Embodying an Image: Gender and Genre in a Selection of Children’s Responses to Picturebooks and Illustrated Texts

Drawing upon a diverse range of theoretical perspectives, and the rich resources of feminist cultural analysis hitherto little applied to the study of picturebooks and illustrated texts, 'Embodying an Image' offers fresh and original insights into the gendered politics of identity and the sexual politics of looking in contemporary visual culture. In a fascinating collection of case studies, Toomey successfully combines an analysis of the way in which artists and writers convey gendered representations through character, theme, setting and story, with a detailed investigation into the child's perspective of meaning. This book is a first in its field and is a must for all those interested in new ways of thinking about the power of visual imagery to embody and make real the fantasies and desires of young children.