A Multimodal Approach to Picturebooks on Migration and Migrants

This volume is the first edited collection that offers various theoretical and analytical perspectives on migration narratives in children’s picturebooks. The chapters presented have benefitted from theories such as multimodal social semiotics, systemic-functional multimodal discourse analysis, computer-assisted discourse analysis, multimodal critical discourse analysis, cognitive approaches, and conceptual metaphor.

The book highlights the affordances of a multimodal approach in illuminating how texts and illustrations do joint semiotic work to encourage young readers’ understanding of the difficulties faced by young migrants and thus help young migrants make sense of new languages and settings. The volume foregrounds the importance of critical perspectives in analysing visual narratives of migration in children’s picture books, examining both successful and less successful examples of this joint semiotic work at play and in turn, suggestions for improvements for the future. The book makes the case for multimodal perspectives on migration in children’s picture books toward promoting equality, diversity, and social acceptance of young migrants and the integration of migration issues in early childhood education.

This volume will be of interest to students and scholars in multimodality, discourse analysis, social semiotics, children’s literature, and early childhood education.

Carmen Santamaría- García is Associate Professor of Language and Linguistics at the University of Alcala, Madrid, Spain.

Eija Ventola is Emerita Professor with previous full professorships at universities in Finland, Austria, and Germany and guest professorships at various universities around the world, and is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.