Stories, Pictures and Reality: Two Children Tell

by Virginia Lowe

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This study looks at young children’s understanding of the reality status of stories and pictures (e.g. “Animals can’t talk!” “Is this a real story?”) from birth to eight. It is based on a reading journal in which all the books read to two children, and responses to them, were recorded.

Areas covered are:
Infant book behaviour
What is real, what pretend?

Picture conventions
The illustrator’s role
The concept of author
Emotions of characters
Identification
Humour and irony

This study differs from the other published records of children and books:

One of the children is male
Starts with them as infants
The different environment and experiences of a second child
Ages birth to eight
Investigates the reality question

Don’t underestimate babies and children. Ply them with books, read the actual words, and thus keep their creativity and imagination alive. They’ll even learn what is “real” in the process, which can only be a good thing.

“At a time when multi-modal representations of real and fantasy worlds penetrate far into children’s lives, this book presents a powerful argument for sharing conventional texts with children. All teachers of young children should read it to give them a sense of the long-term power of the reverberative text.” Henrietta Dombey in the blurb. 2006-reading_on_couch2.jpg - 20485 Bytes

2006-reading_on_couch2.jpg - 20485 Bytes

Virginia's book Stories, Pictures and Reality: Two Children Tell will be published by Routledge (London) in November, 2006. You can order a copy from Virginia.

book cover painting and design by Jacqui Young

Stories, Pictures and Reality: Two Children Tell
A Review by Maurice Saxby, Viewpoint, Spring 2007.
Commendations by Margaret Meek and Henrietta Dombey
Is it a real story?
Writing Trials
Order Stories, Pictures and Reality: Two Children Tell
Bibliography of articles by Virginia, based on the same data as the book

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© Dr. Virginia Lowe 2002 -
PO Box 2 Ormond 3204
phone 03 9578 5689 fax 03 9578 3466
http://createakidsbook.com.au

Stories, Pictures and Reality: Two Children Tellby Virginia Lowe

Stories, Pictures and Reality: Two Children Tell

by Virginia Lowe