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<p>This study aims to examine the function of metafiction techniques in children’s literature and their impact on the reader’s world of meaning through the books <i>The Monster at the End of This Book</i> and <i>The Bear Who Wasn’t There</i>. The sample of the research is selected from study that concretize the interaction between the reader and the character levels through the act of “turning pages.” In <i>The Monster at the End of This Book</i>, the character Grover warns the reader not to turn the pages and attempts to halt the narrative’s progression through physical barriers like tying the pages with rope, nailing them, and building a wall. In <i>The Bear Who Wasn’t There,</i> on the other hand, due to the physical absence of the main character and the deliberate creation of gaps in the narrative, the secondary characters encourage the reader to continue turning the pages<i>.</i> These different forms of guidance in the works show that the reader’s physical intervention becomes a constitutive element of the narrative. This demonstrates that the metafiction technique in both works transforms the reader from a passive recipient of the narrative into a central subject in the meaning production process. Additionally, in these books, the characters have deviated from traditional hero roles, no longer solely directing the plot but instead becoming figures who respond to the reader’s physical actions or shape the narrative through their absence. Strategic elements, such as the transformation of physical actions within the plot into sound effects, the support of emotional states through changes in font size, and visuals that contradict the text and mislead the reader, were observed to be used as manipulation tools. These techniques are thought to stimulate children’s cognitive development by triggering the process of deconstructing the layered structure of the text and decoding the metafictional plane. Ultimately, it is concluded that the postmodern narratives examined in this study are a powerful pedagogical and aesthetic instrument that fosters creativity and critical thinking skills in children.</p>

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Metafiction and Narrative Hierarchy in Postmodern Children’s Literature: The Cases of The Monster at the End of This Book and The Bear Who Wasn’t There

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月3日

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  • Enes Yaşar

摘要

This study aims to examine the function of metafiction techniques in children’s literature and their impact on the reader’s world of meaning through the books The Monster at the End of This Book and The Bear Who Wasn’t There. The sample of the research is selected from study that concretize the interaction between the reader and the character levels through the act of “turning pages.” In The Monster at the End of This Book, the character Grover warns the reader not to turn the pages and attempts to halt the narrative’s progression through physical barriers like tying the pages with rope, nailing them, and building a wall. In The Bear Who Wasn’t There, on the other hand, due to the physical absence of the main character and the deliberate creation of gaps in the narrative, the secondary characters encourage the reader to continue turning the pages. These different forms of guidance in the works show that the reader’s physical intervention becomes a constitutive element of the narrative. This demonstrates that the metafiction technique in both works transforms the reader from a passive recipient of the narrative into a central subject in the meaning production process. Additionally, in these books, the characters have deviated from traditional hero roles, no longer solely directing the plot but instead becoming figures who respond to the reader’s physical actions or shape the narrative through their absence. Strategic elements, such as the transformation of physical actions within the plot into sound effects, the support of emotional states through changes in font size, and visuals that contradict the text and mislead the reader, were observed to be used as manipulation tools. These techniques are thought to stimulate children’s cognitive development by triggering the process of deconstructing the layered structure of the text and decoding the metafictional plane. Ultimately, it is concluded that the postmodern narratives examined in this study are a powerful pedagogical and aesthetic instrument that fosters creativity and critical thinking skills in children.