ABSTRACT
Picturebook texts seem simple at first glance. They are rather short and, after all, they are usually written for children who are at the beginning of literature acquisition. This chapter outlines the research field of a linguistic approach to picturebooks by elaborating on aspects of the medium picturebook itself, joint reading, and the connection between language acquisition and picturebooks. It discusses the results of an exemplary analysis of the use of speech acts in picturebooks. Linguistic analyses of picturebook texts can be pursued on every level of language. There is relatively broad research available on various aspects of joint picturebook reading. The complexity in picturebook texts shows itself on every level of language and in the form of intricate phenomena. Exploring picturebooks linguistically allows a precise analysis of their verbal qualities. The sequential repetitions of selected speech acts in the picturebooks by Eric Carle and Anthony Browne provide the child reader with a high frequency input.
