Inside the picture, outside the frame: Semiotics and the reading of wordless picture books

The publishing world has witnessed a proliferation of word less children’s books during th e past 40 years. Books in this genre offer young readers invitat ionsto transact with a whole system of images as th ey navigate these texts. Using asemiotic framework, this study focuses on three children’s readings of word less picture books and explores the ways in which they assign meaning to a variety of visual signs and cues. The data indicate that the children make sens e of wordlesspicture books by using sense-making processes similar to those used in the reading of print-based texts. Specifically, they construct mean ing through the use of priorknowledge and experiences, attention to inter textual cues, multiple perspectivetaking, reliance upon story langu age and rituals, and the implementation ofactive, playful behaviors as part of the reading process.