Different means of sequencing images in the poetry picture books

Abstract

This work intends to analyze the possibilities of organizing the sequences of pictures in the poetry picturebook, characterized by the combination of illustrations and poetry. Based on a sample of 55 picturebooks in Spanish, the different composition procedures observed are classified and analyzed. Some picturebooks employ the same criteria of narrative picturebook, as they develop a visual narration combined with a non narrative literary discourse, which can serve as a sort of scaffolding for child readers. Besides, many poetry picture books adopt visual patterns and resources typical from lyric text. Some of them are recurrences, as well as figurative language. Although these procedures can be used in any kind of poetry picturebook, they are especially important in these ones without narration, where the pictures do not have any kind of temporal or causal relationship between them. Moreover, the repetition of characters, situations and visual motifs are observed as elements which provide cohesion, create rhythm and support reading comprehension. Finally, some works reveal other criteria for sequencing pictures, such as spatial relationships or the stream of consciousness of the poetic voice.