What Goes On in Strangers’ Minds? How Reading Children’s Books Affects Emotional Development

Based on recent studies in developmental psychology and cognitive narratology, this article shows the impact of Theory of Mind on children’s understanding and apprehension of other people’s thoughts and beliefs presented in fictional texts. With a special focus on the depiction of emotions in two children’s novels, Erich Kästner’s Emil and the Detectives (1929) and Anne Cassidy’s Looking for JJ (2004), it is argued that the representation of the main characters’ states of mind demands specific capacities on behalf of the reader, encompassing mind reading and acquisition of higher levels of empathy, thus fostering children’s comprehension of fictional characters’ life conditions

A Variety of Literary and Artistic Styles: Contemporary Canadian Picture Books

Review of: Andrews, Jan. The Twelve Days of Summer. Illus. Susan Jolliffe. Victoria: Orca, 2005. Chartrand, Lili. Taming Horrible Harry. Illus. Rogé. Trans. Susan Ouriou. Toronto: Tundra, 2006. Kovalski, Maryann. Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2006. McNaughton, Janet. Brave Jack and the Unicorn. Illus. Susan Tooke. Toronto: Tundra, 2005. Newhouse, Maxwell. Let’s Go for a Ride. Toronto: Tundra, 2006. Reid, Barbara. Read Me a Book. Markham, ON: North Winds, 2003. Solomon, Evan. Bigbeard’s Hook. Illus. Bill Slavin. Toronto: Viking Canada, 2005. Thornhill, Jan. Over in the Meadow. Toronto: Maple Tree, 2004. Toews, Mary. Black-and-White Blanche. Illus. Dianna Bonder. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2006. Wilson, Budge. A Fiddle for Angus. Illus. Susan Tooke. Toronto: Tundra, 2006. Wilson, Troy. Frosty is a Stupid Name. Illus. Dean Griffiths. Victoria: Orca, 2005.   DOI: 10.1353/jeu.2010.000

Slikovnica kao predmet

Based on recent studies on materiality, picturebook research, and cognitive studies, this paper investigates how children may perceive picturebooks as objects and their material properties. In this regard, we emphasise three dimensions of picturebooks as objects and relate them to developmental stages. The first dimension concerns the materials the picturebooks are composed of, such as paper, cardboard, wood, plastics, and cloth. The second dimension refers to the type of book, e.g. hardbacks, sets of cardboard sheets, fanfold books, pop-up books, and even hybrid objects such as books which are toys at the same time. Finally, this study focuses on the types of actions that are associated with picturebooks as objects, such as biting, building, piling up, setting up, painting, collecting, and arranging. In sum, we argue that an examination of the cognitive perspective is fundamental for the investigation of the social and cultural aspects of the materiality of picturebooks.Oslanjajući se na novija istraživanja materijalnosti i slikovnice te na rezultate kognitivne znanosti, ovaj rad istražuje kako djeca opažaju slikovnicu kao predmet i kako opažaju njezina materijalna obilježja. U tom smislu naglašavamo tri dimenzije slikovnice kao predmeta i dovodimo ih u vezu sa stadijima dječjega razvoja. Prva dimenzija odnosi se na materijale od kojih se slikovnice izrađuju, kao što su papir, karton, drvo, plastika i tekstil. Druga se dimenzija odnosi na tip knjige, npr. tvrdoukoričena, sastavljena od kartonskih stranica, knjiga od presavijenih stranica, slikovnica-iskakalica, pa i hibridni predmeti kao što su knjige koje su ujedno i igračke. Konačno, rad razmatra i tipove aktivnosti povezane sa slikovnicom kao predmetom, primjerice: grizenje, građenje, stavljanje na hrpu, postavljanje, bojenje, skupljanje i raspoređivanje. U zaključku tvrdimo da je istraživanje kognitivnoga aspekta temeljno za razmatranje društvenih i kulturnih aspekata slikovničke materijalnosti

Rethinking Words and Pictures

A book review of " More Words about Pictures. Current Research on Picture Books and Visual/Verbal Texts for Young People" which contains several scientific papers on picterbooks edited by Naomi Hamer, Perry Nodelman and MAvis Reimer

Children’s Voices in the Polish Canon Wars: Participatory Research in Action

Despite its rightful concern with childhood as an essentialist cultural construct, the field of children’s literature studies has tended to accept the endemicity of asymmetrical power relations between children and adults. It is only recently, under the influence of children’s rights discourses, that children’s literature scholars have developed concepts reflecting their recognition of more egalitarian relationships between children and adults. This essay is a result of the collaboration between child and adult researchers and represents a scholarly practice based on an intergenerational democratic dialog in which children’s voices are respected for their intrinsic salience. The presence of child researchers in children’s literature studies confirms an important shift currently taking place in our field, providing evidence for the impossibility of regarding children’s literature only as a manifestation of adult power over young generations

Mixing Pop Art and Political Criticism: Heinz Edelmann’s Artwork for Children

Heinz Edelmann (1934-2009), a German illustrator and designer, is probably best known as the art director of the Beatles’ animated film Yellow Submarine (1968). Less well-known are the three picturebooks he illustrated for children, which are influenced by the Pop Art movement. The large-sized picturebooks Maicki Astromaus (1970) and Andromedar SR1 (1970) refer to the science fiction genre and reveal a critical attitude towards the contemporary political and economic situation. Kathrinchen ging spazieren (1973), by contrast, is a picturebook story with nonsensical verses by the East German playwright Peter Hacks and subliminally refers to the causes of consumerism and careless wishes. A comparative analysis of these picturebooks demonstrates that Edelmann’s illustrations in combination with the accompanying texts are significant examples of the political, cultural, and societal upheaval that can be found in German children’s literature of the ‘68’ period

What Goes On in Strangers’ Minds? How Reading Children’s Books Affects Emotional Development

Based on recent studies in developmental psychology and cognitive narratology, this article shows the impact of Theory of Mind on children’s understanding and apprehension of other people’s thoughts and beliefs presented in fictional texts. With a special focus on the depiction of emotions in two children’s novels, Erich Kästner’s Emil and the Detectives (1929) and Anne Cassidy’s Looking for JJ (2004), it is argued that the representation of the main characters’ states of mind demands specific capacities on behalf of the reader, encompassing mind reading and acquisition of higher levels of empathy, thus fostering children’s comprehension of fictional characters’ life conditions