Inside the Picture, Outside the Frame: Semiotics and the Reading of Wordless Picture Books

Abstract

The Publishing world has witnessed a proliferation of wordless children's books during the past 40 years. Books in this genre offer young readers invitations to transact with a whole system of images as they navigate these texts. Using a semiotic framework, this study focuses on three children's readings of wordless picture books and explores the ways in which they assign meaning to a variety of visual signs and cues. The data indicate that the children make sense of wordless picture books by using sense-making processes similar to those used in the reading of print-based texts. Specifically, they construct meaning through the use of prior knowledge and experiences, attention to intertextual cues, multiple perspective-taking, reliance upon story language and rituals, and the implementation of active, playful behaviors as part of the reading process.