The study aims to explore the portrayal of gender and the representation of gender roles in picturebooks written for children aged 3-6 in Turkey, with a view to assessing whether these gender portrayals include gender stereotypes that may affect children from early ages and onwards. It examines 45 children's picturebooks published in the last…

Activism is a term used frequently within and beyond educational settings, but the term is not always clearly defined. Using content analysis of over 150 picturebooks depicting activism, we strive to provide specificity to what activism is and make it tangible for readers and teachers. Through content analysis, we investigate key themes,…

Positive body image, an important perspective in the research literature on body image with adolescents and adults, has become a popular theme in children's picturebooks. This is promising and warrants researchers' attention. Thus this study examined body image-related strategies in 50 children's picturebooks, focusing on body image through…

While society attempts to shield children from death, many are exposed to and impacted by death in their early years, either through the death of someone they know or through media portrayals of death. Even though adults often avoid discussing death with children, children as young as age three can understand the concept and benefit from…

This article examines major themes in 24 contemporary Canadian picture books to identify their potential to support children who are newcomers to Canada. Transition to a new country can be challenging for children and picture books are an effective tool for supporting their cultural and often linguistic transition. Through multimodal content…

In recent years, global concern has grown regarding the degradation of marine ecosystems. Humanity has greatly benefited from the oceans, underscoring the constant need for restoration and conservation of marine ecosystems. International cooperation is essential for protecting the oceans, with Japan, an island nation surrounded by the sea, playing…

This study was developed in response to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) position statement elevating the use of nonfiction literature in the K-12 curriculum. Using an intersectional, critical multicultural lens, we examined award-winning picturebook biographies for their potential to invite examination of the concept of power…

This article examines three picture books: "The Dot" (2003) by Peter H. Reynolds, "Art & Max" (2010) by David Weisner (2010), and "The Shape Game" (2003) by Anthony Browne, to see how ideas about creativity are conceived of and pictured for children. Various ideas about creativity and the creative process are…

The United Nations' announcements of a rise in the number of refugees have led to questions on how refugees are portrayed in children's picturebooks. Works that introduce children, at a young age, to the concept that there are other societies and cultures besides the one in which they currently reside have the potential to broaden their worldview…

Picturebooks play a vital role in the lives and learning of young children. These complex, multimodal texts offer unique opportunities for meaning-making as readers engage with the interplay between text and illustrations. Picturebooks offer children stepping stones into the literary arts, providing information and storylines that illuminate…

This article focuses on the difficult event of death. The audience for this article is classroom teachers, librarians/media specialists, curriculum developers, and so on. The purpose is to share points to consider when choosing quality picture books focusing on death as well as exemplars to represent these points. These points were concluded as a…

Narrative language development is one of the early literacy skills necessary for proficient reading and writing achievement. The correlation between narrative skills and later writing ability indicates that more advanced and complex narrative generation and recall is linked to later writing output. In this experimental study, 47 preschool students…

English-language teachers are increasingly recognizing the pedagogical value of using children's literature that authentically represents diverse multilingual learners, including children who have sought refuge. This study analyses representations of children who have experienced displacement and sought refuge in picture books. Framed by a…

Picture book stories are an important tool for teaching creative dance to children. This article presents a dance activity using a picture book story that educators can use to promote movement exploration and creativity.

Children's literature is a powerful pedagogical tool within culturally sustaining literacy classrooms. Drawing from generative metanarrative theory of human displacement, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and critical refugee studies, this research investigates how representations of home(lands) in 30 acclaimed picturebooks about children who…