Theorising Oliver Jeffers’ Picturebooks

Jade Dillon-Craig is Associate Professor of Children’s Literature and Young Learners at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway. She is the co-editor of Family in Children’s and Young Adult Literature (Routledge, 2023) and has published several book chapters and articles related to children’s literature, Alice studies, fairy tales and visual texts for young readers. She is editor of the Children’s Literature in English Language Education journal and a founding board member of the Association for Research on Children’s Literature in English in Norway. Originally from Co. Limerick in Ireland, Jade now resides in Trondheim, Norway with her husband, Marcus, and their ragdoll cat, Mona.

• 1. From How to Catch a Star to NowThe importance of Oliver Jeffers as an Irish author in the picturebook canonOliver Jeffers’ picturebook career… so farA multi-theoretical approach to Oliver Jeffers’ picturebooks2. Theorising Visual AestheticsWhat is a picturebook?Reading the Visual3. Exploring Semiotics and CuriositiesSemiotic curiosities in “The Boy” seriesSemiotics of child cognition in StuckCurious semiotics in “The Hueys” series4. Affective Spaces and MindscapesSpace, Place and Non-Place in The Heart and the BottleAffective (mis)Understandings and Cognitive Development in This Moose Belongs to MeAffective Semiotics in Jeffers’ Picturebooks5. Embodied MetafictionBlurring Textual BoundariesPlayfulness as FormIntertextuality, Interpictoriality, and Self-ReferentialityPostmodern Picturebooks and Metafictional Synergy6. Pedagogical PerspectivesPedagogical Approaches for using Picturebooks in Primary School ContextsExploring Thematic Content and Deep-Dialogic Reading through Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet EarthEngaging with Multimodality and Aesthetic (Visual) Reading through The Great Paper CaperLearning through Metafiction and MetacognitionEpilogue: Where to Next?

"The book is an important contribution to the field of picturebook theory, bringing a carefully crafted analysis on Jeffers' authorship reflecting the deeper layers with a focus on visual literacy and a postmodern perspective. New insights and knowledge are provided. A must read for picturebook researchers and lovers of Jeffers’ work."--Professor Hilde Tørnby, Oslo Metropolitan University"Bringing together a multi-theoretical approach and a deep sensitivity to multimodality and the semiotics of childhood, this innovative monograph illuminates the metafictive and postmodern dimensions of Jeffers' storytelling. It makes a rich and timely contribution to the fields of youth-literature studies, Irish studies, childhood studies, and pedagogical approaches with picturebooks."--Dr Patricia Kennon, Maynooth University"Drawing excellently on existing research on picturebooks and modality, this timely monograph’s multi-theoretical approach brilliantly draws out the powerful emotional resonance and innovation of Oliver Jeffers’ under researched works. It will be useful for those learning how to read picturebooks, those interested in applying theory to picturebooks, and those interested in pedagogical approaches."--Dr Jennifer Mooney, Dublin City University"This engaging book takes a close look at one of the most beloved and widely translated contemporary ‘picturebook makers’: Oliver Jeffers. By carefully teasing out the complex relationship between the words and the images, Dillon-Craig reveals the layers of meaning in the rich poetic and affective semiotic patterns created by Jeffers."--Professor Evelyn Arizpe, University of Glasgow