BEYOND BOUNDARIES: THE WALL METAPHOR IN CONTEMPORARY PICTURE BOOKS AS A MULTIMODAL REPRESENTATION OF EMOTION, POWER, AND TRANSFORMATION

Authors

  • Ioanna Kaliakatsou PhD in Children’s Literature, Independent Researcher/Teacher, Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejls.v7i1.726

Keywords:

picture books, multimodal metaphor, conceptual metaphor theory

Abstract

This paper examines the wall metaphor as a multimodal meaning-making resource in contemporary picture books, drawing on cognitive linguistics, multimodal metaphor theory, picture book studies, and literacy theory. It explores how walls are constructed through the interaction of verbal, visual, and material modes to represent emotional experiences, social boundaries, and processes of transformation. Through the analysis of selected picture books, the paper argues that walls function not merely as symbols of separation but as complex metaphorical structures whose meanings shift across psychological, social, and ideological contexts. At the individual level, walls represent trauma, fear, and self-protection; at the social level, they reveal mechanisms of exclusion, oppression, and division; and at the transformative level, they become spaces of creativity, dialogue, and connection. The findings demonstrate how contemporary picture books reconfigure walls as dynamic symbolic spaces through which young readers engage with questions of identity, belonging, resilience, and social justice.

Author Biography

  • Ioanna Kaliakatsou, PhD in Children’s Literature, Independent Researcher/Teacher, Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Greece

    Dr. Kaliakatsou Ioanna is an educator and researcher with extensive experience in primary education, early childhood literacy, and inclusive pedagogy. She holds a PhD and a Master's degree in Education and has been actively involved in research and professional development in the fields of literacy, multimodal learning, and children's literature. Her academic interests focus on picture books as multimodal texts, critical visual literacy, inclusive literacy practices, and the role of materiality and sensory engagement in early childhood education. Alongside her academic work, Dr. Kaliakatsou Ioanna has extensive experience in teacher education and curriculum development and is actively engaged in initiatives that promote inclusive education and community participation. Her current research continues to investigate multisensory picture books, visual meaning-making, and the educational potential of multimodal storytelling in fostering literacy, communication, and social inclusion for all children.

References

Agee, J. (2018). The wall in the middle of the book. Dial Books. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/The_Wall_in_the_Middle_of_the_Book.html?id=iLtFDwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Arizpe, E., Colomer, T., & Martínez-Roldán, C. (2014). Visual journeys through wordless narratives: An international inquiry with immigrant children. Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved from https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/visual-journeys-through-wordless-narratives-9781780937588/

Atwood, M. (1985). The handmaid's tale. McClelland & Stewart. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4239936

Blake, M. (2008). Comfortably numb: The inside story of Pink Floyd. Da Capo Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Comfortably_Numb.html?id=jmJbSIn1LacC&redir_esc=y

Bradford, C. (2011). Reading children's literature: A critical introduction (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Caracciolo, M., & Kukkonen, K. (Eds.). (2014). With bodies: Narrative theory and embodied cognition. Ohio State University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/With_Bodies.html?id=EY5gzgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Charteris-Black, J. (2004). Corpus approaches to critical metaphor analysis. Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230000612

Dendy, C. (2020). The wall and the wild. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Forceville, C. (1996). Pictorial metaphor in advertising. Routledge. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327868ms0901_1

Forceville, C. (2009). Non-verbal and multimodal metaphor in a cognitivist framework: Agendas for research. In C. Forceville & E. Urios-Aparisi (Eds.), Multimodal metaphor (pp. 19–42). Mouton de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110197761.5.379

Forceville, C. (2017). Visual and Multimodal Metaphor in Advertising: Cultural Perspectives. Styles of Communication, 9(2), 26-41. Retrieved from http://stylesofcomm.fjsc.unibuc.ro/archives/vol-9-no-2

Frost, R. (1914). North of Boston. David Nutt. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/North_of_Boston.html?id=l76jzAEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Goatly, A. (1997). The language of metaphors. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203210000

Goatly, A. (2007). Washing the brain: Metaphor and hidden ideology. John Benjamins. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Washing_the_Brain_Metaphor_and_Hidden_Id.html?id=uIV_yPV2acMC&redir_esc=y

Golden, C. (Ed.). (1992). The captive imagination: A casebook on "The Yellow Wallpaper". Feminist Press.

Howells, C. A. (Ed.). (2006). The Cambridge companion to Margaret Atwood. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521839661

Isol. (2018). Loose threads. Groundwood Books. Retrieved from https://www.abebooks.com/Loose-Threads-Isol-Enchanted-Lion-Books/32380082072/bd

Johnson, M. (1987). The body in the mind: The bodily basis of meaning, imagination, and reason. University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/The_Body_in_the_Mind.html?id=GweMAwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Kafka, F. (1931). The great wall of China. In The great wall of China: Stories and other writings (W. & E. Muir, Trans.). Schocken Books. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/The_Great_Wall_of_China.html?id=5v9bAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y

Kachorsky, D., Moses, L., Serafini, F., & Hoelting, M. (2017). Meaning making with graphic novels: Exploring multimodal literacy practices. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(1), 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.653

Kress, G. (1985). Linguistic processes in sociocultural practice. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=spEbAQAAIAAJ&lr=&num=20

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Metaphors_We_Live_By.html?id=r6nOYYtxzUoC&redir_esc=y

Lakoff, G., & Turner, M. (1989). More than cool reason: A field guide to poetic metaphor. University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/More_than_Cool_Reason.html?id=AR_heEqnmXkC&redir_esc=y

Nikolajeva, M. (2010). Power, voice and subjectivity in literature for young readers. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203866924

Nikolajeva, M., & Scott, C. (2006). How picturebooks work. Routledge. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/How_Picturebooks_Work.html?id=EbCfCLUOZD0C&redir_esc=y

Nodelman, P. (2008). The hidden adult: Defining children's literature. Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/The_Hidden_Adult.html?id=wKosfJZhUwQC&redir_esc=y

Painter, C., Martin, J. R., & Unsworth, L. (2013). Reading visual narratives: Image analysis of children's picture books. Equinox. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259559030_Reading_Visual_Narratives_Image_Analysis_of_Children's_Picture_Books

Pink Floyd. (1979). The Wall [Album]. Harvest Records.

Purcell, J. M. (2018). Seeing the light: A cognitive approach to metaphor in picturebooks. Children's Literature in Education, 49(2), 150–165. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-016-9309-z

Redford, A. (2021). The boy who built a wall around himself. Graffeg.

Santat, D. (2017). After the fall: How Humpty Dumpty got back up again. Roaring Brook Press.

Semino, E. (2008). Metaphor in discourse. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Metaphor_in_Discourse.html?id=QT1uilVRDTYC&redir_esc=y

Sipe, L. R. (2011). The art of the picturebook. Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203843543-23/art-picturebook-lawrence-sipe

Sís, P. (2007). The wall: Growing up behind the Iron Curtain. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Sokel, W. H. (2002). The tragedy of modern man: The German Kafka. Wayne State University Press.

Stephens, J. (1992). Language and ideology in children's fiction. Longman. https://doi.org/10.2307/416784

van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and power. Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Discourse_and_Power.html?id=NhILAQAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y

van Dijk, T. A. (Ed.). (2011). Discourse and ideology. In Discourse studies: A multidisciplinary introduction (2nd ed., pp. 379–407). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446289068.n18

Winter, J. (2009). The secret school: The story of Malala. Beach Lane Books.

Wray, B. (2022). Maia and the very tall wall. Albert Whitman & Company. Retrieved from https://schifferbooks.com/products/maia-and-the-very-tall-wall?srsltid=AfmBOoqZh9Bqj56DFv2v1gGbyIIRALEDdTBWFkxrT3Ai8mzOgXypGOB_

Downloads

Published

2026-08-05

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).