The trunk of dreams. Old and new forms of storytelling for children

Abstract

Children’s Literature is currently part of a multimodal universe where different means are used to bring stories to life not only through words, but also with the help of images, sounds, animations, and interactions. Therefore, stories maintain their relevance both as educational and as entertaining tools, but these results are achieved through contaminations and experimentations which are undergoing constant transformation. The ‘trunk of dreams’ where stories are kept, a world of fantasy and exploration of the Self and the Other, is therefore enriched with different narrative tools developed for a wide range of age groups. This article aims to explore the importance of narratives for children and young people in their different forms, from the most classic to the most up-to-date, emphasizing intersections, recurring elements and transformations. It will therefore provide an overview of several narrative means and formats used to write and tell stories for children and adolescents, in an excursus that goes from fairy tales to the classics, to cinema and interactive storytelling, passing through the visual narrative conveyed by picture books and comics in their many shapes and forms.