The Possibilities Postmodern Picture Books Make Possible

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: Literary Empowerment: Disrupting Tropes, Reimagining Worlds, and Fostering Equity Through Reading and Writing (Table 16)

Abstract

Using postmodern picture books as mentor texts for writing in elementary classrooms offers a unique opportunity to engage students in critical writing pedagogies. The unique craft moves of postmodern picture books model methods for students to question narratives, consider representation, and write their own identities into their stories. In this study, I drew on craft moves of postmodern picture books to engage five student writers in creating stories that centered their identities and disrupted narrowed conceptions of writing. Students were also intentional about what they wanted their pieces to do—for themselves, for their readers, and in the world. Engagement with the books opened spaces up for the writers to center identities and issues that mattered to them.

Author

• Amy Leigh Tondreau, University of Maryland - Baltimore County