Children learn about their world through books used in the classroom. Research about the portrayal of African Americans in children?s picture books is essential because picture books introduce some children to African American culture, and all children need to see characters like themselves in books. Since previous studies analyzed the characterizations of African Americans in children?s picture books from 1900 through 1995, the significance and purpose of this study were to add to the literature by examining children?s picture books from 1996 through 2005. The research questions were: (a)How are African Americans portrayed in the written texts of African American children?s picture books awarded the Coretta Scott King Award or distinguished as Caldecott Medal honor books or Coretta Scott King honor books from 1996 through 2005? (b)How are African Americans portrayed in the illustrations of African American children?s picture books awarded the Coretta Scott King Award or distinguished as Caldecott Medal honor books or Coretta Scott King honor books from 1996 through 2005? To be included in the sample of books, (a) each book had to be an African American children?s picture book, (b) all characters or the protagonist had to be African American, and (c) each book had to be an award-winning book, which had been awarded the distinguished Coretta Scott King Author or Illustrator Award or noted as Caldecott Medal or Coretta Scott King Award honor books during the years 1996 through 2005. The sample consisted of 28 books. The instrumentation consisted of nine evaluation criteria which were used as categories. The data yielded documentation used to conclude that African Americans were portrayed positively in most of the African American children?s picture books employed in the study that were awarded the Coretta Scott King Award or distinguished as Caldecott Medal or Coretta Scott King honor books from 1996 through 2005.

While picture books are often viewed as educational resources for young readers, it is crucial to not overlook the images and content this literary medium contains. Research suggests that repetitive messages encompassing a stereotypical nature cultivate lasting impressions on young audiences. One portrayal often associated with negative implications is the depictions of older characters in children's first literature. This investigation analyzed a selection of picture books from the New York Times best sellers list, the Book Sense best sellers list, and the Caldecott award winners for the years 2000–2010. In an attempt to provide a time spectrum communicating the levels of ageism that remain prevalent within the last decade, over 700 illustrated literary works were included in this exploration. Although conclusions supported a continuation of the under-representation of senior adults that is congruent to similar studies, findings suggested a significant improvement in the overall portrayal of older characters in illustrated books. This result communicates an optimistic outlook in continuing the promotion of positive attitudes for children regarding the aging process.

Even though today's children's literature provides a wide range of topics, including books on death and grief, and much has been done to represent children with disabilities accurately and positively, there is still room for improvement. This descriptive study sought to understand how individuals with disabilities were represented in 177 grief-themed children's books from 1965-2023. From the results, only seven books included representations of individuals with disabilities. Additionally, the literary devices such as euphemisms or metaphors utilized in the books to describe how death was represented may inadvertently perpetuate inaccessibility to resources about grief (Berns, 2004). Thus, when choosing books about grief and death, parents, caregivers, and educators should incorporate concrete and unambiguous language. Taking time to listen and answer questions can provide ongoing support and reassurance for those experiencing the death of a loved one.

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The main problem of this research was to discover if children's picture books over the last fifty years have depicted rural values more significantly than urban values. One-hundred and one children's picture books were systematically chosen for analysis. This study takes an overall view of the history of children's literature. Also included is a review of the current studies and literature most germain to this study. Content analysis was used as the technique of data analysis, A descriptive analysis of the sample is also given. The study supports the main hypothesis that rural set, tings and rural values do occur more often than non-rural settings and urban values in children's picture books.

Product placement has been intensely studied in almost every mass communications medium. One notable exception is in children's picture books where scholarship on the placement of products and brands has been severely underserved despite a steady presence in a medium integral to socialization and society. The present study recognizes the unique characteristics of the shared reading that takes place in this medium and explores its effects on memory for and attitudes toward product placements within children's picture books. Using a laboratory experiment, quantitative statistical analysis of resulting data, and qualitative exploration of themes resulting from subjects' responses, the present study demonstrates that the practice of shared reading positively affects both recollection and attitudes toward product placement in children's picture books. It also discusses the results in the context of their ethical and practical applications and implications.

An abundance of research has been conducted about the importance of including books and literature as part of a young child's developmental process. Much of this research suggests that picture books are vital to a young child's healthy development and "are important influences that shape us by reflecting the politics and values of our society" (Fox, 1993, p. 656). This study was completed to analyze character roles and gender representation of male and female characters exclusively in children's picture books. The entire population of Caldecott Award and Honor Medal books published between 2001 and 2011 was utilized for a frequency analysis. Each Caldecott Award and Honor Medal book meeting this study's criteria was examined, read and analyzed. Books included only works of fiction and were delimited to exclude biographies, autobiographies, informational books, concept books and poetry. A total of 24 books were used in the data analysis. This research attempted to answer the following question: Are males and females equitably represented in recently published children's literature? From a content-analysis approach, within a historical perspective, this research aimed at examining if gender bias still dominates the literature, and if so, to what extent. The intellectual interest of this project is in discovering male and female presence and imagery in children's picture books.