Depictions and Gaps: Portrayal of U.S. Poverty in Realistic Fiction Children's Picture Books

Fuente: ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kelley, Jane E., Darragh, Janine J.
Format: Recurso educativo Open Access
Language:en
Published: 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867181740755255296
author Kelley, Jane E.
Darragh, Janine J.
author_facet Kelley, Jane E.
Darragh, Janine J.
Kelley, Jane E.
Darragh, Janine J.
collection Education Resources Information Center
contents Depictions and Gaps: Portrayal of U.S. Poverty in Realistic Fiction Children's Picture Books Kelley, Jane E. Darragh, Janine J. Fiction Childrens Literature Poverty Picture Books Census Figures Gender Differences Age Differences Racial Differences Social Attitudes Rural Areas Geographic Location Misconceptions Coding Researchers conducted a critical multicultural analysis of 58 realistic fiction children's picture books that portray people living in poverty and compared these depictions to recent statistics from the United States Census Bureau. The picture books were examined for the following qualities: main character, geographic locale and time era, focal poor character (gender, age, and race), who demonstrated action, and the type of action (individual, community, systemic) demonstrated. Results of the analysis showed that while in some areas the books accurately reflect the reality in the United States today, there are other areas in which poverty is misrepresented. For example, while the attribute of gender was found to be accurately reflected in the literature, depictions of contemporary rural poverty as well as action performed at the systemic level are seemingly absent. The analysis concludes with implications for teaching as well as recommended books to consider for inclusion in a classroom library.
format Recurso educativo Open Access
id eric_EJ1098027
institution ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
language en
publishDate 2011
record_format eric
spellingShingle Depictions and Gaps: Portrayal of U.S. Poverty in Realistic Fiction Children's Picture Books
Kelley, Jane E.
Darragh, Janine J.
Fiction
Childrens Literature
Poverty
Picture Books
Census Figures
Gender Differences
Age Differences
Racial Differences
Social Attitudes
Rural Areas
Geographic Location
Misconceptions
Coding
Depictions and Gaps: Portrayal of U.S. Poverty in Realistic Fiction Children's Picture Books Kelley, Jane E. Darragh, Janine J. Fiction Childrens Literature Poverty Picture Books Census Figures Gender Differences Age Differences Racial Differences Social Attitudes Rural Areas Geographic Location Misconceptions Coding Researchers conducted a critical multicultural analysis of 58 realistic fiction children's picture books that portray people living in poverty and compared these depictions to recent statistics from the United States Census Bureau. The picture books were examined for the following qualities: main character, geographic locale and time era, focal poor character (gender, age, and race), who demonstrated action, and the type of action (individual, community, systemic) demonstrated. Results of the analysis showed that while in some areas the books accurately reflect the reality in the United States today, there are other areas in which poverty is misrepresented. For example, while the attribute of gender was found to be accurately reflected in the literature, depictions of contemporary rural poverty as well as action performed at the systemic level are seemingly absent. The analysis concludes with implications for teaching as well as recommended books to consider for inclusion in a classroom library.
title Depictions and Gaps: Portrayal of U.S. Poverty in Realistic Fiction Children's Picture Books
topic Fiction
Childrens Literature
Poverty
Picture Books
Census Figures
Gender Differences
Age Differences
Racial Differences
Social Attitudes
Rural Areas
Geographic Location
Misconceptions
Coding
url https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1098027