Picturing truth: visual resources to convey reliability in children's non-fiction

Lostale-Seijo, Beatriz (2023) Picturing truth: visual resources to convey reliability in children's non-fiction. In: CONFIA 2023 - 10th International Conference on Illustration & Animation. Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, pp. 315-326. ISBN 9789895493999

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Picturing truth: visual resources to convey reliability in children's non-fiction - Beatriz Lostale-Seijo (142kB)

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Creators:

Lostale-Seijo, Beatriz

Description/Abstract:

The informational and the creative meet in non-fiction children’s literature, where the communicative and expressive potential of the picturebook as a medium has given rise to a new variety of approaches. Although this has allowed authors and illustrators to move away from values associated with traditional information communication media, the intention to convey reliability seems to persist in some non-fiction books with didactic and expository takes. In these books, the introduction of certain resources has served as a way to enhance the credibility of the content, manifesting not only through the textual and paratextual, but also in the visuals.
This paper examines a series of visual conventions which can be considered to convey or reinforce the credibility of the presented information in non-fiction picturebooks. Relying on the social semiotic theory developed by Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen, I analyse picturebooks from the European publishing market featuring stylistic and design approaches associated with the true and real. Through this study, I intend to identify ways in which credibility can be visually communicated in a children’s book genre characterised by a degree of creative freedom that sets it apart from other informational forms.

Item Type:

Book Section

Date:

2023