Paratext

Well hello there, little one! Today we're going to talk about something called "paratext." Have you ever read a book before? Well, the cover of the book, the title, the author's name, and even the blurb on the back are all examples of paratext.

Paratext is everything that surrounds a text or book, but that is not part of the actual text itself. It's like the frame around a picture, or the packaging around a toy. It helps us understand what we're about to read and sets our expectations for what we're going to find inside.

For example, a book's cover can give us clues about what the story is going to be about. If we see a picture of a space ship and a planet, we might guess that the book is going to be about space travel. Or, if we see a picture of a scary monster, we might guess that the book is going to be a thriller.

The author's name is also paratext. If we recognize the author's name, we might have certain expectations about the book. For example, if we know that the author always writes romance novels, we might expect the new book to be a romance too.

So, paratext is all of those little things that help us understand what we're about to read before we actually start reading it. It creates a kind of introduction to the text and gives us clues about what we can expect.