ABSTRACT
Canonical works are understood to have intrinsic and historical significance. This chapter provides for granted that neither children's literature in general nor picturebooks in particular are 'lesser' than any other form of literature. It considers how such hierarchies might operate within the field of picturebooks. The scholarly 'canon' derives etymologically from the Greek kanon, meaning 'rod' or 'law,' and institutionally from the religious practices of textual scholarship which designated particular books of the Bible as genuine for the purposes of Church dogma. The cultural authority which derives from mastery of and servitude to the literary canon is closely tied up with academe. There are a number of genres that align with canon formation including lists and anthologies of best, great, essential, or classic children's books. The competing and complementary logics of canonicity described as aesthetics and politics, or more simply text and context, also inform the 'symptoms' of canonical reputation.
