Gender representation in children's books may influence young children's formation of the gender-equity concept. Previous studies show a male protagonist overrepresentation in US children's books. This study analyzed 956 Chinese children's books to investigate if similar patterns of gender representation exist. Research Findings: Binomial logistic…

This paper examines literacy as a sociocultural, personal and human practice dependent on and derived through relationships between people, settings and culture. Drawing on a recent empirical research study that combines learner, teacher and author perspectives [Curtin (2023) "Reading and Writing Pathways Through Children's and Young Adult…

The paper deals with the work of the Czech children's author Jaroslav Foglar from a gender perspective, reflecting on two themes in particular: the absence of heroines; and his understanding of boys' reciprocity and friendship with the adoration of physicality. The impetus for this analysis was data from a questionnaire survey, the aim of which…

In this study, it was aimed to determine the level of the peritextual features of Feridun Oral's children's books, the readability of the texts, what the subject and main ideas are. The research was designed according to the holistic multi-case pattern of the qualitative methods. 13 storybooks from the works of Feridun Oral were used as data…

This is a study conducted on the works in the field of children's literature by Ferda Izbudak Akinci who has achieved important goals and created works in the field of children's literature. It has become necessary to conduct the study due to the fact that the author and her works had not been studied with a comprehensive analysis, and the element…

This article draws on a multi-disciplinary project based on the David Almond archives at Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. The project combined archival research, augmented reality (AR) technology, Almond's magical realist writing and experimental workshops to explore whether AR can enhance young…

This article discusses how the Korean War is portrayed in the children's literature published in the United States over 70 years since the war. Seven children's books were identified and analyzed with a theoretical lens of teaching war as difficult knowledge. Critical content analysis of the texts found two key patterns. First, there were various…

The focus on early childhood education for sustainability within children's literature is part of a mindful shift towards a more critical praxis with young children, families, communities and students in higher education. This paper reports on qualitative pedagogic research undertaken as part of a first-year module in an undergraduate Early…

The authors describe how Middle Eastern Muslims are represented in a text set of award-winning picture books. Most were written by authors with outsider perspectives who wrote about (a) antiquated times and practices and (b) war-stricken countries and dangerous journeys. Although most of the books are not problematic on their own, the large number…

Children have a right both to read and to see their lives mirrored in books. In this study we explored young Papua New Guinean children's reading preferences of 500 digital books. The books were created as part of a large project aimed at improving elementary (Preparatory to Year 2) children's literacy skills in Papua New Guinea. Reading materials…

This paper explores the subversion of the bildungsroman in the young adult novel, "Surrender" (Penguin, Camberwell, 2005), by the Australian author, Sonya Hartnett. It is suggested that, in reinscribing the traditional bildungsroman within a Gothic discourse, this novel reveals the effect on subjectivity that the horrors of postmodernity…

In Britain, children's literature studies emerged in the late 1960s, largely through the activities of what is now the Graduate School of Education at the University of Exeter. This article uses the Catherine Storr archive to revisit some of the contexts and concerns of those early days, many of which continue to have relevance. Storr was involved…

The present study examined the representation of authors, illustrators, and characters of color in books for young children (6 years old and under) that (1) have won awards, (2) were purchased most often, and (3) were borrowed most often from libraries in the Netherlands from 2009 to 2018. Factors influencing the prominence of characters were…

This critical content analysis examines representations of rural life in a sample of 52 picture books by Indigenous and non-Indigenous authors and illustrators. While the United States and Canadian governments use quantitative measures to designate rurality, in this study rurality is conceptualized more broadly as an interaction between…

Arguably New Zealand's best loved picturebook author/illustrator, Gavin Bishop invariably challenges populist power structures in his fiction and non-fiction. As such, his books are ideal vehicles for teaching children about such broad topics as race relations, colonisation, migration, class conflicts, gender relationships, environmental issues…