L'album de grande diffusion, un corpus populaire entre discrétion et illégitimité (2). Des pratiques de classe à la recherche en didactique de la littérature

Abstract

Among the collections of children’s picture books used in schools, surveys attest to the presence of mass-market books, which form a vast body of publications defined by its ties with large retail outlets, its presence in a wide socio-economic and cultural spectrum of households, and its virtual invisibility in academia. While official guidelines focus on a relatively narrow body of works, the observed practices diverge and often entail language activities which are not well-formalized and not very productive in terms of learning outcomes at the preschool level. A small number of studies, however, offer an insightful analysis of the use of these books in the classroom and of their pedagogical interest in introducing written culture and literature from preschool to middle school. These didactic proposals testify to the relevance and perhaps even the necessity of including mainstream children’s picture books in the school curriculum. They also bring to the fore a critical and theoretical questioning aiming to describe the specific characteristics and the internal diversity and heterogeneity of this body of works. The analysis of classroom-related issues also leads to a reassessment of the definition of illustrated children’s literature as the boundaries between legitimate and illegitimate works seem to be particularly porous and uncertain.

Keywords

• picture book
• series
• pop culture
• school
• teaching
• learning