Critical Peritextual Analysis: Critical Possibilities of Peritext in Books for Young Readers

“Peritext” refers to the components that make up the margins of a book, such as the front and back covers, the flap copy, the copyright page, the author’s note, the author and illustrator biographies, etc. In this essay, we call for readers of all ages to critically engage with the peritext. To that end, we present a framework grounded in critical literacy that we refer to as “Critical Peritextual Analysis” (CPA). This analytical tool can enable readers to rely on the peritext to engage in dialogues about power, perspective, culture, and justice. Using CPA in conjunction with critical content analysis, we examine the fringe elements in books across multiple formats, including board books, picturebooks, and early readers to demonstrate how this approach allows for more critical readings of texts. We offer CPA as a framework to enable adult and child readers alike to adopt a critical stance towards peritextual matter in order to foster critical literacy and advance justice-oriented readings of any children's books.