Exploring compositional meanings in the picturebook with a two-father family Me, Daddy & Dad (2017)

Abstract

This paper offers a multimodal analysis of the main characteristics of the compositional metafunction in the picturebook with a two-father family Me, Daddy & Dad (2017). The purpose of the analysis is to observe how textual meanings are created. The main tools of the grammar of visual design applied to picturebooks will be used for the analysis, following the model proposed by Painter et al. (2013). The main ideas of the said grammar will be illustrated with a description of images from the picturebook to deconstruct the relationship between the written text and the visual, the types of written and visual themes, the layout, the framing, and the focus. The analysis shows that both fathers take care of the child and do things at home, such as cooking. Consequently, two-father families are promoted and presented in an egalitarian way. However, the analysis shows that there are not open expressions of affection between the characters because, although the two fathers, Daddy and Dad, appear sometimes together, there is hardly any contact between them or between them and the child.