Building Children’s Worlds
The Representation of Architecture and Modernity in Picturebooks
Torsten Schmiedeknecht editor Jill Rudd editor Emma Hayward editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Published:28th Mar '23
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£36.99(9780367675486)
Children are the future architects, clients and users of our buildings. The kinds of architectural worlds they are exposed to in picturebooks during their formative years may be assumed to influence how they regard such architecture as adults.
Contemporary urban environments the world over represent the various stages of modernism in architecture. This book reads that history through picturebooks and considers the kinds of national identities and histories they construct.
Twelve specialist essays from international scholars address questions such as: Is modern architecture used to construct specific narratives of childhood? Is it taken to support ‘negative’ narratives of alienation on the one hand and ‘positive’ narratives of happiness on the other? Do images of modern architecture support ideas of ‘community’? Reinforce ‘family values’? If so, what kinds of architecture, community and family? How is modern architecture placed vis-à-vis the promotion of diversity (ethnic, religious, gender etc.)? How might the use of architecture in comic strips or the presence of specific kinds of building in fiction aimed at younger adults be related to the groundwork laid in picturebooks for younger readers?
This book reveals what stories are told about modern architecture and shows how those stories affect future attitudes towards and expectations of the built environment.
"Architecture is frequently overlooked as a background in picturebook research. However, the field of children’s literature has increasingly focused on architectural spaces and environments in picturebooks as a result of the ‘spatial turn’ and the ‘pictorial turn’. Yet there are still relatively few studies specialising in the architecture of children’s picturebooks. Building Children’s Worlds: The Representation of Architecture and Modernity in Picturebooks is groundbreaking in this field, employing various research methodologies to present a diverse architectural world in children’s picturebooks that is closely related to history, culture, ideology, and emotion. The collection encourages further exploration of architecture and children’s literature and will undoubtedly appeal to all those interested in modern architecture and modernity in children’s picturebooks."
Manle Li and Haifeng Hui, International Research in Children’s Literature, May 2024
"This edited volume provides a valuable bridge between the fields of architecture and children’s literature, while inviting a wider interdisciplinary discussion including history studies, digital humanities, and intercultural research. It not only demonstrates the modern connection between the material and literary worlds, but more importantly, reveals how they work together to shape children’s understanding of modernity, on which our everyday lives largely depend."
Xiao Zhang, Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature, 2025
ISBN: 9780367675479
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 820g
242 pages