Typography, how noticeable is it? Preschoolers detecting typographic elements in illustrated books

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate whether preschoolers, who do not have formal reading skills, can detect information conveyed by typography in illustrated books for children. An additional aim of this study was to examine students' options in relation to their age. Forty six (46) children of preschool age, both boys and girls, participated in the research. Twenty five (25) of them were infants and twenty one (21) were preschoolers. The basic tool used in the research was a page from an illustrated book, which was chosen for its variety of multimodal data based mainly on conventional or expressive typography. Semi-structured individual interviews were used for data collection, which were tape-recorded and, later on, were transcribed and processed. Each interview lasted fifteen (15) to twenty (20) minutes approximately. According to the results of the research, capitalized, bigger or bold letters, the use of underlining, the presence of designs and punctuation marks seemed to have attracted children's attention in combination with their preexisting familiarity with some letters. The results also highlighted the need for teachers to take advantage of the typographic elements -often abundant in illustrated books for children- and integrate them into the context of developing strategic reading for preschoolers, simultaneously, leaving room for further research. © Common Ground, Maria Papadopoulou, Polyxeni Manoli, Elisavet Zifkou.