This study posits that Claude Ponti’s fiction can be regarded as paradigmatic of "crosswriting": written for a dual audience of children and adults. Sections One and Two examine those elements indicative of crosswriting in Ponti’s children's stories, primarily his picturebooks. In Chapter One, the carnavalis-tic nature of Ponti's work is taken up with particular attention paid to the omnipres-ent playful baby chicks, as they attract the child reader, yet engage the adult reader with their parody of conventions. Chapter Two explores the numerous and multilay-ered word games, evoking both the word games that a growing child meets as s/he learns language and the complexity of word games an adult reader may encounter. In Chapter Three the metatextual elements of Ponti's work are taken up: particular attention is paid to the recurrent presence of the tiny characters in the pictures unmentioned in the text. Following on from this, the role of intertextuality in Ponti's children’s stories is considered in Chapter Four.The Third Section of the thesis is devoted to the common themes and the in-tratextuality found in Ponti’s fiction, including his books for adults. Chapter Five considers how some of those themes, such as the trees, clouds and water, or the recurrent artistic thematic, point to the existence of a common world in Ponti’s whole work. Finally, Chapter Six examines the themes of violence and madness, prevalent in his novels for adults, noting how they are nonetheless perceptible in his picturebooks.Ultimately, this study posits that Ponti’s work can be regarded as "crosswriting" because of a number of key textual features. In particular, Ponti's picturebooks are multilayered and seem self-consciously aware of their dual audience. Moreover, for the reader of Ponti's adult fiction, his picturebooks are likely to provide an intriguing point of reference, further illuminating his fiction.
