Striving for social justice: The power that picturebooks have to counter inequitable cultural hegemony

Abstract

Children’s literature has a long association with education. It has transmitted cultural values to readers over many centuries, often reflecting dominant identities and cultures of the time. Picturebooks, a specific format in children’s literature, are unique in their marriage of image and text and can have a powerful influence on readers’ perceptions of themselves, others and the world around them. Our focus on picturebooks as a subset of children’s literature reflects our view that picturebooks have a particular power for a very wide age group, from those who cannot read independently, to those who are making choices on behalf of future readers. It is the fact that picturebooks are often chosen by adults, such as parents, librarians, teachers and publishers, for readers forming their views of the world that make them of particular interest when it comes to maintaining or disrupting existing power structures.