The depiction of family and self in children’s picture books: a corpus-driven exploration

Abstract

We analysed 30 English awarded and non-awarded picture books for children depicting families and gender roles, combining an intra- and intertextual corpus-driven approach. Focusing on the pictures, we systematically attempted to answer the following questions: What can be said about the child protagonist in terms of sex, skin colour, and gender preferences? Which persons in and outside of the family are depicted, and what can be said about them in terms of these variables and roles? Do we see instances of positive and negative physical contact? Where do activities take place? Do “arts” and “sports” play a role in the stories? Is the child’s imagination stimulated? In the final part we briefly discuss other themes that deserve systematic research in this genre.