Books, 책, livres, vitabu, βιβλία: exploring diverse picturebooks for multilingual literacy, inclusivity, and belonging

This special issue on multilingual picturebooks brings together a range of diverse scholars working across disparate linguistic and cultural contexts as they consider the impact of picturebooks on issues such as representation, inclusion, visibility, literacy, and identity. Given well-established links between language, identity, and literacy, this collection furthers both practical and theoretical considerations of how more visible and tangible linguistic diversity in the form of picturebooks can foster multi-literacies and diversify typically limited representation. Foregrounding language and multilingualism, the findings from the six contributions speak to key issues for researchers of multilingualism, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and education; particularly in terms of: (i) representation of minoritized, indigenous, and/or undervalued languages, (ii) issues of inclusivity, diversity, and social justice, and (iii) linguistic and cultural identities for individuals and societies.