Gender Representation in Perpustakaan Intan

There is little research on gender-related children's picture books in Indonesia. In this article, we discuss the disclosure of gender representation in a picture book entitled Perpustakaan Intan. The high number appearances of women, the actions pinned on women, and the clothes displayed in both text and images are materials for visualizing women and men. Previous studies have revealed that men dominate the number of appearances in books. However, this book displays women more often than men. On the one hand, this raises the question of whether this means women are in power, and on the other hand, men are portrayed as powerless. Utilizing the multimodality approach, the results show that although women appear more in the narrative, women are still represented as less powerful.

Gender Socialization, Family Leadership, and the Invisible Father in Children’s Literature

Objective: This study examines the portrayals of mothers and fathers in children’s picture books read by millions of parents and children in their formative years. We investigate the extent to which these books present rigid parental stereotypes that misrepresent the potential of family leaders. Method: We performed a content analysis of 203 prominent children’s picture books from recent years to assess the appearances, activities, and emotions of mothers and fathers. Results: Rather than transcending narrow gender stereotypes, fathers in the most-read books continue to be underrepresented, relatively hands-off parents. Mothers are generally portrayed as emotional parents who complete traditional chores and nurture children. Conclusion: The gender socialization of children and parents via children’s books contributes to the notion that mothers and fathers cannot perform as equals in homes or workplaces. Representations of mothers and fathers differ substantially, with fathers playing a secondary role in parenting if they appear at all.

SUSTAINING LIFE WITH TREES: ECOCRITICISM PERSPECTIVE IN SELECTED PICTURE BOOKS

The issue of the environmental problem has been prevalent especially in the contemporary era. The fact that Mother Earth is currently facing a lot of environmental concerns is the central discussion of the selected children’s picture books. Hence, this study aims to analyze how the picture books successfully capture the idea that trees are the symbol of Mother Earth per se. The selected picture books to be discussed are: A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry (1984), The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (1992), Red Knit Cap Girl and The Reading Tree by Naoko Stoop (2014), Tree by Britta Teckentrup (2015) and The Tree by Neil Layton (2016). By scrutinizing the narrative and illustrative elements of the picture books, this study sheds light on how the ecosystems are held together by trees. The trees play a vital role in balancing and maintaining the world’s ecosystems. Moreover, the trees are valuable for providing environmental and social benefits. Hence, taking care of the trees can be perceived as maintaining a sustainable life for both the living and nonliving things. The underlying theories to support the discussion are those of ecocriticism, narrative and illustrative elements, and the trees as metaphor of the Mother Earth, all of which are interconnected in children’s picture books.

Repositioning Disability in Children’s Picture Books Through Classroom Read-Alouds

Students with disabilities represent an increasing percentage of students in general education classrooms. Yet, in early elementary grades, they may not see themselves represented in picture books. Teachers face many challenges in this issue, including choosing and evaluating books. In this article, we provide six questions to guide teachers' evaluations of picture books. We also recommend the use of these books in class read alouds that meet Common Core State Standards, and provide a guide for using these books to monitor a student's progress toward mastery of individualized education program (IEP) goals.

Abstract depiction of human figures in impressionist art and children's picture books

© 2019 The Author The human figure is important in art. I discuss examples of the abstract depiction of the human figure, from both impressionist painting and children's book illustration, and the challenge faced in algorithmically mimicking what human artists can achieve. I demonstrate that there are excellent examples in both genres that provide insight into what a human artist sees as important in providing abstraction at different levels of detail. The challenge lies in the human brain having enormous knowledge about the world and an ability to make fine distinctions about other humans from posture, clothing and expression. This allows a human to make assumptions about human figures from a tiny amount of data, and allows a human artist to take advantage of this when creating art. The question for the computer graphics community is whether and how we could algorithmically mimic what a human artist can do. I provide evidence from both genres to suggest possible ways forward.

Abstract depiction of human figures in impressionist art and children's picture books

© 2019 The Author The human figure is important in art. I discuss examples of the abstract depiction of the human figure, from both impressionist painting and children's book illustration, and the challenge faced in algorithmically mimicking what human artists can achieve. I demonstrate that there are excellent examples in both genres that provide insight into what a human artist sees as important in providing abstraction at different levels of detail. The challenge lies in the human brain having enormous knowledge about the world and an ability to make fine distinctions about other humans from posture, clothing and expression. This allows a human to make assumptions about human figures from a tiny amount of data, and allows a human artist to take advantage of this when creating art. The question for the computer graphics community is whether and how we could algorithmically mimic what a human artist can do. I provide evidence from both genres to suggest possible ways forward.

Depictions of teachers and teacher practices in picture books about starting kindergarten

Educators and families frequently use children’s picture books to introduce young children to unfamiliar experiences, including the start of school. In this study, we examine 52 U.S. picture books portraying the transition to kindergarten. Specifically, this content analysis explores the depiction of kindergarten teachers, including the demographic characteristics of these teachers, the extent to which these teacher characteristics mirror those of the kindergarteners in their classrooms, the ways teachers interact with kindergarteners, and the learning environments teachers create for entering kindergarteners. Results show that teachers are generally portrayed as abled and female, with White teachers depicted more frequently than teachers from any other racial or ethnic group. Our findings also indicate that many books about starting kindergarten do not depict a mix of racially diverse kindergarteners and teachers or teacher-student racial and ethnic match. Finally, we find that teachers are portrayed in narrow ways; characterized as classroom supervisors who have relatively limited engagement with children and who rarely inspire students in their intellectual pursuits. Overall results indicate a need for an expanded offering of books about starting kindergarten that are more representative of diverse kindergarten experiences, including both more teacher and student diversity as well as images of kindergarten teachers who are actively engaged in children’s kindergarten transition.