Rhizomorphic reading: The emergence of a new aesthetic in literature for youth

A new aesthetic in children's literature emerges through the application of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's six metaphoric principles of the rhizo me. This approach to appreciation of children's literature supports the pri nciples of Deleuze and Guattari used to describe human communication and em ployed as a metaphor for the ideal or rhizome book: connection, heterogenei ty, multiplicity, asignifying rupture, cartography, and decalcomania. The a ssociated "rhizomorphic reading" presupposes an active, sense-making reader who understands the significance of establishing connections, appreciating heterogeneity, affirming multiplicity, and validating and reincorporating rupture. After establishing characteristics of the aesthetics associated wi th two other book forms-the mirror aesthetic with the root-book, and the ae sthetic of refabrication with the radicle-system book-we focus on discussio n of the new hypertextual aesthetic associated with the rhizome book. Examp les of this new aesthetic drawn from contemporary young people's literature follow the theoretical explanations, including relevant hypertext theorist s, of each rhizomorphic principle.