| Children's books are generally dismissed when considering great works of literature, certainly in part due to the fact that they are presumably written for a child audience. However, postmodern children's picture books exemplify many features of postmodernism. Postmodern themes and techniques can be featured in these stories through the transcendence between high and low culture, contradictory implied readers, inclusion of the author within the text, parody, and an interplay between text and words. An examination of several postmodern picture books, including works by David Macaulay, Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, and Lauren Child, demonstrates the complex literary devices used within seemingly simple books, while also exploring the experience of the readers as they are invited to "play" and interact with the narrative of the stories. |
