Metafiction as a Dialogic Space
A Bakhtinian Exploration of Metafictional Children’s Novels
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12969325 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gan Sujia (Nanyang Technological University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 175-192 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Jeunesse Young People Texts Cultures (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1920-2601 • E-ISSN: 1920-261X |
| Publisher | University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3138/jeunesse-2025-0001 |
| OpenAlex | W7116535469 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 23 |
In an age of unprecedented ambiguity and uncertainty, children must develop critical thinking skills to navigate a complex and ever-changing world. Interactive narratives such as metafiction offer a powerful tool for cultivating these skills. This article draws on Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of dialogue, which emphasizes the intersubjective nature of meaning-making, to analyze two metafictive children’s novels— The Bad Beginning (2001) by Daniel Handler, and The Name of This Book Is Secret (2018) by Raphael Simon—to explore how metafictive elements in these children’s novels can foster dialogues and encourage dialogic thinking. Through a close reading of these novels, this study examines how metafictive elements, such as direct address to the reader, the subversion of traditional narrative conventions, and the inclusion of playful and interactive elements, encourage readers to question assumptions. By transforming the reading experience into a collaborative process of meaning-making, these novels not only entertain but also empower young readers to become active participants in a dynamic and ever-evolving dialogue with the text and the world around them. This research contributes to a growing body of scholarship that explores the unique potential of metafiction to cultivate critical thinking, creativity, and a lifelong love of reading in children
Ambiguity · Dialogic · Metafiction · Narrative · Postmodernism · Reading (process · Scholarship · Subversion · Narrative Theory and Analysis · Russian Literature and Bakhtin Studies · Themes in Literature Analysis
A Dialogic Teaching Companion
Narratives and Narrators
The Hidden Adult
‘I shouldn’t even be telling you that I shouldn’t be telling you the story’
Are We Postmodern Yet? Reading Monster With 21st‐Century Ninth Graders
It's Not All Black and White”
Opening a Window or Pulling Back the Curtain
Ontological Metalepsis and Unnatural Narratology
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |