The End Is Only the Beginning: Exploring Endpapers in Picturebook Biographies

Abstract

We present a sampling of recently published picturebook biographies with noteworthy endpapers. First, we highlight scholarship related to picturebook biographies and peritextual features. Second, we present examples of three ways endpapers function, using nine picturebook biographies while also incorporating pedagogical suggestions related to the endpapers. Last, we explain the importance of noticing peritextual features in picturebook biographies.

Reading Beyond the Book with Primary Sources

“…Noreen Naseem Rodríguez, Anna Falkner, Elizabeth Tetu Bohl T he well-documented decrease in science and social studies instructional time (Blank, 2013;Heafner & Fitchett, 2012) may result in a lack of student understanding of the context that surrounds nonfiction topics. Alongside the illustrations and endpapers that surround the main text of a picturebook, also known as the peritext (McNair et al, 2021;Witte et al, 2019), primary sources can add further depth and firmly establish the real, lived experiences of people and the sociohistorical and geopolitical contexts in which they occurred. Primary sources can also spark ideas about contemporary connections and implications.…”

“…Jemison paid homage to Nichols and the role of science fiction in reimagining the field of space exploration when she became the first real astronaut to appear on a Star Trek (Roddenberry et al, 1987(Roddenberry et al, -1994 Biographies are a way for teachers to disrupt dominant narratives by sharing the trajectory of those individuals who are not often included in the traditional curriculum. Sharing individuals' stories in depth offers a way for students to see parallels in their own lives and to imagine possibilities for their own impact on the world (McNair et al, 2021;Young & Miner, 2015). When we pair biographies with primary sources, it opens up possibilities for centering individuals' agency while also exploring larger socio-political movements.…”