The illustrated book and materiality in the narrative
Illustrated book; Materiality; Narrative; Paratext
This research is a dive into the universe of illustrated books, their parts and their
particularities. Books which, at first, are classified as those with
presence of text and images, which together form a unique message. Although,
there are other elements that make up these books and that are often
undervalued and even forgotten when readers and scholars of literature go
enjoy or analyze these works. Is the cover not part of the narrative? Does
the platform where the work is printed (or published) does not help tell that
history? Title, dedication, type of paper (in the case of works printed on paper),
table of contents and all other elements that make up books are not important in the
construction of their narratives? Another important point is the complexity of these
books that produce a message from the combination of a wide range of
of paratexts. Why is an object so full of possibilities constantly
related to simplicity and a single audience, children? Does this format
book is only suitable for certain subjects and people? To reinforce (or
reject) the importance of the elements that make up the illustrated book (the paratexts),
as well as its diverse (or infinite) possibilities, we analyze examples of
intentional use of these paratexts in the narratives of several works. What
led us to yet another question: is the picture book just literature? Or, who
you know, an autonomous and hybrid language, which mixes literature and other
artistic languages, such as visual ones, for example?