Picturebook between Fiction and Reality

The book examines the multifaceted dimensions of the picturebook as a format and explains its specific ontological status between fiction and reality based on its semiotic structure which relies on two divided and interrelated discourses, verbal and visual. It addresses the roles of both narrative and non-narrative picturebooks as artistic and cultural artefacts. This edited volume delves into the interplay between fiction and reality, materiality, and the ideological and artistic layers embedded in picturebooks across different cultures and contexts. From nostalgic portrayals of book-objects to anthropomorphised geometric forms, and from metafictional techniques in Greek picturebooks to product placement in interwar Croatian children’s books, this collection surveys the diverse landscapes of picturebook studies. It also explores themes such as the ontological complexities of fictional and factual cities, the blending of realism and fantasy in picture dictionaries, and the dynamic intertextuality in contemporary picturebooks. Additionally, the volume highlights innovative narrative strategies, such as nested anthropomorphisation and playful depiction of factual objects in fictional contexts, that deepen readers’ engagement with stories. By drawing on a range of interdisciplinary approaches, this book underscores how picturebooks reflect, challenge, and shape cultural narratives and ideologies through their problematisation of the complex relationship between fiction and reality.

Smiljana Narančić Kovač, Full Professor, recently retired from the Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb, Croatia, where she taught courses on children’s literature and was Head of the Centre for Research in Children’s Literature and Culture (2018–2023). She is the Editor-in-Chief of Libri & Liberi.

Nikola Novaković is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb, Croatia, where he teaches courses on English literature, children’s literature and picturebook theory. His fields of interest include humour in literature, especially children’s literature, picturebooks, comic books, and graphic novels.