Document Type
Article
Subject Area(s)
Library and Information Science
Abstract
How children are introduced to concepts of faith is a sensitive matter. One approach used by both religious and secular organizations is children’s literature, including children’s picture books. Picture books are books primarily for preschoolers. The books tell a story using illustrations and few words. This paper offers an exploratory study of how children are introduced to religion and spirituality through illustrative techniques and textual content in such literature. A content analysis of illustrations from 12 titles sampled from a larger collection of 21,000 picture books published in the past 40 or more years was conducted. The current sample comes from a larger sample of 56 books that were analyzed for textual content. The intent of the study is to introduce possible areas of more-detailed research into how religious concepts are represented in picture books. Using subject descriptors in the cataloguing records of the collection, analysis was restricted to the following themes: angels, church, god, heaven, Jesus, and creation.
Publication Info
Journal of Childhood and Religion, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2013, pages 1-29.
©Journal Of Childhood And Religion 2013, Sopher Press Wicks, D., Freeburg, D., & Goldsmith, D. (2019). Depictions of Religion in Children’s Picture Books., 4(3), 1-29.
Wicks, D., Freeburg, D., & Goldsmith, D. (2013). Depictions of Religion in Children’s Picture Books. Journal Of Childhood And Religion, 4(3), 1-29. Retrieved from https://works.bepress.com/darin_freeburg/8/download/