A collage in a children’s books as a visual narrative and the formation of readers’ experience in preschoolers: Evidence from classic 1950s–1980s picture books

Abstract

The article examines selected works featuring collages or collage-like techniques from the collections of Margarita Rudomino All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature. It also provides insights into the patterns that preschool children display when reading illustrated library books. The article offers a list of books and describes the formats of working with them. The list of books and possible formats of working with them can be applied by those who work with preschoolers, teachers and parents of primary schoolchildren and others involved in additional education.

The article shares best practices in visual narrative analysis that help to reveal the main ideas, aesthetic concepts and ethical aspects in literary works. A careful examination and discussion of illustrations facilitates the acquisition of textual decoding skills in children. Moreover, at preschool age reading is not limited to the visual processing of information only — children also use their hands which facilitates the development of tactile and motor skills. The article proposes the formats of reading collage-containing books with preschoolers and primary schoolchildren. These formats will improve children’s cognitive functions, motor and reading skills, and skills of decoding visual narratives. The proposed formats also provide for an aesthetic reading experience. The reading classes may be hosted by a library or a similar institution.

The selection of works by famous English-language authors featuring collages is limited to those published no earlier than the 1950s and available in the collections