Literature Input Tables

Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

Theme 4: Literature Input Table 1

Book: Reading Picture Books with Children

Topic: Children’s Literature

Date Retrieved/Used: March 7th 2018

APA Citation Dowd Lambert, M. (2015). Reading picture books with children: How to shake up
storytime and get the kids talking about what they see. Watertown, MA:
Charlesbridge.
Author(s) Megan Dowd Lambert – MA in Children’s Literature at Simmons College. Senior
lecturer in Children’s Literature.
Affiliation:
Type of Resource
(Scholarly/Trade/ Book
Website/ Book/
Government Report
 The whole book approach is the central message/methodology discussed
Summary of throughout the book.
Essential
Information Preface

 Picturebooks as a visual art form.

 Suggestions of how to share picturebooks with children – co-constructive
storytime approach when reading to children; possibility of changing goals of
storytime; children’s observations pointing to something teacher may not have
noticed before; need to think with your eyes – not to solely rely on text –
deeper attention to art and design.
 Whole book approach – actively involve kids to talk about what they see
(p.viii-ix). Reading WITH children as opposed to reading TO children (p.x).
 Passionate about encounters with children when she really listens to what they
have to say about what they see and hear (“amid what can seem like a chorus
of voices trying shared reading to test scores, or linking certain titles to certain
curricular objectives..) (p.ix).
 Whole book approach – children’s active participation in making meaning of
all they see and hear during a picture book reading takes precedence over
moving through the pages at the pace of the adult’s oral reading of the text
(p.x).
 WBA – Stresses inviting children to react to the whole book – its art, design,
production, paratextual and textual elements – in ways that feel natural and
enriching to them and to you as the adult reader (p.x).
 Requires educators to immerse themselves in understanding the picturebook as
a multimodal art form (one that uses both visual and verbal modes of
communication) in order to consider how not only text and illustration but all
design and production elements might contribute to the shared reading (p.x).
 WBA – more exciting amid ebook developments and other technological
 Literature Input Tables

Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

advances (p.x).
 Author believes codex design of picturebook has staying power, particularly
when it comes to shared reading transactions of (p.x) the sort that picture
books invite (p.xi_.
 Author believes one recalls the story of picture books but also, the art and
myriad of insights that it provoked (p.xii).
 Do you tend to use performance or a co-constructive storytime approach in
your reading with children? What are the benefits for children? How could
you enhance your practice?
 What are your typical goals when you read with children? How does your
current approach help you meet them? How could you shake things up to
better reach your goals or even create new ones?

Introduction

 Picturebooks showed the author that art could be her thing – even if she wasn’t
an artist. “I’d just have to learn to think with my eyes” (p.xv).
 When author began to consider a picturebook as a multimodal form – she
started to think visually by embracing what 19th century illustrators like Crane
had to say about the architectural plan of the book (p.xv).
 Powerful questions – What’s going on in this picture? What do you see that
makes you say that? What more can we find? (p.xix).
 Diologic reading – adult reader asks a prescribed series of open-ended
questions, engages children in interactive conversations about the book, and
expands on children’s comments. Its central technique is called PEER
sequence – Prompt the child to say something about the book; Evaluate child’s
response; Expand child’s response, Repeat prompt to ensure child has learned
from expansion (p.xx).
 Supports stopping during a reading as a way of enhancing comprehension,
engagement, vocabulary acquisition and literacy skills (p.xx).
 Why shouldn’t children be afforded the same opportunity as adults for critical
engagement with picturebooks as a visual art form? See, hear and say (p.xxi).
 Intentionally place emphasis of questions and prompts on the illustration,
design and production elements of the picturebook as an art form (p.xxi)
 Moved away from leading programs that were about particular holidays,
animals or other themes – focused on making storytimes about the children
who attended them (p.xxii).
 Storytimes became conversation times, and children made me see things I
never would have discovered on my own as they brought questions and ideas
to bear upon the picturebooks we read together – the whole books, including
the paratexts (p.xxii).

Chapter 1 – Trim Size & Orientation

 WBA – making talking about book design a natural part of reading (p.4).
 Feature of PB – sized to comfortably accommodate a shared reading audience
as opposed to a solitary one (p.4).
 Circle – child on lap, child beside reader – circle = private and intimate,
 Literature Input Tables

Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

place apart from the demands and stresses of daily life, a sanctuary in and
from which the child can explore the may worlds in picturebooks (p.4).
 Size and orientation of picturebook – tall for Eiffel Tower (p.5).
 Orientation echoing shape of character or building, books about journeys
(landscape orientation because of the horizontal form’s visual implication of
movement through time and space in conjunction with the page turns) (p.6).
 Portrait orientation – human form = vertical (p.7), content-driven reasons
(urban settings p.8)
 Because the orientation or layout of a picture book is one of the most
immediate elements of book design that readers notice, welcoming children to
notice how layout choices inform their responses to picturebooks can feel
rather like an intellectual hug, saying from the get-go that their perceptions
matter in making meaning of the picturebook form. This embracing of
children’s observations about the shape and orientation of a book extends into
the related consideration of a picturebook’s dimensions whether they are tiny
and cozy…or large and grand..can create a dramatic stage for the visual story
(p.11).
 Why do you think this book is so tall in a portrait format and this one is long
in a landscape format?
 How would you describe a square?
 What sort of feeling foes a square give you when you look at it?
 If a landscape book makes you feel like you’re going on a journey, an a
portrait one makes you feel like you’re reaching up or diving down, what does
a square do?
 What does the square shape of this picturebook make you notice about the art?
 Why do you think this book is so big and this one is so small?

Chapter 2 – Jackets & Dust Covers

 Parallels between PB form and theater – Hillenbrand calls PB “the theater of

the lap” (p.15).
 PB has much in common with film and theatrical plays: words and pictures
work together to tell a story, to communicate, to provide information (p.15).
 Dust jacket = the poster hanging outside the theater, inviting readers to see the
book jacket as a single entity, paying attention to its front and back sides,
while also taking a look at any artwork on the interior jacket flaps (p.15).
 Children like to examine the outside of the book before diving into its contents
as a part of their selection process, and doing so often sparks recollections of
past readings or insights into the art guide and inform a current reading (p.16).
 Such fine detail might be difficult for a large group to examine, but dual-
image jackets, their pictures divided into two scenes by the spine can invite
storytime attendees to make connections between front and back images
(p.17).
 Suggests looking at the full wraparound jacket art after just viewing the front
image, or of making connections between the front and back images with
children – ask question “What’s going on in this picture? What do you see that
makes you say that? What more can you find? These questions invite children
to make an emotional and cognitive investment in jacket art, provoking their
 Literature Input Tables

Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

curiosity about the book and encouraging them to continue reading pictures
while the teacher reads the story aloud (p.18).
 Providing children with time and space to reflect on jacket art can enhance
their engagement with PB at the (p.19) start of a reading and give them rich
opportunities to revisit major themes, ideas, and questions at the end of a book
(p.20).
 Author believes it is necessary to open storytime with questions – hopes that
allowing children to steer the ship acknowledges that they are learning to read
pictures as surely as they are learning to read words and invites them to
express what they know and understand, not to mention what they are puzzled
about at the very beginning of a shared reading (p.20).
 Progressive educational approaches posit active participating and the
construction of one’s own knowledge as the cornerstone of comprehension
and retention in learning. This inquiry-driven reading of jacket art creates the
learning-in effect as children’s attention is riveted at the outset of storytime
(p.20).
 Removing the jacket heightens storytime intrigue (p.20).
 Rather than supporting the child’s engagement with my own comments about
what the story s about before I read the book, I try to use the jacket and cover
art to invite children to make their own observations and predictions and to
pose their own questions (p.23).
 Use visual thinking strategies questions – what’s going on in this picture?
What do you see that makes you say that? What more can we find?
 What do you discover when you see the part of the picture that’s on the back
cover?
 What information does the jacket give us about the story?
 What questions do you have after looking at these pictures?
 After reading the book, you might revisit the jacket and ask – how does this
image (or these images) represent the book as a whole?

Chapter 3 –Endpapers

 Endpapers are the visual overture to the art of the book (p.26).
 Inform the children that the endpapers give often give clues about the artwork
inside the book – what do you see happening in these endpapers for X book?
(p.26).
 I didn’t realize how much I was missing until I slowed down enough to let a
child expand upon an observation (child noted that the horizontal lines of color
on the end papers represented the order of the colors of the animals in the
book!) (p.27).
 Author of book redirected herself to listening – really listening to what
children had to say about the books she read with them instead of just listening
for them to say things that she had already considered (p.27).
 Endpapers – sets story in motion (p.28); introduce important motif or object in
a story (p.29).
 Even the simplest of endpapers can play an integral role in illuminating the
visual world of the PB (p.30).
 Endpapers often give us clues about the story that a picture book tells. What
 Literature Input Tables

Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

clues do you see?

 Can you make a color connection between the endpapers and the jacket art?
 What’s going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that?
What more can we find?

Chapter 4 – Front Matter

 Miss important information if skip the front matter.

 Incorporating front-matter pages into WBA storytimes simply requires taking
the time to point out the different pages by name (this is the dedication page,
this is the title page, and so on) and letting children to respond to any art or
design elements that catch their attention. This can sometimes lead to
unexpected responses (p.35).
 “Endpapers can convey essential information, and pictures on title pages can
both complement and contradict the narrative…This contribution of paratexts
to the picturebook is clearly highly significant, especially since they frequently
carry a substantial percentage of the book’s verbal and visual information. We
find it interesting that his has generally been neglected by critics” (Nikolajeva
and Scott, 2006 cited in Dowd Lambert, 2015, p.37).
 Paratexts are so crucial to the cohesion of the story (p.37).
 Inviting the children to mine those paratexts for meaning at the beginning of a
storytime sets the stage for rich engagement with the illustrations, paired with
text, n the book proper (p.37).
 What’s going on in the picture on the title/copyright/dedication page?
 What do you see that makes you say that?
 What more can we find?

Chapter 5 - Typography

 Refers to Wiesner’s Caldecott Medal Winning Book ‘The Three Pigs’ and
Wiesner’s acceptance speech – typography jumping off the page (p.40-41).
 Refers to Pinkley’s Lion and the Mouse – use of various intraiconic,
onomatopoetic sounds (owl hoots, the sounds of a jeep driving through the
African savannah, squeaking mice and lion’s roar). This creates a text that
functions something like a soundtrack, which allows readers to immerse
themselves in the setting he created (p.47).
 Opening children’s eyes to see the expressive nature of the visible text on the
page affords new opportunities for engagement in WBA sometimes.
Typography is only one of a myriad of choices in page design that can and do
provide readers with opportunities to make meaning of all they see (p.50).
 How does the way the words look tell us how to read the words aloud?
 How would you describe what the words and letters look like on this page?
 Why do you think the words look like this on the page?

Chapter 6 – Page Design

 Literature Input Tables

Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

 Bader – the success of the picture book “as an art form…hinges on the
interdependence of pictures and words, on the simultaneous display of two
facing pages, and on the drama of turning the page” (p.51).
 Importance of the gutter – to enhance a visual separation between the verso
and recto pages emerges as a fascinating part of the WBA sometimes (p.52).
 The gutter affects the pacing of the page turns and visual narrative (p.52).
 Image spread across a double page spread – expands time (p.53).
 Double page spread – time-stretching effect and provokes the reader to pause
and take it all in.
 Refers to Invention of Hugo Cabret – challenge to accommodate for the loss
of picture space that the gutter physically imposes on the picture plane –
number of pages in the book made it extremely difficult (p.54).
 WBA – author often compares the gutter to bowling – if ball goes into the
gutter it’s bad (p.55).
 Gutter can add to the composition of an illustration – e.g. add tension by
separating a double page spread (p.59).
 The gutter is not merely the physical site of the binding, or a facet of book
production that must be accommodated in order to avoid having it interrupt the
visual continuity of a double-page spread. It’s another physical and visual
component of the book for readers to consider as they engage with the
picturebook as an art form (p.59).
 Using a framw or border to enclose an image or surrounding it by negative
space impacts the viewer’s perception (p.61).
 Full-bleed page design results in a dynamic, inviting presentation that
obscures awareness of the perceptual line between the reader’s reality and the
world of the book, creating a greater sense of intimacy in the reading (p.61).
 So much artistic expression is devoted to making the intangible feelings
and ideas that make up our emotional lives visible or concrete. Time and
time again I’ve witnessed children engage with books in ways that take
my breath away as they commune with characters – and by extension, the
artists who created them – and learn about themselves as they bear
witness, or seemingly participate in, wild rumpuses and the like. The
simple devise of framing can enable the separation between the world of
the reader and the world of the book to be either blurred or (p.63)
underscored, manipulating the reader’s response in deft and sure ways”
(p.64).
 Openness of the unframed, full-bleed art acted as an invitation for the author’s
son to commune more deeply with a character in a picturebook (child poised
over the pictures, fitting his own hands on top of the character’s hands to
immerse himself even more deeply in the story) (p.65).
 WBA – slowing down a reading to welcome responses to art, or of pointing
out design elements like frames and gutters and of just listening to what
children say when we give them the chance to speak up doing a reading (p.65).
 Tell me why you think some pictures are framed and some bleed off the edge
of the pages.
 Watch the framing in this picture book and tell me what you think about the
artist’s choices.
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Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

 Look at how the artist makes sure that nothing important in the pictures falls in
the gutter of the book. What choices does the artist make to accomplish this?
 Look at how the gutter divides up the picture. Tell me why you think the artist
made the choice to have some parts on the verso page and other parts on the
recto page.

Chapter 7 – Nurturing Visual Intelligence

 Inviting children to share what they think and observe about paratexts and
page layout provokes a deeper awareness of art and design during storytime.
This, in turn, prompts consideration of how visual and material elements of the
PB interact with and inform the reading of the verbal text (p.66).
 Not only did the WBA enrich the children’s reading experiences, but it
allowed the author to see and appreciate PB in ways she could not have
achieved on her own, while also coming to recognize the sophisticated
thinking that children bring to their encounters with visual images (p.69).
 Also recognizes the need to support children in building visual literacy skills
they need to understand and create meaning from the art on the page when
illustrations baffle them (p.71).
 Raschka – “Beyond appealing art, there is the art that advances, in the words
of Rudolf Arnheim, “the child’s intelligence of seeing.” We’re comfortable
with the idea of a child’s verbal intelligence growing with and by means of
literature. But we tend to take visual intelligence for granted. Or we dismiss it
as simply the routine camera-like function of the eye. But eyes are much more
than (p.71) this. They think. They learn. We know there is value in the
intelligence of the eye, we have big museums dedicated to it, but we’re still
not sure how to teach it. How do you teach color, form, line? You do it the
same way you do words and sentences and ideas, by slowly increasing the
level of complexity, depth and multi-layeredness. When the same care is taken
in the use of formal elements of art – color and composition, for instance – as
is demanded in art for adults, a child will inevitably become more visually
intelligent, just as is the case in reading when care is taken in shaping the text
of a story” (p.72)
 Raschka’s above quote acknowledges the role that PB can play in supporting a
child’s developing visual literacy skills. Providing time and space during
storytimes for children to voice the questions they have about how pictures
work is not only potentially enriching, but also supportive of their overall
comprehension and engagement in shared reading (p.72).
 Refers to WBA – zone of proximal development and more able others (at
similar level of understanding) to help children progress to higher
understanding (p.73).
 What’s going on in this picture?
 What do you see that makes you say that?
 What more can we find?
 Can anyone else tell me more about this picture?
 Does anyone else have a different idea about this picture? (p.73)
 What do you see that makes you say that?
 Can anyone else tell me more about this picture?
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Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

 Does anyone else have a different idea about this picture?

 Asking VTS questions and other open-ended questions to support an inquiry-
based engagement with art, design, and text.
 Paraphrasing responses to check for clarity, demonstrate active listening and
embed art, design and literature-related vocabulary into the reading.
 Pointing to parts of the picture and book that children reference in their
responses.

Chapter 8 – The Picture Book Playground

 WBA – not a curriculum or prescriptive methodology in which certain

questions must be asked in a certain order. Rather, it’s an intentional, inquiry-
based approach to reading aloud that puts art and design (and children’s
responses to them) at the center of the storytime experience. The educational
psychology behind it is constructivist and progressive: if we reject the
outmoded way of thinking that says children should be seen and not (p.81)
heard, we can surely embrace children’s voices at storytime as we encourage
them to build their own knowledge and understanding (p.82).
 WBA – took the author a long time to slow down and stop quickly turning
pages in my own storytime practice. Learning about visual thinking strategies
played a key role in helping her to do so (p.82).
 WBA – aim is not to undermine what some describe as ecstatic or aesthetic
reading, which is when one reads for pleasure and becomes completely
absorbed in a book, as opposed to critical or efferent reading, when one is
more detached from the book in order to gain knowledge and engage in
analysis (p.83).
 WBA – fostering ecstatic criticism as the author tries to support children’s
engagement with the PB as an art form. Much of this work simply involves
getting out of children’s way and slowing down the pace of the reading. This
is accomplished in part by directing children’s attention to paratexts, design,
and illustration, and by seeing what these visual and material aspects of the
book provoke in children as they merge what they see with what they hear by
drawing upon prior knowledge and forming the composite text (p.84).
 Key is to keep the storytime playful (p.84).
 “Art is to the minds of humans, what play is to the body of two- and four-
legged creatures. Scientists note that as creatures play “repeatedly and
exuberantly,” they refine skills, sharpen sensitivities and tone muscles. In the
process, they release dopamine – that neurotransmitter associated with
pleasure that is a key motivator of behaviors that need to be repeated for
survival, like earing – and other enjoyable behaviors that need to be (p.85)
repeated for survival. Play, therefore, has evolved to be highly self-
rewarding…[Boyd] defines art as “cognitive play with pattern” and just as
play refines skills and sensitivities in people, with similar neural responses and
benefits. He asserts that a work of art acts like a “playground for the mind, a
swing or slide or a merry-go-round of visual or aural or social pattern.” I love
the image of the picturebook as a cognitive playground. Can’t you just
imagine children’s minds climbing gleefully up the monkey bars as hey
interact with an adult and a marvelous book? I think back to the first time,
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Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

maybe fifteen years ago or so, when I saw the dramatic color differences in the
brain scans comparing young children who had been read to and those who
hadn’t, and I’m intrigued by this explanation of the rewards of art” (p.86).
 WBA – rewards of art – feels tremendously playful (p.86).
 The playfulness inherent in these storytime stories about children drawing
connections between books embodies the spirit with which I strive to infuse
every WBA reading. Far from undermining the enjoyment of a PB and
rendering storytime “a more solemn affair,” I’ve found that interactive, shared
reading transactions focused on art and design enhance the pleasure of
storytime because they position the PB as a meeting space for child and adult.
By slowing down the reading to accommodate and encourage discussion about
paratexts, design and production elements, and illustration, the WBA swings
wide the gates to the picturebook as a playground for the mind, affirming that
the child’s voice is crucial to the success of a dynamic and yes, playful
storytime experience (p.94).

Conclusion

 Emphasizes reading picturebooks with children rather than to children (p.99).

 I’ve found that interactivity is the best way to prevent feeling as if one’s role
as a storytime leader is tantamount to crowd control; instead interactivity
asserts the reader as a facilitator of the group’s shared experience (p.99).
 Learners who have difficulty during traditional read aloud – get a lot out of
thinking visually. Aural learners are sometimes resistant! (p.100).
 Fosters success for students who typically have a difficult time to stay engaged
with reading that does not emphasize the visual elements of a PR or promote
discussion (p.101).
 WBA – aims to have children as participants (not spectators), ecstatic critics
engaging with all that PB have to offer and delighting in what they hear and
see (p.102).
 How might you develop your storytime practice to generate even more
insights and connections from children?
 What do you think the codex picturebook form offers children in today’s
digital environment?
 Finally, what do you learn about yourself as a reader and as a thinker when
you reflect on your storytime experiences?

Way in which this Describe how this article influences the field that is related to your topic.
source influences  Whole book approach to promote children to talk about what they see in
the field related to picturebooks.
your inquiry (e.g.  See, hear and say (p.xxi).
math  Intentionally place emphasis of questions and prompts on the illustration,
teaching/learning design and production elements of the picturebook as an art form (p.xxi)
elementary  Because the orientation or layout of a picture book is one of the most immediate
elements of book design that readers notice, welcoming children to notice how
layout choices inform their responses to picturebooks can feel rather like an
intellectual hug, saying from the get-go that their perceptions matter in making
meaning of the picturebook form.
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Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

 Chapter by chapter questions for teachers to reflect on, as well as sample questions
to ask children.

Potential relevance  Chapter by chapter questions for teachers to reflect on, as well as sample
to your research questions to ask children.
topic and study  Circle – child on lap, child beside reader – circle = private and intimate,
place apart from the demands and stresses of daily life, a sanctuary in and
from which the child can explore the may worlds in picturebooks (p.4).
 Suggests looking at the full wraparound jacket art after just viewing the front
image, or of making connections between the front and back images with
children – ask question “What’s going on in this picture? What do you see that
makes you say that? What more can you find?
 Providing children with time and space to reflect on jacket art can enhance
their engagement with PB at the (p.19) start of a reading and give them rich
opportunities to revisit major themes, ideas, and questions at the end of a book
(p.20).
 Author of book redirected herself to listening – really listening to what
children had to say about the books she read with them instead of just listening
for them to say things that she had already considered (p.27).
 May miss important information key to the story if skip the front matter of the
picturebook.
 So much artistic expression is devoted to making the intangible feelings
and ideas that make up our emotional lives visible or concrete. Time and
time again I’ve witnessed children engage with books in ways that take
my breath away as they commune with characters – and by extension, the
artists who created them – and learn about themselves as they bear
witness, or seemingly participate in, wild rumpuses and the like. The
simple devise of framing can enable the separation between the world of
the reader and the world of the book to be either blurred or (p.63)
underscored, manipulating the reader’s response in deft and sure ways”
(p.64).
 Raschka – “Beyond appealing art, there is the art that advances, in the words
of Rudolf Arnheim, “the child’s intelligence of seeing.” We’re comfortable
with the idea of a child’s verbal intelligence growing with and by means of
literature. But we tend to take visual intelligence for granted. Or we dismiss it
as simply the routine camera-like function of the eye. But eyes are much more
than (p.71) this. They think. They learn. We know there is value in the
intelligence of the eye, we have big museums dedicated to it, but we’re still
not sure how to teach it. How do you teach color, form, line? You do it the
same way you do words and sentences and ideas, by slowly increasing the
level of complexity, depth and multi-layeredness. When the same care is taken
in the use of formal elements of art – color and composition, for instance – as
is demanded in art for adults, a child will inevitably become more visually
intelligent, just as is the case in reading when care is taken in shaping the text
of a story” (p.72)
 Raschka’s above quote acknowledges the role that PB can play in supporting a
child’s developing visual literacy skills. Providing time and space during
 Literature Input Tables

Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

storytimes for children to voice the questions they have about how pictures
work is not only potentially enriching, but also supportive of their overall
comprehension and engagement in shared reading (p.72).
 While potential for confusion may arise in spreads in PB, opportunities for
grasping how pictures communicate the passage of time with simultaneous
succession abound (p.76).
 WBA – aim is not to undermine what some describe as ecstatic or aesthetic
reading, which is when one reads for pleasure and becomes completely
absorbed in a book, as opposed to critical or efferent reading, when one is
more detached from the book in order to gain knowledge and engage in
analysis (p.83).
 Key is to keep the storytime playful (p.84).
 “Art is to the minds of humans, what play is to the body of two- and four-
legged creatures. Scientists note that as creatures play “repeatedly and
exuberantly,” they refine skills, sharpen sensitivities and tone muscles. In the
process, they release dopamine – that neurotransmitter associated with
pleasure that is a key motivator of behaviors that need to be repeated for
survival, like earing – and other enjoyable behaviors that need to be (p.85)
repeated for survival. Play, therefore, has evolved to be highly self-
rewarding…[Boyd] defines art as “cognitive play with pattern” and just as
play refines skills and sensitivities in people, with similar neural responses and
benefits. He asserts that a work of art acts like a “playground for the mind, a
swing or slide or a merry-go-round of visual or aural or social pattern.” I love
the image of the picturebook as a cognitive playground. Can’t you just
imagine children’s minds climbing gleefully up the monkey bars as hey
interact with an adult and a marvelous book? I think back to the first time,
maybe fifteen years ago or so, when I saw the dramatic color differences in the
brain scans comparing young children who had been read to and those who
hadn’t, and I’m intrigued by this explanation of the rewards of art” (p.86).

Stage of action List all stages of the action research process where this source will be used and
research where the briefly describe how it has informed your work.
source will be used: Background:
 To build researcher understanding of uses of picture books in the classroom.
Design:

Data Collection/Analysis Methodology:
Findings/Conclusions:
 Link to other articles relating to using children’s literature with children in the
elementary school classroom.
 Importance of encouraging children to notice, engaging in conversation with
children, introducing the language of picturebook features to children,
promoting children’s appreciation of picturebooks as an art form.
Implications/Action Planning
 Devising framework – questions at end of book.

 See, hear and say (place emphasis on illustrations and design features of the
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picturebook).
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Article: Postmodern experiments

Topic: Children’s Literature

Date Retrieved/Used: February 25th 2018

Bib. Information Goldstone, B. (2009). Postmodern experiments. In Maybin, J. & Watson, N.J.
(APA Formatting): (Eds.), Children’s literature: Approaches and territories (pp.320-329).
Hampshire, UK: Palgrave MacMillian.
Author(s) Professor at Arcadia University
Affiliation:

Type of Resource: Book: Children’s literature: Approaches and territories

(Scholarly
/Trade/Other)
Summary of  Nature of picturebooks to be cultural artifacts reflecting societal mores,
essential values, and beliefs (p.320).
information:  Nature of picturebooks to demonstrate extraordinary flexibility, openness, and
inventiveness due to their brevity and the interplay of two artistic forms –
narratives and illustrations (p.320).
 In a world that is changing at an almost unfathomable speed, it’s not
surprising that this highly dynamic and culturally reflective artistic form
(p.320) is evolving at an accelerated rate (p.321).
 The last three decades – extremely experimental, with thematic complexities
and sophisticated artistry that have entirely changed their look (p.321).
 It is in the nature of picturebooks to continue to experiment: break
boundaries, and appeal to the young who are at least as comfortable (if
not more so) playing on the computer screen than they are on a jungle
gym (p.321).
 Postmodernism demonstrates a profound shift in societal perception and
behavior (p.321).
 Postmodern artists reflect upon a world – complex and confusing, a world
which questions its purpose and function and has unstable, parody, self-
referentiality, nonlinerarity, multiple perspectives, and irony (p.321).
 But more importantly our desire to better comprehend our existence and
convey these insights to the young reader/viewer, artists present a new visual
world, a new way of seeing (p.321).
 One significant reason for this unique visual interpretation is the
reconceptualization of space both in terms of illustration and text (p.321).
 Postmodern picturebook creators continue to utilize these three traditional
spatial dimensions, but now have expanded useable story space in three ways
– text is not necessarily segregated from the pictorial space but is woven
around characters, objects, and settings; characters leave the standard planes
of space and move into space traditionally reserved for the audience (p.322).
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 These three conceptual innovations allow for movement and interactions not
seen before in picturebooks (p.322).
 Postmodern picturebooks present startling new ways to read and view a page
(p.323).
 The reader/viewer becomes an insider lost in text and image at that moment in
time (p.323).
 We can (and do metaphorically) move directly into the book (p.324).
 Although this blurring of real and fiction could create mayhem, it does
not. Rather a very clear invitation is delivered, ‘Come on in!’ These
postmodernism elements engage the reader/viewer powerfully. There
reader/viewer has a clear mandate; think about this story, relate this
story to other reading experiences, manipulate the story so it makes
sense. Do not be shy, be a coauthor. Feel free to play with the story, add
to it and alter it! (p.324).
 Discusses The Three Pigs (Wiesner) – the pigs discover new worlds with
alternative realities and a freedom to go beyond their intended destiny (p.324);
pigs writing a new ending (p.326).
 These books convey very clearly to the young reader/viewer that hidden
within the mundane and obvious are exciting possibilities that await
discovery. The books urge the reader/viewer to actively search out the
extraordinary and inquire about the unlikely (p.326).
 The page is now a dynamic, interactive surface that permits movement
(p.326).
 Another innovative use of space is the placement and function of the
alphabetic text on the page surface (p.326).
 In postmodern picturebooks, the text loses, at times, its temporal quality. Text
and image are always inextricably intertwined in picturebooks. This is a
crucial element. Readers/viewers/listeners are pulled between image and text
– wanting to linger over the pictures, but also needing to move quickly ahead
to learn what will happen next. When text takes on this dual role of telling the
story and being part of the illustration, the act of reading shows down – the
tension between word and picture diminishes (p.327).
 We are witnessing a change in the reading process. Postmodern picturebook
artists make the synergy of words and images more apparent. The former
boundary between words and pictures has been broken. This characterizes a
change in text function as moving from describing the world to showing it
(p.327).
 Illustrations – all brilliant in their inventiveness and ingenuity. They all use
space in unique ways (p.328).
 These books contain images that interrupt the flow of linear, three-
dimensional traditional picturebook patterns, establishing new ways to
visually interpret and read, play with the artifice of fiction, and make book
production visible. But it also needs to be recognized that postmodern
picturebook artists incorporate visual techniques and styles used before
(p.328).
 In any picturebook, the illustrations, the presentation format, underlying
themes, portrayal of character and setting reflect cultural knowledge, belief
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systems, mores, literary conventions, and artistic styles. This does not
diminish what postmodern picturebook creators do. Their innovation and
excellence lie in the face that they experiment with and manipulate these
previously used visual concepts by placing them in a new milieu – the
picturebook (p.328).

Way in which this  Appreciation of the history of the development of children’s literature.
source influences  Description of the features of postmodern picturebooks.
the field related to
your inquiry (ex.
Math
teaching/learning
elementary)
Potential relevance 1. History of the development of postmodern picturebooks – growing
to your research importance of words and text seen as an integral relationship - how this is
topic and study: changing in the postmodern picturebooks.
2. Refers to changes in play in society: It is in the nature of picturebooks to
continue to experiment: break boundaries, and appeal to the young who are at
least as comfortable (if not more so) playing on the computer screen than they
are on a jungle gym (p.321).
3. Influence of postmodern features on the reader/viewer.
4. Although this blurring of real and fiction could create mayhem, it does
not. Rather a very clear invitation is delivered, ‘Come on in!’ These
postmodernism elements engage the reader/viewer powerfully. There
reader/viewer has a clear mandate; think about this story, relate this
story to other reading experiences, manipulate the story so it makes
sense. Do not be shy, be a coauthor. Feel free to play with the story, add
to it and alter it! (p.324).
5. These books convey very clearly to the young reader/viewer that hidden
within the mundane and obvious are exciting possibilities that await
discovery. The books urge the reader/viewer to actively search out the
extraordinary and inquire about the unlikely (p.326).
Stage of action List all stages of the action research process where this source will be used and
research where the briefly describe how it has informed your work.
source will be Background:
used:  To build researcher understanding of children’s postmodern picture books
(educational value, elements of postmodern picturebooks,
Design:

Data Collection/Analysis Methodology:
 Inform analysis – higher frequency of play in picturebooks with
postmodern features?
Findings/Conclusions:

Implications/Action Planning
 Devising framework – taking into account postmodern features/brief
description.
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Theme 4: Literature Input Table 3

Article: A children’s literature curriculum for preschool children

Topic: Children’s Literature

Date Retrieved/Used: March 4th 2018

APA Citation Hershey, D. (1995). A children’s literature curriculum for preschool children. In May,
J. (Ed.), Children’s literature and critical theory: Reading and writing for
understanding (pp.57-63). Oxford, UK:Oxford University Press.
Author(s) Jill P. May (Editor) is a professor of Literacy and Language at Purdue University.
Affiliation:
Type of Resource
(Scholarly/Trade/ Chapter from book
Website/ Book/
Government Report
 Use of picturebooks in preschool to engage in critical analysis and discussion of
Summary of literature (5 week program).
Essential  Children were encouraged to think about, question, compare and scrutinize the
Information stories that were being read to them.
 Could pre-kindergarten students talk about stories and illustrations with a critical
view?
 Children paid close attention to details in the illustrations, compared illustrations
from different versions of the story, fascinated with plot.
 The children carried out simple character profiles (wolf = mean, hungry; three
bears = curious, nice, angry).
 The question, “which of these animals is most like real animals?” initiated a very
interesting discussion.
 Teacher explained that “when we hear a story we form pictures in our heads, and
these pictures are what we remember about the story.”
 Children discussed the problem of the story, the protagonist and antagonist.
 Discussion also centered around, “How about a journey? Is there a journey in this
story?” The children identified that many of the stories they encountered were
“circle” journeys.
 The children developed critical responses – author believes that “we do them a
disservice by just reading stories to them”

Way in which this Describe how this article influences the field that is related to your topic.
source influences  Benefits of encouraging children to critically engage with picturebooks.
the field related to  Simple strategies (and examples) to convey how to facilitate young children’s
your inquiry (e.g. critical engagement with picturebooks.
math
teaching/learning
elementary
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Potential relevance  Developing action plan/guidelines for each book.

to your research
topic and study
Stage of action List all stages of the action research process where this source will be used and
research where the briefly describe how it has informed your work.
source will be used: Implications/Action Planning
 Devising framework – use of strategies/examples in this book chapter for
framework for younger classes (Junior Infants-2nd Class).
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Theme 4: Literature Input Table 4

Article: Instruction and delight

Topic: Children’s Literature

Date Retrieved/Used: February 10th 2018

Bib. Information Reynolds, K. (2009). Transformative energies. In Maybin, J. & Watson, N.J.
(APA Formatting): (Eds.), Children’s literature: Approaches and territories (pp.99-114). Hampshire,
UK: Palgrave MacMillian.
Author(s) Kimberley Reynolds – Professor of Children’s Literature at Newcastle University
Affiliation: and a past president of the International Research Society for Children’s
Literature.
Type of Resource:
(Scholarly Book: Children’s literature: Approaches and territories
/Trade/Other)
Summary of  “Whether you are thinking about individual children’s books or the whole
essential domain of children’s literature, the inside often turns out to be surprisingly
information: larger than the outside might suggest – sometimes literally so as when
material pops out and unfolds from apparently flat pages. Usually, however, it
is the words and images of often physically small texts that turn out to be
capable of filling the minds of generations of young readers with
experiences, emotions, and the mental furniture and tools necessary for
thinking about the worlds they inhabit” (p.99).
 “Childhood is certainly a time for learning to negotiate and find a place in
society, but it is also about developing individual potential suited to a future in
which societies could be different in some significant ways – for instance, the
organization of families, the distribution of resources, or the circulation of
power” (p.100).
 The potential of children’s literature to allows children to “encounter ideas,
images and vocabularies that help them think and ask questions about the
world – but children’s literature has also provided a space in which writers,
illustrators, printers, and publishers have piloted ideas, experimented with
voices, formats and media, played with conventions, and contested thinking
about cultural norms (including those surrounding childhood) and how
societies should be organized” (p.100).
 Outlines the work of two children’s book writers (p.101-104).
 Books read in childhood by writers “lay the foundations of a writer’s literary
aesthetic, and the springboards for subsequent generations” (p.104).
 Refers to work written by Greenway – “it is not just the words in the book that
shape future writers but books as objects, and the range of sensory and
emotional responses and smell of their pages” (p.106).
 Refers to work of Dusinberre – “point[s] to the way writing for children
releases visionary potential during periods of upheaval and uncertainty: ‘in
times of great change’, she says, ‘some of the most radical ideas about what
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the future ought to be like will be located in the books which are written for
the new generation’ (1987:34). This ability to envisage and engage young
readers with possibilities for new worlds and new world orders strikes me as
central to the transformative power of children’s literature, both socially and
aesthetically. The stories we give children are blueprints for living in culture
as (p.107) it exists, but they are also where alternative ways of living arc often
piloted in recognition of the fact that children will not just inherit the future,
but need to participate in shaping it” (p.108).
 “In the absence of new ways of thinking or creative alternatives to the way
society works, writing for children may take up diagnostic position,
identifying problems as a first step towards formulating solutions” (p108).
 “Whether intellectual, social, creative in their focus, as Graham Greene
recognized, children’s books have the potential to influence the future”
(p.108).
Way in which this  Influence of children’s literature on children’s learning/view of the world
source influences around them and their role in society.
the field related to
your inquiry (ex.
Math
teaching/learning
elementary)
Potential relevance 1. Influence of authors’ values, motives.
to your research
topic and study:
Stage of action List all stages of the action research process where this source will be used and
research where the briefly describe how it has informed your work.
source will be Background:
used:  To build researcher understanding of impact of children’s literature on
learning/values.
Design:
 Explore motives of authors/illustrators
Data Collection/Analysis Methodology:
 Analysis of Caldecott Acceptance Speeches.
Findings/Conclusions:

Implications/Action Planning

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Theme 4: Literature Input Table 5

Book: Reading Picture Books with Children

Topic: Children’s Literature

Date Retrieved/Used: March 7th 2018

APA Citation Sipe, L.R., & Brightman, A.E. (2006). Teacher scaffolding of first-graders’ literacy
understanding during read alouds of fairytale variants. In J.V. Hoffman, Schallert,
C.M. Fairbanks, J. Worthy, & B. Maloch (Eds.), 55th Yearbook of the National
Reading Conference (pp.276-291). Oak Creek, WI: National Reading Conference,
Inc.
Author(s) Lawrence R. Sipe (1949-2011) – Professor at the University of Pennyslvania
Graduate School of Education; Chair of Language and Literacy in Education.
Affiliation:
Brightman – Experienced teacher (1st grade teacher involved in the study)

Type of Resource
(Scholarly/Trade/ Book
Website/ Book/
Government Report
 Study – four read alouds of picturebooks in a 1st grade classroom.
Summary of  Article argues that research has primarily focused on students’ and teachers’ talk
Essential after a literary text has been read. This study focuses on the teachers’ interactions
Information with children during reading (p.276).
 Interactive reading – captures in the moment process of children constructing
meaning while reading and has positive effects on children’s literacy development
and literary understanding (p.276).
 The study looks at different teacher scaffolding (multiple roles teachers take on)
during interactive read alouds (p.277).
 Picturebooks have multiple interpretations, and there is not necessarily one “best”
interpretation that the teacher must scaffold “for” or “towards” (p.277).
 Synergy of teacher assistance and student active participation in literary
interpretation on the part of the children (p.277).
 Construction of literary meaning becomes truly a shared responsibility (p.277).
 Scaffolding of literary interpretation depends partly on the nature of the text being
read (p.277).
 Literary texts with metafictive elements (postmodern picturebooks) will involve
different types of scaffolding moves and more (or different) intervention, according
to the children’s previous experience with these texts (p.277).
 Describes traditional read alouds, whereby teachers read the text to children, point
to illustrations and children listen. Teachers turn the “potential text” of the book
into a “realized text” Golden & Gerber, 1990, cited in Sipe & Brightman, 2006,
p.277).
 Teachers’ role during the read aloud did not arise from what the teacher said in
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isolation, but rather in relation to how the children responded following a teacher
comment or question. In this way, each of the teachers’ roles was shown to have a
particular scaffolding function in the dynamic, moment-by-moment exchange of
ideas to the literary discussion (p.278).
 Research questions of the study:

(a) In a 1st grade public school classroom, in what ways does a teacher scaffold
children’s literary understanding as she reads aloud a series of four variants of one
traditional story?
(b) In what ways does the teacher scaffolding change during the sequence of the four
read alouds?
 Before beginning the read aloud, the teacher reminded the students that they did not
need to raise their hands when they wished to comment on the text or illustrations.
In addition, the students were encouraged to address their classmates throughout the
discussion so that they could share ideas with one another directly. The teacher
would also pause before and after reading the text on each page, thus providing
additional opportunities for the students to comment, ask questions or make
connections to text or illustrations (p.279).
 Analysis of conversational turns – highlights back-and-forth nature of discussion +
analysis of topic units – in order to note the ways in which the teacher facilitated
and managed the discussion (p.279).
 Comparative analysis between 4 read alouds – understand the ways in which the
teacher changed, modified and refined her scaffolding according to the increasing
complexity of the texts and the children’s needs (p.279).
 Findings of the study indicate that the teacher’s scaffolding most often followed the
children’s lead and that there were subtle changes in her approach over the course
of the 4 discussions. In general terms, the conversations across the 4 read alouds
became successively longer (p.280).
 Authors had assumed that they more challenging and less familiar texts, the amount
of teacher talk and scaffolding would increase but in fact, the teacher allowed the
children to talk proportionally a little more as the story became more complex
(p.280).
 For all four read alouds, the teacher examined the book prior to reading the story.
The teacher spent 20-25% of the discussion exploring front and back covers, dust
jackets, the end pages, title pages and dedication pages before reading the story to
help the children to predict what was going to happen and to begin to develop their
schema for the story, an important scaffolding function. The teacher used the
peritext of the book for schema-building rather than asking “purpose-setting”
questions or otherwise getting the children “ready” to read the story (p.280).
 Teacher de-emphasized her role in setting the agenda for the discussion and
emphasized the affordances of the book (p.280).
 Students contributed their observations (p.280).
 Teacher Played 5 Scaffolding Roles:
i. Reader of the text – interpreted and enacted the story by mediating the text for
the children, investing the silent words on the page with sound and emotion.
She also divided the text into segments as they read. She rephrased the words
of the story without adding interpretations of her own (p.281).
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ii. Manager/encourager – encouragement and praise, responsiveness and

supported children’s risk taking (p.281).
iii. Clarifier/prober – enabled children to articulate their responses more fully and
to “explain themselves” (p.281).
iv. Fellow wonderer/speculator – situated herself as another student and allowed
the children to function totally independently (p.281).
v. Extender/Refiner – enabled the introduction of new literary information and
concepts in a form and context that allowed the children to assimilate it more
easily; took advantage of teachable moments – introducing design feature
terms – adding elements to the children’s “literacy tool kit” (p.282).
 Postmodern picturebook – the teacher was more active as a wonderer/speculator
and extender/refiner. Hypothesize that the teacher addressed the need for more
teachable moments and direct teaching with the postmodern picturebook due to its
difficulty (p.282).
 Teacher questions:
i. Invitations (30%) – invited the children to look, reflect, interpret, infer (p.282).
ii. Encouragements (13%) – encouraged children to continue talking (p.283).
iii. Probes (25%) – Probed to clarify what a child meant (p.283).
iv. Predicting questions (11%) – encouraged children to speculate what would
happen next in the story (p.283).
v. Factual questions (21%) – asked to confirm children’s understanding of an
event or situation in the story (p.283).
 21% were comprehension questions; 79% invitations to encourage children to talk
(p.283).
 Teacher extended proportionality more invitations to speculate, look loosely and
interpret as the books increased in difficulty (p.284).
 Postmodern picturebook – scaffolding did not depend heavily on ascertaining facts
directly, rather the teacher was increasing her invitations to reflect, interpret and
look closely and to predict in order for the children to understand what was going
on in the story (p.284).
 Total conversational turns increased significantly over the course of the 4 read
alouds (p.284).
 As the stories became more complicated, the teacher allowed more time for the
children to deal (p.284) with puzzles and complexities (p.285).
 Topic Units Began:
i. Children made comments or asked questions after teacher read
ii. Child made a comment or asked question
iii. Teacher makes comment
iv. Teacher asks questions
 Teacher allowed the children to set their own interpretive trajectories.
 Teacher’s role as reader of the text frequently helped to scaffold the discussion by
“chunking” the story into manageable parts (p.285).
 The teacher drew the children attention to other student’s questions when she did
not want to loose the question. She offered praise but did not attempt to lead the
conversation to any definitive interpretation; rather she valued their multiple
interpretations and understood that the children were fleshing out a group
interpretation with each others’ aid (p.286).
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 Postmodern picturebook – The Three Pigs – text and illustrations contradict each
other – caused a little confusion for the students (p.286-288) The teacher responds
by simply saying, “Let’s turn the page and see what happens” (p.288).
 The teacher introduces picturebook design feature terms such as storyboards and
story frames in order to prepare the children for the subsequent developments in the
story where the pigs in the postmodern picturebook will move between and among
storyboards – introduces important language for talking about the unusual story
(p.288).
 Most difficult read alouds – teacher chose comments over questions (p.289).
 Majority of teacher conversation turns – reading the story, to call on children and
otherwise manage the discussion, and to invite more comments (p.289).
 The teacher’s approach was neither laissez-faire nor rigidly controlling; she became
more directive at points at which she wanted the children to understand with some
exactitude an idea or action that had crucial significance for understanding the
whole story (p.289).
 Teachers can be active and purposeful in their interactions with children and, at the
same time, encourage a high degree of active involvement from their students
(p.289).
 Active teachers function as enablers of children’s own engaged involvement,
assisting children to interpret challenging texts is that the teacher’s contribution to
the discussion is to “ratchet up” the children’s level of understanding and
interpretation (p.289).
 Too often, teachers may dominate the conversation with low-level factual questions,
meant more to text superficial comprehension than to contribute to active meaning
making (p.289).
 Teachers who approach read alouds with a predetermined agenda create little
opportunity for their students to contribute valuable thoughts and ideas to the
discussion (p.290).
 The nature of texts is an important consideration in the teacher’s choice of the types
of scaffolding roles and the degree of intervention (p.290).
 It is important to note that the children in the study were already experienced in
literary discussion (p.290).

Way in which this Describe how this article influences the field that is related to your topic.
source influences  Teacher plays different scaffolding roles depending on the children’s responses to
the field related to the text and depending on the type of text being read.
your inquiry (e.g.  Facilitation of read aloud – encouraging children to respond to the text without
math raising their hands; encouraging children to respond to one another throughout the
teaching/learning read aloud.
elementary  Picturebooks have multiple interpretations – no one “best” interpretation.
 Spending ample time examining peritextual features prior to reading the story.
 Teacher as reader – rephrase words but not adding own interpretation.
 Postmodern picturebooks – allow more time for students to speculate, invite
children to contribute, reflect, interpret.
 Teacher introduces language (design feature elements of picturebooks) in order to
talk about the story (increase comprehension).
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Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

Potential relevance  Study involved Wiesner’s postmodern picturebook, ‘The Three Pigs’ (2002)
to your research Caldecott Medal Winner.
topic and study  Teachers can be active and purposeful in their interactions with children and, at
the same time, encourage a high degree of active involvement from their students
(p.289).
 Active teachers function as enablers of children’s own engaged involvement,
assisting children to interpret challenging texts is that the teacher’s contribution to
the discussion is to “ratchet up” the children’s level of understanding and
interpretation (p.289).
 Too often, teachers may dominate the conversation with low-level factual
questions, meant more to text superficial comprehension than to contribute to
active meaning making (p.289).
 Teachers who approach read alouds with a predetermined agenda create little
opportunity for their students to contribute valuable thoughts and ideas to the
discussion (p.290).
 The nature of texts is an important consideration in the teacher’s choice of the
types of scaffolding roles and the degree of intervention (p.290).

Stage of action List all stages of the action research process where this source will be used and
research where the briefly describe how it has informed your work.
source will be used: Background:
 To build researcher understanding of uses of picture books in the classroom.
Design:

Data Collection/Analysis Methodology:
Findings/Conclusions:
 Link to other articles relating to using children’s literature with children in the
elementary school classroom.
 Importance of encouraging children to notice, engaging in conversation with
children, introducing the language of picturebook features to children to
promote comprehension.

Implications/Action Planning
 Devising framework – teacher’s role (multiple scaffolding roles) during read
aloud.
 Encouraging children’s contributions, active involvement in order to promote
meaning making.
 Literature Input Tables

Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

Theme 4: Literature Input Table 6

Book: The vibrant triangle: The relationship between the picture book, the adult reader, and the child listener
Topic: Children’s Literature
Date Retrieved/Used: February 1st 2018

APA Citation Smith, T. (2013). The vibrant triangle: The relationship between the picture book, the
adult reader, and the child listener. Bookbird Inc, 5(12), 65-70.
Author(s) Children’s book writer. Her novel Marble Boys won an honorable mention in the
Affiliation: 2008 PEN New England Discovery Awards.
Type of Resource
(Scholarly/Trade/ Scholarly Article
Website/ Book/
Government Report
 The author refers to the ‘Vibrant Triangle’ to describe the experience that unfolds
Summary of between the reader, child listener and the picture book (p.66).
Essential  Reading a picture book with a child results in temporality removing the child (and
Information reader) from “their everyday lives, and gives them a break from their immediate
problems or pleasures” (p.67).
 “The intersection of imaginary elements and real sensory experiences offers the
child a safe and full way to participate in crises and celebrations, dilemmas, and
resolutions. It expands a child’s capacity for empathy and understanding” (p.67).
 “For the child reading, the threshold between reality and fantasy can mysteriously
vanish... [reading] flips a switch so that the child returns to the real world with
renewed curiosity...not just about the world of fiction but also about the world
they inhabit” (Marie Tatar, 2009, p.137 cited in Smith, 2013, p.67).

Way in which this Describe how this article influences the field that is related to your topic.
source influences  Importance of reading picture books aloud to children.
the field related to
your inquiry (e.g.
math
teaching/learning
elementary
Potential relevance  Children making connections with characters to make sense of the world around
to your research them. Fosters a sense of belonging in children and helps to create a sense of self.
topic and study  Engaging with picture books increases children’s sense of curiosity with the world
around them.
Stage of action We will complete this section together during our 2nd class session.
research where the Background:
source will be used:  Build my understanding of how children’s literature can be used as a learning
tool in the classroom.
 Build my understanding of considerations teachers should be aware of in order
 Literature Input Tables

Theme 4: Encouraging Active Engagement Before, During and After Reading to Negotiate Meaning of
Picturebooks

Theme 3: Attention to Design Features Heightens Overall Comprehension of the Work

to use children’s literature in the classroom effectively.

Design:
1. Guided two embedded questions:
 How can children’s literature be used to encourage children to engage in
play?
 How can children’s literature be incorporated into the curriculum to
encourage children’s engagement in play?
Data Collection/Analysis Methodology:
 Article used to devise questions for interviews with experts in children’s
literature.
Findings/Conclusions:
 After conducting interviews with experts in literacy, it might be possible to
connect insights gained with information in this article.
Implications/Action Planning:
 My action plan (recommendations/suggestions for teachers to use literature as
a tool to encourage children’s engagement in play) may be guided by this
article as well as insights gained from interviews with experts in literacy.