details in picture that are missed by "skipping and scanning" adults. Although the illustrations in picture books are a "source of aesthetic delight," "everything" about the illustrations conveys "information about…

David Wiesner's 2007 Caldecott Medal-winning "Flotsam" blends the events of everyday life with the surreal. As he often does in his picture books, Wiesner plays with size and scale, opening "Flotsam" with a full-page illustration of a sand crab and the enormous eye behind it before pulling back on the second page to reveal the creature's actual…

In this article, the author relates the creative process involved in the way he writes and illustrate picturebooks. His understanding of the analysis and creative processes focusing on picturebooks is informed from two distinct, yet complementary, perspectives. First, the author is an Associate Professor of Literacy Education and Children's…

Jerry Pinkney's pencils and watercolors have created an indelible niche in African American children's literature, celebrating a magical world where children's thoughts flow freely back in time and across space. His illustrations have been repeatedly recognized by multiple awards and honor book citations (Brodie, 1998), including the Coretta Scott…

Examines the author's discovery of elementary students' science misconceptions derived from the books she chose to share as read-alouds. Identifies three intertwining elements that might have led intelligent, curious young learners to create impossible science from these read-aloud sessions. Uses these three elements to organize personal…

Discusses how at the National Council of Teachers of English conference, the Children's Literature Assembly sponsors a Master Class focusing on the teaching of children's literature. Presents an overview of the insights shared by each of the three presenters during the Master Class in the year 2000, which focused on illustration in children's…

Presents an interview with the illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon. Concludes that they hope their illustrations will bring to children a feeling of pride and understanding that they are all important and are all part of one world. (SG)

Describes the author's experience sharing picture books with children from different countries while she absorbed the stories, language, and culture. Discusses the recent emergence and popularity of the picture book with its polysemic nature, interdependency of picture and text, universality of themes, and its potential to speak across nations.…

Presents a 10-item annotated bibliography of unfamiliar international novels and picture books set in contemporary times. Considers how international books offer children in the United States an opportunity to read the best texts and view the best illustrations of books published abroad. Seeks to balance representation across various countries and…

Intends to provide a resource for beginning to learn about picture books. Contains a "start set" of terms often used to talk about picture books and a list of references to further readings that may assist teachers in developing their understanding of the language of picture books in more depth. (SC)