This paper will explore aspects of past practice and belief and how relevant these are to the future. New Zealand Curriculum guidelines for English will be examined in relation to best practice. Oral and visual texts will be discussed, as will the blurring of the boundaries between written and visual text with examples from picture books and graphic novels. Issues of cultural inclusion, authenticity, censorship and intertextuality will be related to selected texts and to popular culture. (Contains 19 references.) (Author/RS)