New Directions in Picturebook Research

In this new collection, children’s literature scholars from twelve different countries contribute to the ongoing debate on the importance of picturebook research, focusing on aesthetic and cognitive aspects of picture books. Contributors take interdisciplinary approaches that integrate different disciplines such as literary studies, art history, linguistics, narratology, cognitive psychology, sociology, memory studies, and picture theory. Topics discussed include intervisuality, twist endings, autobiographical narration, and metaliterary awareness in picturebooks. The essays also examine the narrative challenges of first-person narratives, ellipsis, frame breaking, and mindscape as new paradigms in picturebook research. Tying picturebook studies to studies in childhood, multimodality, and literacy, this anthology is representative of the different opportunities for research in this emerging field.

Teresa Colomer is Professor in the Department of the Teaching of Language and Literature at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB). Currently, she is director of the Research Group GRETEL (www.gretel.cat). She is also head of the M.A. on Books and Literature for Children and Youngsters.

Bettina Kummerling-Meibauer is Professor in the German Department at the University of Tubingen. In 2010 she will hold the position of guest-professor in memory of Astrid Lindgren at the University of Vaxjo, Sweden. She was also one of the advisory editors for The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature.

Cecilia Silva-Diaz is Associate Professor at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB). She was member of the Hans Christian Andersen Jury twice and is book editor at Ediciones Ekare. She published La metaficcion como un juego de ninos: Una introduccion a los albumes metaficcionales (Caracas, Banco del Libro, 2005).