In our PEPELT films, which began in October 2018, we each shared our different perspectives on a theme and picturebook of the month. I (Gail) considered a picturebook’s potential for developing multiliteracies. It was the start of an exciting and enriching PEPELT journey! I began my first film by defining multiliteracies, as this is a multifaceted term and covers numerous types of literacy: “Multiliteracies include visual, emotional, cultural, nature, digital, moving image literacy and ‘learning’ literacy, which go beyond the traditional view of literacy which is the ability to read and write.”  In this post, I shall reflect on some of the less familiar but memorable multiliteracies that our picturebook choices revealed.

Civic and human rights literacy:

In January 2021 our theme was ‘Rise up!’ and our book of the month ‘Freedom, We Sing’ by Amyra Leon and Molly Mendoza (Flying Eye Books, 2020). This picturebook can be used to develop civic literacy which will prepare children to have the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to understand their rights and responsibilities and to act in ways that are consistent with democratic values and civic principles such as freedom, equity and social cohesion. Children can define and discuss the concept of freedom and identify which children’s rights are connected with the concept of freedom.

See also our website for picturebooks which focus on Children’s Rights either explicitly or implicitly (Children Rights)		Read More

Consumer and financial literacy:

In December 2019 our theme was ‘Needs and Wants’ and our book of the month ‘Those Shoes’ by Maribeth Boelts and Noah Z Jones (Candlewick Press, 2007).  Jeremy desperately wants a pair of trainers like the other children at his school but his grandma, who he lives with, can’t afford them.  This picturebook can be used to develop consumer and financial literacy. Children can be asked to differentiate between needs and wants, become aware of the power of advertising and create their own billboard to think critically around advertising and consumerism.		Read More
Disability and transport literacy:

In January 2020 our theme was ‘Celebrating Diversity’ and we shared ‘Amazing’by Steve Antony (Hodder Children’s Books, 2019).  This was a landmark picturebook as the main character, who uses a wheelchair, is portrayed on the front cover.  However, the boy’s disability does not define his character. The fact that he uses a wheelchair is incidental and unremarkable, and what Steve Antony refers to as ‘incidental inclusiveness’. There is no moralistic or educational message, and the lived reality of disability is portrayed accurately.    So ‘Amazing’ allows children to develop disability literacy such as identifying adjustments in their neighbourhood which support people with disabilities as well as visual and transport literacy by identifying wheel devices in the illustrations and different forms of transport.		Read More
Gender literacy:

In February 2020 our theme was ‘Award-winning picturebooks’ and our book of the month ‘Julian is a Mermaid’ by Jessica Love (Walker Books, 2019).  This picturebook can be used to develop gender literacy as it celebrates the story of a gender creative child whose identity and expression challenge traditional expectations of boys. Julian loves mermaids and dresses up as one.		Read More
Multicultural literacy:

In June 2019 we celebrated the world of Eric Carle and I chose ‘Today is Monday’ (Scholastic, 1993) for my film. This edition contains a special message from Eric Carle on the inside front cover: how to say ‘Enjoy your meal!’ in 6 different languages:  French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Chinese.  This multilingual addition is just perfect for our increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms.  So, ‘Today is Monday’ can be used as a resource to create a multilingual song building on the languages spoken by the children in the class. For example, ‘Today is France, Today is France, France coq au vin, Bon appetit, bon appetit!’ 		Read More
Nature and environmental literacy:

In December 2018 our theme was ‘Love and Care’ and we shared ‘Grandpa Green’ by Lane Smith (Two Hoots, 2017) an intergenerational story about a great grandfather who passes on his skill of topiary art to his great grandson by sculpting memories of his life through the shapes of topiary trees.  This picturebook allows children to develop nature and environmental literacy by identifying trees and finding out which are evergreen or deciduous, understanding the changing seasons, and wind dispersal of seeds.		Read More

I hope you have enjoyed revisiting some of these less-familiar types of literacy and that when you select a picturebook for PELT you consider its potential for developing multiliteracies.  As picturebooks bring multimodal representation into the classroom, they enable children to learn how to interpret and decode information conveyed through multiple modes and contribute to a holistic approach to quality education. Thank you for following PEPELT over the years!