Aspects of Multimodality in Children’s Literature: Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit as an Example

Al-Laithi, Muhammad Ahmed Mustafa

doi:10.21608/jarts.2019.81809

Aspects of Multimodality in Children’s Literature: Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit as an Example

Author

Muhammad Ahmed Mustafa Al-Laithi

Assistant Professor of English Literature Faculty of Arts - Arish University

10.21608/jarts.2019.81809

Abstract

This research, entitled Aspects of Multimodality in Children’s Literature: Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit as an Example, studies six of the most important multimodal aspects in children’s literature. These are design, text-image association, typography, colour, space and size. Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit is taken as an example. The research shows that multimodalities cannot be done without when evaluating children’s literature. It shows that modalities (modes), especially pictures, are indispensible carriers of meaning that should be considered side by side with the text. The research highlights the history and development of the modalities and their associations with children’s literature. The research explores some of the key terms in both children’s literature and multimodality. The conclusion asserts the importance of evaluating children’s literature according to the criteria provided which makes children’s literature different from adults’ literature.

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