Voices of the stinky cheese man: a comparative study of two postmodern picture books
Keywords:
children’s books, postmodernism, metafictive devices, pedagogy, reading, Four Resource ModelAbstract
This paper is a comparative study of two picture
books which demonstrate postmodern tendencies. The paper
is structured into three parts. I will begin with a
presentation of the characteristics of the metafictive devices
used by writers and illustrators in postmodern picture
books. The second part will compare the two picture books
chosen in terms of postmodern readings and will identify
and explore the metafictive devices that I have noticed
within each text. Finally, I will discuss the two texts in terms
of relevancy to classroom teaching, using the Four
Resource Model framework developed by Freebody and
Luke (Freebody, 1992). In order to demonstrate the
classroom application of the chosen texts, examples of how
the texts can be used within each of the four areas of the
framework will be given. An appendix, which includes the
plot summary of the two books, precedes the references list.
References
Anstey, M. (2002a). “It’s not all black and whiteâ€: Postmodern picture books
and new literacies. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 45(6), 362-271.
Anstey, M. (2002b). More than cracking the code: postmodern picture books
and new literacies. In G. Bull & M. Anstey (Eds.) Crossing the Boundaries.
NSW: Prentice Hall.
Browne, A. (1998). Voices in the Park. London: Picture Corgi Books.
Classroom organisation. (2002). Retrieved August 21, 2009from
http://www.myread.org/organisation.htm#cards
Colker, L.J. (2008). The postmodern world of children's book illustration,
Reading is Fundamental Inc, Retrieved July 16, 2009 from
http://www.rif.org/educators/articles/childrens_book_illustrations.mspx Four
Resource Questions (2008). Retrieved March 25, 2009 from
http://www.itag.education.tas.gov.au
Freebody, P. & Luke, A. (August 1999). Further Notes on the Four Resources
Model. Reading Online. Retrieved August 30, 2009 from
http://www.readingonline.org/past/past_index.asp?HREF=/research/.html
Freebody, P. (1992). A socio-cultural approach: resourcing four roles as a
literacy learner. In A. Watson & A. Badenhop (Eds.), Prevention of Reading
Failure. Lindfield: Scholastic Australia Pty Limited. Retrieved August 21,
from http://www.myread.org/readings_freebody.htm
Hill, S. (2005, August). Multiliteracies in Early Childhood. Paper presented at
the Public Libraries of South Australia Conference, Building Communities.
Retrieved August 28, 2009 from http://www.plsa.plain.net.au/PLSA_2005.pdf
New London Group. (1999). A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social
Futures. Harward Educational Review 66(1). Retrieved August 5, 2009 from
http://wwwstatic.kern.org/filer/blogWrite44ManilaWebsite/paul /article
O’Conor, J. (1995). Gingerbread man meets Dali: postmodernism and the
picture book. Retreived August 4, 2009 from http://nla.gov.au/nla.arc-45689
Pantaleo, S. (2004). Young children interpret the metafictive in Anthony Browne’s
‘Voices in the Park.’ Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 4(2), 211-233.
Pantaleo, S. (2005).Young children engage with the metafictive in picture
books. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 28(1), 19-37.
Scieszka J. & Smith, L. (1992). The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly
Stupid Tales. New York: Scholastic Inc.
Semali, L. (2001, November). Defining new literacies in curricular practice.
Reading online 5(4), Retrieved July 27, 2009 from
http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=semali.html
Todd, C & Webster, H. (n.d.) The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid
Tales. Retrieved August 28, 2009 from http://www.latrobe.edu.au/childlit/
Waugh, P. (1984). Metafiction: The Theory and practice of Self-conscious
Fiction. New York: Methuen. Retrieved August 29, 2009 from
http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/Literary_Criticism/postmodernism/.com