REMEDIATION OF CRIME FICTION IN NARRATIVE PICTUREBOOKS
REMEDIATION OF CRIME FICTION IN NARRATIVE PICTUREBOOKS

Summary/Abstract: The paper examines the established conventions of the crime genre and the changes introduced by its remediation in narrative picturebooks for young readers. The aim is to develop an analytical framework that enables the systematic study of crime and detective narrative picturebooks and the strategies employed by authors and illustrators to adapt the genre to children's reception. The proposed framework examines two levels – thematic-motivic and structural. At the first level, crime mitigation strategies were identified by choosing the motives of the crime or replacing the crimes with mystery, humourising, cumulation, and accumulation. At the second level, the key element was shown to be the conceptual pair of crime – punishment, with the balance most often restored with mitigated, poetic, or humorous punishment. In addition, accumulation and retardation strategies have been recognised that dynamise the narrative and connect picturebooks with the logic of oral stories and fairy-tale patterns. Strategies that create tension and engage the young reader in the investigative process are also identified, including verbal paralipsis, visual hinting, and information accumulation strategies. Special attention is paid to the role of the characters, and it is suggested that one observe them through the functions they play in the narrative – victim, criminal, investigator/pursuer, and resolver. In conclusion, the paper demonstrates that detective and crime picturebooks operate at the intersection of the crime genre and fairy-tale logic, confirming the need to expand the concept of crime and detective picturebooks beyond the framework of adult crime fiction theory. This affirms the picturebook's status as an autonomous children's literary form, with its own rules, strategies, and innovations.

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