Enchantment and tales in the labyrinth of pictures

Reading and listening to stories, retelling them and imagining them all over again enables children to familiarise themselves with interpretations which allow them to open up to understanding and interpreting the world, their inner being and those of others and thus essentially helping them to live as peacefully and constructively as possible. Picture books and illustrated albums are irresistibly alluring for children because the figurative story-telling brings with it an explosive, rule-breaking, sensual charge. It recalls thrilling sensations like the poisoned red of Snow White’s apple, the capricious yellow of Geppetto’s wig, or the impertinent ginger of Pippi Longstocking’s plaits.
Yet, surprisingly, due to a strange law of retaliation, our children, sons and daughters of a civilisation of images, seem much less well equipped to read and interpret picture books.
Enriched with methodology tips, practical examples and field experience, this book offers careful and engaging observations on the value of story-telling as a therapeutic practice, on the importance of analogical and metaphorical thinking in life and at school, on the role that illustrated albums play in feeding the imaginative dimension of children and on the most appropriate criteria and ways for choosing and recommending an illustrated album. The international contributions of several Spanish authors provide the book with practical programmes devoted to the development of literary and intertextual competences at school and in other educational environments.