Living Materiality: Elsa Beskow’s Work in a New Light or a Holistic Approach to Children’s Reading
Living Materiality: Elsa Beskow’s Work in a New Light or a Holistic Approach to Children’s Reading

Summary/Abstract: The paper starts from the view that an analysis of the concrete materiality of a work, such as format, choice of paper, typography and colours, is fundamental for an understanding of picturebooks and their impact on children’s reading. Historical picturebooks also reveal the cultural understanding of children and childhood in different times and cultures. The tight connection between materiality, reading and learning in picturebooks is exemplified by the work of the Swedish author Elsa Beskow (1874–1953), who was strongly influenced by the ideas of the Swedish progressive educator Ellen Key. The paper relies on the state of the art in materiality research in children’s literature, with special emphasis on children’s reading and on the consequences of the transmission processes for picturebooks as artifacts.

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