ABSTRACT
What kind of text is this? This is a picture book, with words and pictures by the author, which addresses in a very amusing way the question of what the Queen wears underneath her smart coats and dresses. The text introduces us to a number of characters, including the Queen herself and Dilys the maid, who is in charge of the Queen’s knickers. Though the book has characters, and it is obviously fictional, it is not a story. This is because there is no overall plot, there is no beginning, middle or end. Instead, the book falls into sections, which are described in the next paragraph. Some of the sections are ‘mini-narratives’. Occasionally the word ‘story’ is still used in some classrooms, and by some publishers, as a generic term for almost any kind of reading or writing. In view of the number of text types children are to be introduced to, and to be encouraged to create themselves, it’s important to be precise in using the word.
