ABSTRACT
This chapter gives an overview of the relationship between literacy studies and picturebook studies: two distinct, increasingly well-established fields that have much in common and a great deal to offer one another. It suggests that the relationship between them can be thought of as reciprocal or symbiotic, a status that is, in part, enhanced by the nature and affordances of contemporary picturebooks, which can offer readers access to the multiple literacies demanded by modes of communication in the twenty-first century. The chapter offers a broad overview of literacy studies, drawing on existing and emerging research trends in order to sketch out how literacy is conceptualized. Literacy has traditionally been associated with the 'basic' skills of decoding and writing printed script, often learned within the limits of a schooled context. Media literacy can be defined as the ability to access, understand, create, and critically evaluate different types of media.
