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,…

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…

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…

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…

In this column, we demonstrate ways to connect four commonly taught poetic genres to better explore the intersectionalities ("The University of Chicago Legal Forum";140:139-167, 1989; "Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment," 1990) in the texts and students' own lives through two…

Few studies examine young children's multimodal responses to nonfiction picture books, and even fewer examine teaching practices that encourage these responses. This case study of a kindergarten class illustrates how one teacher regularly conducted interactive whole-group read-alouds using nonfiction picture books. After examining the multimodal…

Culturally authentic literature is widely recognized for its efficacy in developing children's multicultural awareness and intercultural understanding. Through systematic examination and analysis of 53 Children's picture books featuring China and its culture published in North America, this study investigated the extent to which the selected books…

During a study in a Kindergarten classroom, wordless and almost wordless picturebooks were presented as aesthetic objects that are read for pleasure, reward slow looking, and require engagement in significant semiotic work. Instruction about and adult mediation of picturebooks throughout the research communicated to the children that elements of…

The work of the French illustrator and writer Gilles Bachelet has been recognised through numerous awards, but he is not yet sufficiently well known in the critical community. In this article, the multilevel humour that constructs his work is studied, both from an iconic and a textual perspective, as well as the situational humour and the humour…

This study presents how five five-year-olds express different ways of experiencing the multifaceted phenomenon of shadow, when reading and listening to picturebooks about shadow in a Swedish preschool. This is studied with attention to children's perspectives on shadow as it appears in conversations about the picturebooks. The purpose of this…

This article examines the unfolding joy in young children's literacy practices in a Finnish early years classroom. We focus on the unfolding of joy in intra-action among children, adults and materials during literacy learning endeavours by thinking with "new" materialist theories, and the data from an early years multiliteracies project…

The purpose of this investigation was to explore how teachers' knowledge of read alouds might be shaped by opportunities to explore the crafting of picturebooks and the nature of collaborative meaning-making. Participants were enrolled in a graduate children's literature course across one academic semester. Data included pre and post interviews as…

This paper describes a methodological review of over 2,000 picturebook descriptions and 60 picturebooks published within five-and-a-half years relating to diversity, the environment, social justice, and environmental justice portrayals. The authors asked in particular: To what extent is environmental justice portrayed in recent picturebooks, and…

Purpose: Early childhood and early elementary are key times when children develop internal and external antifat attitudes; thus, it is necessary to better understand the available children's literature around fatness. This paper aims to examine children's picture books with fat protagonists to better understand the current landscape of children's…