ABSTRACT
Picturebooks are among other things used as a means to introduce the child to nothing less but the organization of the world and the representation of this world in words and images. In this chapter, I will discuss examples of how three different principles of organizing the world are presented to children through picturebooks: one based on a Christian paradigm, one based on Enlightenment philosophy, and one based in a modern secularized view of the world. The common denominator of the books discussed is an intent to discuss human nature in relation to classical and Christian ideas of vice and virtue, and that in spite of differences in time and context, they all address a human being with an urge to try to make sense of the world.
