Linguistic and visual representations of war in picture books

The goal of the study is to analyse linguistic and visual representations of war in picture books. The paper shows the interplay between words and pictures employing Nikolajeva and Scott’s (2006) taxonomy, demonstrating that it is the use of gaps in the visual or verbal code that lies behind most narrative devices analysed. Gaps also fulfill a protective function, helping to balance the need to tell young readers about traumatic events and to account for social and pedagogical norms in operation.