Looking out and looking in - national identity in picturebooks of the new millennium

The aim of this book is to broaden the understanding of picturebooks of the new millennium as found in various parts of the world, by looking at how they portray local, regional, national and/or global identity formation. Together, the various chapters discuss perspectives on current picturebooks representing different regions: Arabia, Europe and Scandinavia, and dif.ferent countries: Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, Norway, China, Den.mark, France, Greece, Portugal, The Faroe Islands, Cyprus and Finland. To what extent is it meaningful to talk of a global, a regional, a national and a local identity in contemporary picturebooks? What tendencies are shared, and in which ways do the picturebooks differ between the various countries? Which visual styles can be identified? The antho.logy includes colour pictures to show the differ.ent visual styles represented.