ABSTRACT
The impact of postmodernism was felt in the final decades of the twentieth century, particularly in the Western world, which in turn led to significant changes in the field of literature. Postmodern picturebooks are cultural artifacts that reflect aspects of the prevailing social, cultural, and political conditions of a particular time in literary history. The discipline of literary studies and the production of literature in the second half of the twentieth century have been preoccupied by questions relating to postmodernism. While more conventional, Aristotelian narratives adhere to the beginning-middle-end formula, postmodern picturebooks often deviate from this norm. The postmodern picturebook is a complex and evolving genre that utilizes the visual and verbal dynamic to create a multifaceted text that is playful and has a tendency towards resistance, if not subversion, of both narrative conventions and aspects of society. The term 'postmodernesque' draws upon the term 'carnivalesque' and is used in a similar manner but with a postmodern inflection.
