Let Pictures Explain the World: Text–Image Narration in Picturebooks

Teachers have faced difficulties in selecting acceptable picturebooks for young students, particularly in terms of image selection, content, and the integration of both. The lack of meaning-making and interaction between text and images in picturebooks contributes to this trend. This study analyzes how images represent varieties of context and how they function to construct meaning in learning foreign language for young learners. Grammar of visual images by Kress and Van Leeuwen and picturebook typology framework by Gregersen are employed to analyze text-image relationship in the top 10 most rented picturebooks in China. This study indicated that the images provide the nature of the social interaction taking place and the setting familiar to young learners, which can help them to find new vocabulary to recognize their surrounding environment. The data on human depiction also indicated that the images representing Chinese/Asian appearance recognized young learners as global citizens in literature. We also found that the most popular text-image relationship is the one that shares equal representation. The study provided pedagogical implications to help teachers deal with different types of text-image interactions in picturebooks.