The master's thesis is comprised of a theoretical and an empirical part. The theoretical part first outlines some theories on picture books, then it goes on to present how the Nodelman (2003) and Nikolajeva's (2003) theory is applied to Slovene and foreign picture books. The empirical part focuses on how younger and older readers (6–14 years) reacted to the Kajetan Kovič's picture book titled Pajacek in Punčka.1 Since it is a picture book addressing different age groups – it is part of the crossover literature – we wanted to determine the interpretation and the evaluation of the book by readers from different age groups.
Picture books are not only thin and illustrated books. Quality picture books with a convincing text and perfected illustrations address readers from different age groups and motivate various forms of interpretation. This master's thesis underlines the important role of picture books in the development of a pupil's positive attitude towards reading, as it is the first medium through which children encounter literature and fine arts. Parents and adult readers also play an important role. What is more, the master's thesis also presents picture books as synthetic media, where the recipient understands the entire message through the interaction of different means of communication. Difficulty levels of picture books are presented, which follow the stages of children's development. The theoretical part states different trends and periods that affected the development of new artistic and functional dimensions of picture books. Furthermore, the master's thesis presents the artistic language that helps the reader understand the illustrations, codes and gestures.
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