Reading Rural Place in the Four Corners of Picture Books

• In Event: 54.075 - Considering Place in Rural Teaching and Learning

Abstract

How do I read this place? This article considers the application of close reading to the places of picturebooks. Letting Swift River Go (Yolen, 1992) works as an exemplar of the limitations and affordances of the close reading of the places of picturebooks. I argue that close reading is generally poorly matched to the complexity of picturebooks, but is particularly inadequate as a tool with which to engage readers with the construction of rural place in picture books. In the hands of skilled teachers, picturebooks have the potential to facilitate connections with others and engage children with places in ways that cultivate democratic communities. This potential is stymied if children's engagement is limited to reading within their four corners.

Author

• Karen Eppley, The Pennsylvania State University