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Vol.
42, No. 1 February, 2004 TO THE POINT: NARRATIVE CHANGES What Do Four Voices, a Shortcut, and Three Pigs Have
in Common? Metafiction! Toward a Genuine
Narrative Voice Karlsson Flies
over Russia: Astrid Lindgren's Books in Russia Girl Stuck in the Wall: Narrative Changes in Norwegian Children's
Literature Exemplified by the Picture Book Snill Other Voices Postmodernism
in Austrian Picture Books Between Tradition
and Modern Technology Regular Features Focus IBBY Country Survey:
The Literature for Children and Young People in Serbia in the Past
and Today Reading Promotion:
Literary Canon for Children and Teenagers Author Spotlight:
Modern Forms of Narration: From Moralizing Cautionary Tales to Social
Psychological Case Studies (Kirsten Boie's Books About Xenophobia
and Violence) International Children's Books of Note Professional Literature News and Announcements Dear
Bookbird Reader, But the authors of books for children (writers, illustrators, or both) are not just going the way of adult literature in narrative development. They create new narratives based on the specificity of literature for children, using visual narrative as an essential component of a children's book. That is why, these days, nothing is impossible in books for children and young people, provided it makes young readers think, helps them to understand better the world, other people, and themselves, and last but not least keeps their attention, by no means an easy task. The development of visual narrative, new technologies, and changed lifestyles also change readers. Authors of books for children usually have to deal with careful if observers capable of understanding the most refined authorial techniques. The richness of form available in books for children and young people has inspired our authors in this issue; each of them has found a different approach to the topic. Sylvia Pantaleo introduces the reader to the complexity of picture books by following some metafictive devices in three popular books. Maria Nikolajeva offers an interesting approach to the issue: she compares three books with similar themes, published in different periods of the last two centuries, thus illustrating also some psychological aspects of social change. Using as an example a wonderful picture book entitled Snill, Aase Marie Ommundsen depicts the innovativeness of Norwegian children's literature. Following the reception of Astrid Lindgren's books in Russia, Olga Maeots shows how a work in translation can influence the development of a national literature. New forms of visual narratives are described in the articles on the postmodern illustrations in Austrian picture books by Silke Rabus, and on the modern trends in illustration in Cyprus by Maria Pyliotou. Analyzing two books by Kirsten Boie, Hannelore Daubert highly appreciates readers' ability to make their own judgments. Several new National Sections joined IBBY in 2003. Bookbird will present you with trends in literature for children and young people in these countries, starting in this issue with an article on Serbian literature by Voja Marjanovic. Bookbird will also regularly introduce different reading promotion projects. "Literary Canon for Children and Teenagers" by Ewa Swierzewska presents an interesting publishing project in Poland. It is fascinating to think how many different aspects a children's book has and how much narrative techniques have changed in a comparatively short period of time. A meeting point of different cultures, of visual and textual narration, of new technology, of past and present, books for children and young people show infinite possibilities of forms, trends, and approaches. Analyzing the complexity of literature for children and young people helps change the character and image of this field. We hope you will enjoy reading this issue of Bookbird as much as we have enjoyed preparing it! The Bookbird Editors: Evelyn B. Freeman,
Barbara A. Lehman, |
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