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There has always been war and conflict in our world. Conflict almost always goes hand-in-hand with human suffering and is usually caused by issues related to religion, power and politics linked to greed and money. Ordinary people, trying to live their everyday lives often suffer the greatest effects, with extreme hardship, misery and intense unhappiness frequently leading to death, destruction and displacement. This article looks at the concept of migration caused by war and conflict as dealt with by a text set of picturebooks. It considers the responses of a group of 9- and 10-year-old children as they discuss what is meant by migration, migrants and refugees and focuses on what it would be like if, because of war, they found themselves in the situation of having to leave their homes and seek refuge in a new country.

This article gives a brief overview of reader response theory before sharing the views of some nine-year-old children working collaboratively as part of a community of readers. Prior to responding to some philosophical picturebooks the children talked about what they thought philosophy was, they then shared their thoughts on some of the very questions of existence to include: Who am I? Why am I here? Where did I come from? and Where will I go to? Their initial thoughts and responses were followed by detailed reading, thinking and responding to one specific picturebook, "Die Schopfung" ("The Creation") by F. K. Waechter.

There is probably a comic or graphic novel to suit the needs and requirements of all kinds of readers. However, in addition, there is now a new kid on the block! A different kind of book is emerging, one that exhibits some, but not always all, of the characteristics normally thought of as belonging to comics and graphic novels. These books blur the boundaries and include elements of comics, graphic novels and picturebooks, fusing them and creating a category that is a synthesis of aspects from all of them, hence the term, "fusion" texts. This article challenges the view that comics, graphic novels and picturebooks are aimed at a younger and/or immature audience and shows how they are often complex fusion texts dealing with challenging, controversial issues which frequently deliver thought provoking and uncomfortable messages. (Contains 10 figures.)

Children from literate home backgrounds, who have exposure to supportive, positive reading role models using good quality texts, are the ones who are best able to cope with the demands of learning about literacy and the transition from home to school. This study of 3-year-old children will focus on their interactions with picturebook read aloud, their repeated requests to have favourite books read over and over again, their developing sense of identity and their growing ability to respond to the books through play, oral retellings, drawings, emergent writing and "readings" of the stories in their own words. Over a period of time, as the children had a series of picturebooks read "to" and shared "with" them, they were able to identify a sense of self mirrored in the content of some of the books and to make informed choices about their favourites. The children identified themselves in the storybook narratives and went on to record their responses in a variety of differing modes some of which led to them becoming real authors as they constructed their own books to be read, re-read and enjoyed. (Contains 10 figures.)

It has long been accepted that one can respond to fine art in a variety of different ways. However, it is only in the last decade or so that picturebooks have been attracting the kind of recognition that they have long deserved as art forms to be considered and responded to both creatively and aesthetically. There is a growing body of research focusing on how we can respond creatively to the illustrations in picturebooks in addition to the picturebooks themselves as art objects. There is also a growing number of author illustrators who use famous works of art as an integral part of the storyline in their picuturebooks. This article describes how one such book, "Katie's picture show," was initially used as the stimulus for some reader response work which quickly led onto more in-depth, detailed responses to fine art--Fernando Botero's art in particular. It then goes on to share the oral, written and illustrative responses of some 10 year old children, showing the creative and aesthetic links between picturebooks and fine art. (Contains 5 figures.)

It is increasingly accepted that one can respond to picturebooks in a variety of different ways, however it is only in the last decade or so that some picturebooks are being recognized as extremely complex multimodal texts which often make great intellectual and cognitive demands on the reader. Picturebooks can be very powerful texts; they can stimulate rich discussion and release previously untapped thoughts and emotions allowing the reader to reflect on life and its vagaries. This article asks who is the audience for picturebooks that are challenging, controversial, and unconventional and outlines why it is crucial to read, share, and talk about them collaboratively. It describes how one such book, The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley by Colin Thompson and Amy Lissiat, at first glance a seemingly simple, humorous text, was used with 10 and 11 year old children as the stimulus for some reader response work which quickly led to some profound, indeed, quite philosophical discussions about the purpose of life and the choices that human beings make as they exist in a material world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]