In 2016, "Last Stop on Market Street," an American picturebook by Matt de la Pena, won the Newberry Medal, a Caldecott Honor, and a Coretta Scott King illustrator honor. In March 2021, Dr Seuss Enterprises, after working "with a panel of experts, including educators," decided to cease publishing "And to Think I Saw in on…

This is a collective writing project that is part of the larger design of Infantologies, Infanticides and Infantilizations; a quartet that explores the philosophy of infants from thematic perspectives, that puts infants at the centre of our reflections, and that encourages a different academic style of thinking.

Guided by theories of racialization and through a decolonial analysis, we share findings on the examination of four children's books written in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane María. In engaging with these books, we situate our work in communal and research activist practices that foreground Puerto Ricans' hidden stories and knowledges.…

Situated within the changing economic and political contexts of China's modernization and globalization, children's fantasy novels prove to be apt vehicles for exploring the plights and challenges that women and girls face in the new millennium in China. This article provides a feminist critique of two contemporary Chinese children's fantasy…

Gareth B. Matthews (1929-2011) inaugurated the study of philosophy in children's literature by simultaneously arguing (1) that philosophy is essentially an encounter with certain kinds of perplexities, (2) that genuine philosophical perplexities are readily found in many children's stories, and (3) that many children are capable of appreciating…

Educators and librarians have a responsibility to capture the transnational border-crossing experiences of all students, including children of the African diaspora. Narratives of African diaspora border crossings disrupt stories of linear migration. These stories feature histories of displacement, trauma, and unbelonging. And yet, they embrace…

The overarching aim is to explore what teachers perceive as the opportunities provided by using literature in ethics education in compulsory school. When being interviewed, in what ways do the teachers express views on the potential of fiction to encourage students to accept certain human conditions as imaginable, or to create motivation for…

Picturebooks aid children's developing social understanding because they are dialogic, relational contexts where child readers have opportunities to engage vicariously with a wide range of imagined others. We use research by literacy and literature scholars, including our own past work, to showcase a series of visual and linguistic elements in…

This article explores the functions of paratextual and intra-textual pirate treasure maps in works of literature for children and young adults. Based on an examination of how the indexical X that "marks the spot" operates as the focal point of the semiotic endeavours of treasure maps, the article outlines the fragile stance of maps…

Arguably New Zealand's best loved picturebook author/illustrator, Gavin Bishop invariably challenges populist power structures in his fiction and non-fiction. As such, his books are ideal vehicles for teaching children about such broad topics as race relations, colonisation, migration, class conflicts, gender relationships, environmental issues…

This article approaches the study of children's literature as a threshold of change that allows readers to explore the reality around them, imagine other worlds and understand other perspectives. Based on the notion of the child's cognitive development organized into four stages--pre-reading, fantastic stage, fantastic-realistic stage and…

Strangers, Gods, and monsters are all names for the experience of alterity and otherness within and amongst us. We need monsters in our lives. In this paper we use philosophy as a method to explore language, developmental and cultural instabilities, and terrifying (and discursive) monstrosity located within children's literature and childhood…

In this paper, one of the most popular children's picture books, Harold and the Purple Crayon, is examined in terms of philosophical and religious viewpoints. Harold, a young inquisitive boy, seemingly travels in his world in which he finds himself dealing with various situations. Harold's adventure with his purple crayon reminds us the…

Books can indeed change us, and the Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts Selection Committee is pleased to share a list of powerful books that they believe have the potential to change individuals. Through this list, they hope readers discover books that not only are worth reading but also can stretch their imaginations and…

Although previous studies have underlined the importance of social interactions, multicultural education, prediction/imagination, and bilingual/bi-literacy learning, the intersection of all these four areas is yet to be explored. This qualitative case study explored how young bilingual readers create meanings and develop literary responses through…