The postmodern picture book I chose to examine was Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan.

The book tells the story of two boys playing together in summer. They have a set of rules to follow, and as the younger of the two boys continues to break the rules, the story gets darker and darker.

Postmodern Devices

Open-ended conclusion – Postmodern picture books won’t have a happy or conclusive ending (Turner, 2014, p. 53). In Rules of Summer, although the boys seem to resolve their argument, the scary characters from the summer are stuck to the wall behind the couch, staring down at them, creating a residual feeling of unease. The final spread depicts one of the dark birds from the story, wrestling with the orange crown. The ending is inconclusive, with questions raised rather than answered.

Multiplicity of meaning/ambiguity – I found three pathways in the story. There was the story of the younger boy, who doesn’t follow the rules. Then there is the story of the older boy, who has created the rules and seems to be much more aware of the consequences than his counterpart. Finally, the arc of the birds, who seem to have their own story. The meaning of the story is not immediately obvious, and open to interpretation, which is a feature of postmodern picture books (Atken, 2007, p. 3).

Multiple focal points – There is a bird to find on each spread in Rules of Summer. Naturally, this causes the eye to wander over the pictures, searching. As with much of Shaun Tan’s work, there is a lot to look at, multiple focal points, a feature of postmodern picture books (Atken, 2007, p. 2).

Juxtaposition – Although the book depicts the two boys enjoying their summer break together, each spread has an element of darkness present. So, the fun of summer is juxtaposed against the darkness of the older boy’s rules.

Connections to pop culture – Flores-Koulish and Smith-D’Arezzo (2016, p. 350) mention the connection between children’s popular culture and postmodern picture books. I certainly wouldn’t call Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds children’s pop culture! But, you can see the connection when the younger boy is locked in a small metal bubble and the birds arrive!

Bibliography

Hitchcock, A. (1963). The birds [Motion picture]. United States: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions

Tan, S. (2013). Rules of summer. Sydney, NSW: Hachette Australia

References

Atken, A. (2007). Postmodernism and children’s literature. ICCTE Journal, 2(2). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/icctej/

Flores-Koulish, S. & Smith-D’Arezzo, W. (2016). The three pigs: Can they blow us into critical media literacy old school style? Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 30(3), 349-360. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2016.1178673

Turner, C. (2014). Opening the portal: An exploration of the use of postmodern picture books to develop critical literacy and contribute to learning in the Australian Curriculum: English. Literacy Learning: Middle Years, (1), 52-61. Retrieved from www.alea.edu.au