ABSTRACT
This chapter expresses that performance is also an important part of the synergy of a picture book. It explores the definitions of performance to encompass both the embodied and the imagined performances that occur during the reading of a picture book as well as the act of staging a read aloud. Good picture books invite readers to investigate the illustrations, to engage with the dialogue, and to feel the tension and emotion of the storyline. The chapter defines a picture book as a multi-semiotic space, where modes, such as text, illustrations, fonts, design elements, rhythms, and cadence come together to interanimate one another. Picture books, when interpreted by a human audience, also offer the potential for a semiotic performance. This is not to say that all children participated equally during the performance, but that most claimed the ideas expressed—co-authorship—even if through follow-up activities like drawing or journaling.
