Growing up is crossing boundaries. The example of the French picturebook Devine qui fait quoi by Gerda Müller

Abstract

The fundamental notion of “spatial turn” which was coined by the geographers Edward Soja (1996) and Jacques Levy (1999) is part of the relevant questions on living space: How is man in the space which surrounds him? What interactions exist between the individual and his living space? Responses to these questions can be found in a French picturebook published in 1999 by l’Ecole des Loisirs, Devine qui fait quoi. Une promenade invisible [Guess who does what? An invisible walk] by Gerda Muller. This paper has two aims. The first aim is to demonstrate that Devine qui fait quoi is a “geographer-picturebook”, expressing and participating in the construction of a child’s lived-in space. The second aim is to show that a “geographer-book” like Devine qui fait quoi can be read in a kindergarten to explore, to structure and to organize space with 5 year-old children.