Radical change theory (RCT) was conceived in a North American context in the mid-1990s, in order to explain changes in contemporary literature for youth related to the digitization of society. This study uses directed qualitative content analysis (DQlCA) to look at a select sample of contemporary award-winning Arabic picturebooks through the lens of radical change theory. The aim of the study is to ascertain whether and to what extent these acclaimed and promoted books display radical change characteristics (Dresang 1999). Children’s books that embody many such characteristics may be seen as products of an underlying ideology of childhood that is arguably gaining traction in contemporary societies–one in which children are seen as capable and seeking connection rather than innocent and in need of protection or depraved and needing to be controlled. All books in the present study were found to contain radical change. This can be viewed as revealing of larger trends affecting and perhaps changing the societies in which these books were published, distributed and promoted. In addition, radical change books are thought to be especially attractive to digital age children (by creating more interest and an elevated understanding), which is of special interest in the context of Arabic children’s literature because of the hurdles to accessibility that the use of literary Arabic creates.

Studiens syfte är att belysa hur Muminböckernas karaktärer representeras och hur deras relationer till varandra representeras utifrån ett normkritiskt perspektiv. Detta för att ta reda på om Muminböckerna skulle kunna bidra till det normkritiska arbetet inom förskolans verksamhet. Studien utgår från en kvalitativ litteraturanalys utifrån den narratologiska litteraturanalysmodell av Nikolajeva (2017). I urvalet av litteratur valdes originalutgåvorna av Muminböckerna ut för att få en djupare beskrivning av karaktärerna. För att utföra analysen utifrån ett normkritiskt perspektiv har de teoretiska begreppen, normer, genus, genussystemet och genuskontraktet använts.  Resultatet visar att Muminböckerna belyser en mångfald av karaktärer som anses som normbrytande på olika sätt. Det normkritiska perspektivet synliggjorde karaktärer som avviker från normer när det gäller levnadssätt, genus, egenskaper, utseenden samt familjekonstellationer. Studien visar även hur accepterande Mumindalens samhälle är då alla karaktärer får leva och vara på sitt eget sätt och ändå inkluderas i samhället. Inom förskolans verksamhet kan böckerna bidra till barnens identitetsutveckling då karaktärerna kan skapa igenkänning hos barnen. De kan också bidra med att barnen blir mer öppna för allas olikheter och våga utforska sig själva då böckerna belyser karaktärer där genus inte spelar någon roll. En slutsats som är viktig att ta upp av denna studie är vikten av pedagogernas medvetenhet när det gäller val av litteratur. Pedagoger behöver reflektera över vad litteraturen sänder ut för budskap, samt hur man kan arbeta kring böckernas innehåll tillsammans med barnen. / The aim of the study is to find out how the Moomin books' characters are represented and how their relationships to each other are represented based on a norm-critical perspective. This is to find out whether the Moomin books could contribute to the norm-critical work within the preschool's operation. The study is based on a qualitative literature analysis based on Nikolajeva's narratological literature analysis. In the selection of literature, the original editions of the Moomin books were selected to get a deeper description of the characters. In order to carry out the analysis based on a norm-critical perspective, the theoretical concepts, norms, gender, the gendersystem and the gendercontract have been used.  The results show that the Moomin books highlight a diversity of characters who are considered to be breaking the norms in different ways. The norm-critical perspective made visible characters who deviate from norms in terms of lifestyle, gender, characteristics, appearances and family constellations. The study also shows how accepting the Moominvaley's society is as all characters are allowed to live and be in their own way and still be included in society. Within the activities of the preschool, the books can contribute to children's identity development as the characters can create recognition for the children. They can also contribute to the children becoming more open to everyone's differences and dare to explore themselves as the books highlight characters where gender does not matter. An important conclusion to draw from this study is the importance of preschool teachers' awareness when it comes to choosing literature. Preschool teachers need to reflect on what message the literature sends out, as well as how to work with the content of the books together with the children.

The purpose of the study was to analyze how Swedish children's books aimed to children between the ages of three and six, position children in relation to the books' climate and environmental themes. The method used for collecting material was a discourse analytical model developed by Svensson (2019). The choice of using discourse analysis as both a theoretical starting point and methodological approach in this study was because the theory contributes to make visible which discourses are found in children's books, and how the children's positions are affected by the projection of the discourses. Important concepts used in the study based on Foucault's theory were discourse, subject and power. To answer the purpose of the study, two questions were drawn up, where one concerned how the books made it visible that they have a climate and environmental focus. The results showed that the following themes were identified: Emissions are bad for the environment, felling of the forest is bad for the environment, littering is bad for the animal life and climate changes such as the warmer climate. The second question concerned which positions the children were assigned in the children's books in relation to the book’s climate and environmental focus. The results showed that the children's positioning in the books was made visible by these themes: the child as initiator of change, the child as political citizen, the child as informant, the child who gets through change and the child as unaware of man's impact on the climate. The conclusions based on the results of the study are that the children for the most part is positioned in a context, where the children as subjects have a great impact on their surroundings and their actions lead to a positive change. / Studiens syfte var att analysera hur svenska barnböcker som är riktade till barn mellan tre och sex år, positionerar barn i relation till böckernas klimat- och/ eller miljötema. Metoden som användes för insamling av empiri var en diskursanalytisk modell som Svensson (2019) tagit fram, utifrån hur man kan genomföra en diskursanalys. Valet av att använda diskursanalys som både teoretisk utgångspunkt och metodansats i denna studie baserades på att den teorin bidrartill att synliggöra vilka diskurser som fanns i barnböckerna, och hur barnens positioner påverkas av diskursernas framskrivning. Viktiga begrepp som användes i studien utifrån Foucaults teori var diskurs, subjekt och makt. För att besvara studiens syfte skrevs två frågeställningar fram, där den ena berörde hur böckerna synliggjorde deras klimat- och/ eller miljöfokus. De teman som framträdde var, utsläpp som negativt för miljön, nedhuggning av skogen som negativt för miljön, klimatförändringar som tillexempel ett varmare klimat och nedskräpning som negativt för djurlivet. Den andra frågeställningen handlade om vilka subjektspositioner barnen tilldelades i barnböckerna i relation till böckernas klimat- och/ eller miljöfokus. Följande teman identifierades, barnet som initiativtagare till förändring, barnet som politisk medborgare, barnet som informatör, barnet som får igenom förändring och barnet som omedveten om människans påverkan på klimatet. Slutsatserna utifrån studiens resultat är att barnen i största grad positioneras i ett sammanhang, där barnen som subjekt har en stor inverkan på sin omgivning och att deras handlingar leder till en positiv förändring.

<p><p>I förskolan sker det hela tiden möten mellan barn och vuxna och dessa möten har en stor inverkan på barns utveckling. Vi valde att göra denna undersökning då syftet var att se vad förskollärare har för förhållningssätt till genus i barnböcker. Studien har genomförts genom intervjuer med tre förskollärare i två olika kommuner i Mellansverige. Intervjuernas resultat har varit grunden för underlag till vår analys och diskussion. I resultatet framgick det att förskollärares förhållningssätt till genus är viktigt för utvecklandet av barns värderingar och attityder kring könsroller och att barnböcker kan vara ett sätt att överföra dessa värderingar på. Resultatet visade även att barnböcker i samband med genus behövs uppmärksammas mer på vissa förskolor.</p></p>

I förskolan sker det hela tiden möten mellan barn och vuxna och dessa möten har en stor inverkan på barns utveckling. Vi valde att göra denna undersökning då syftet var att se vad förskollärare har för förhållningssätt till genus i barnböcker. Studien har genomförts genom intervjuer med tre förskollärare i två olika kommuner i Mellansverige. Intervjuernas resultat har varit grunden för underlag till vår analys och diskussion. I resultatet framgick det att förskollärares förhållningssätt till genus är viktigt för utvecklandet av barns värderingar och attityder kring könsroller och att barnböcker kan vara ett sätt att överföra dessa värderingar på. Resultatet visade även att barnböcker i samband med genus behövs uppmärksammas mer på vissa förskolor.

二次世界戰後，臺灣在兒童文學的各項文類，以圖畫書的發展相較其他文類為慢，卻在二十一世紀來臨之前，在短期內成為眾人熟知的熱門文類。本論文分析論述既有臺灣兒童圖畫書發展史論著，並以臺灣戰後經濟、政治與教育政策關鍵發展之影響，透過圖畫書名詞界說、臺灣兒童圖畫書的隱含讀者流變等要件，作為歷史分期階段依據，重建1945至2013的臺灣兒童圖畫書發展史，分成四個階段：臺灣戰後到經濟起飛前(1945-1963)、經濟起飛到解嚴前(1964-1986)、解嚴到政黨輪替前(1964-1999)、政黨輪替時期（2000-2013）等，並分別以「時代背景」、「事件」、「人物」、「論述與譯介」等項目，逐項論述。 本研究發現，臺灣兒童圖畫書的發展源於歷史背景，除了原有透過日本體系引入歐美兒童文學概念，因為戰後與美國關係密切，英語系兒童讀物成為境外提供譯介和概念的豐沛來源，在在影響著臺灣兒童圖畫書的發展。而隨著經濟條件發展，藉由學習西方文類的形式與創作，和圖畫書具有以圖像取得快速溝通的特質，本土原創成了臺灣兒童文學中，最容易取得銷售版權的文類，並且達到臺灣在文學史上還未有過與全球接軌的表現，未來仍需要更多研究，鑑往知來，提供業界和創作者參考。 / After World War II, the development of picture books was slower in the genre of children's literature in Taiwan. Before the advent of the twenty-first century, however, they became a popular genre in short period of time. This study is to analyze the existing history of development on Taiwan’s picture books through historical research, literature review, in-depth interviews, and text analysis with the collection of related materials about Taiwan children’s literature. The historical phases are based on the impact of key development from Taiwan’s economic, political and educational policies after WWII as well as the definition of picture books and the transformation of implied reader in Taiwan picture books. The history of development on Taiwan picture books from 1945 to 2013 can be divided into four phases. The first is after WWII to before the economy takeoff (1945-1963). The second is the economy takeoff to before declaring martial law ended (1964-1986). The third is after declaring martial law ended to the rotation of political parties (1964-1999). The forth is the rotation of political parties (2000-2013). This study will discuss the four phases through "background", "events", "characters", "discourses and translation" respectively. Some researches found that the development of Taiwan’s picture books is from Taiwan’s history. In addition to the existing concept of children's literature from Europe and the United States through Japanese system, the development of Taiwan’s picture books is greatly impacted by English written children's books which became abundant sources for translation and concept introduction because of the close relationship with the United States after World War II, With the development of economic conditions, by learning the forms and creation from the Western genre with the characteristic of instant communication through pictures in picture books, domestic picture books creating is the most readily available genre in Taiwan’s children literature to obtain the sales of copyright. It is also helps Taiwan’s literature to be unprecedentedly brought in line with foreign countries. Although the future can be foreseen by reviewing the past, more researches are still needed to provide the reference to the industry and creators. / 目 次 第壹章 緒論 1 第一節 研究背景與動機 1 第二節 研究問題與目的 4 第三節 文獻探討 6 一、 臺灣兒童圖畫書發展史論相關文獻 6 二、 與圖畫書界義相關文獻 7 三、 圖畫書「人物」相關文獻 9 四、 圖畫書「作、畫家與作品」相關文獻 10 五、 圖畫書「譯介與論著」相關文獻 12 第四節 研究方法及進行步驟 15 一、 研究方法 15 二、 研究步驟 16 第五節 研究範疇與限制 17 一、 研究範疇 17 二、 研究限制 17 第貳章 臺灣兒童圖畫書發展史的建構與分期 19 第一節 兒童圖畫書的名詞界說 19 一、 西方學者對圖畫書的分類與定義 19 二、 國內學者對圖畫書的分類與定義 25 第二節 從隱含讀者看臺灣兒童圖畫書的理念流變 32 一、 隱含讀者與兒童文學 32 二、 從名稱演變觀看理念流變 32 三、 從文本形式觀看理念流變 35 四、 圖畫書背後的成人集團 38 第三節 臺灣兒童圖畫書的發展與分期 39 一、 臺灣兒童文學與圖畫書發展分期文獻探討 39 第四節 小結 43 第參章 戰後到經濟起飛前(1945-1963) 44 第一節 時代背景 44 一、 政治與經濟環境 44 二、 文化、教育等相關政策 45 三、 印刷、出版與通路現象 46 第二節 事件 48 一、 童年書店：「童年故事畫集」 48 二、 寶島出版社：「小學國語課外讀物」 48 三、 文星書店：《大象》、《你和聯合國》、《小鹿史白克》 51 四、 國語日報社：《猛牛費地南》 52 第三節 人物 55 第四節 插畫家與作品 56 第五節 譯介與論述 57 第六節 小結 62 第肆章 經濟起飛到解嚴前(1964-1986) 64 第一節 時代背景 64 一、 政治與經濟環境 64 二、 文化、教育等相關政策 65 三、 印刷、出版與通路現象 66 第二節 事件 68 一、 境外交流活動 71 二、 公部門出版 71 三、 民間出版 76 四、 獎項與人才培育 80 第三節 人物 82 一、 林海音 82 二、 華霞菱 83 三、 潘人木 84 四、 林 良 85 五、 曾謀賢 86 第四節 插畫家與作品 88 一、 趙國宗 88 二、 曹俊彥 89 三、 洪義男 90 四、 呂游銘 91 五、 劉宗銘 92 第五節 譯介與論述 94 第六節 小結 99 第伍章 解嚴到政黨輪替前(1987-1999) 102 第一節 時代背景 102 一、 政治與經濟環境 102 二、 文化、教育等相關政策 103 三、 印刷、出版與通路現象 105 第二節 事件 107 一、 境外交流活動 107 二、 公部門出版 110 三、 民間圖畫書出版 112 四、 獎項與人才培育 116 第三節 人物 119 一、 鄭明進 119 二、 馬景賢 121 三、 張杏如 122 四、 黃迺毓 124 五、 郝廣才 125 第四節 插畫家與作品 128 一、 劉伯樂 128 二、 徐素霞 129 三、 劉宗慧 130 四、 王家珠 132 五、 陳志賢 133 六、 李瑾倫 134 第五節 譯介與論述 136 第六節 小結 141 第陸章 政黨輪替時期(2000-2013) 144 第一節 時代背景 144 一、 政治與經濟環境 144 二、 文化、教育等相關政策 145 三、 印刷、出版與通路現象 146 第二節 事件 148 一、 境外交流活動 148 二、 公部門與民間合作出版 151 三、 民間圖畫書出版 155 四、 臺灣兒童圖畫書插畫家作品展覽等 158 第三節 人物 160 一、 楊茂秀 160 二、 林訓民 161 三、 林真美 162 四、 周逸芬 164 五、 陳璐茜 165 第四節 插畫家與作品 168 一、 邱承宗 168 二、 幾 米 169 三、 張又然 171 四、 賴 馬 172 五、 劉旭恭 173 六、 陳致元 174 第五節 譯介與論述 176 一、 圖畫書概論與閱讀 176 二、 插畫家與作品介紹 178 三、 圖畫書導賞與教學 179 四、 圖畫書評選 181 五、 圖畫書發展與史料 183 六、 圖畫書插畫與美學 184 七、 圖畫書編輯與製作 185 八、 其他 186 第六節 小結 188 第柒章 結論 191 一、 臺灣兒童圖畫書形式背後的兒童觀 191 二、 套書行銷以及解套現象涵意 191 三、 本土圖畫書主題與美學風格演變 192 四、 創作人才培育支援欠缺 193 五、 全球化壓力下的迷失與展望 194 引用書目 197 壹、 中文部分 197 一、 討論文本 197 二、 專書與譯著 200 三、 學位論文 203 四、 期刊、研討會論文 203 五、 報紙雜誌 206 六、 網站資料 207 貳、 西文部分 208   附 錄 附錄一 臺灣兒童圖畫書發展大事記 209 附錄二 臺灣兒童圖畫書相關學位論文一覽表 225 附錄三 圖畫書論述書目一覽表 258

La littérature de jeunesse constitue un objet culturel essentiel pour nous aider à cerner une société à un moment précis de son histoire, par exemple à travers les enjeux, les idées ou les grands principes qui l’animent, les changements qui s’y opèrent ou les individus qui la composent. En effet, puisqu’elle a souvent une vocation éducative, elle tend à refléter le contexte social dans laquelle elle est produite, à dépeindre des modèles ou des comportements souhaités, et à transmettre une vision particulière du monde – généralement celle des adultes qui y gravitent. Cette thèse porte spécifiquement sur la littérature de jeunesse huttérite – jusqu’à maintenant largement méconnue – et s’intéresse aux ouvrages produits par cette communauté établie en territoire canadien et étatsunien depuis plus de 100 ans et dont les pratiques découlent d’une approche rigoriste de l’anabaptisme. Le projet vise essentiellement à illustrer comment et dans quelle mesure ce genre transpose, à l’écrit, l’environnement du groupe, son identité unique et son héritage socioculturel, linguistique, religieux et historique. Pour ce faire, deux éléments ont été utilisés pour former le corpus de recherche : 1) les œuvres, notamment analysées avec une perspective issue de la narratologie, et 2) des questionnaires, construits de manière à recueillir l’opinion de membres de la collectivité et ainsi à comprendre leur vision quant aux différents enjeux (littéraires, langagiers, pédagogiques ou moraux) entourant cette littérature. D’abord, le projet montre que les auteur·es de la communauté proposent au lectorat des ouvrages où les pratiques présentées et ce que nous pourrions appeler un « savoir-être » huttérite sont valorisés et viennent conforter l’affiliation identitaire et socioculturelle des jeunes à l’huttérisme. Les trames narratives, composées entre autres par les thématiques, les péripéties ou les personnages des récits, véhiculent les grands fondements idéologiques du groupe, témoignent de ce qui est attendu des enfants, notamment leur rôle et leur place dans la collectivité, et les adultes, qui permettent l’accès aux œuvres, exposent dès lors ce qui constitue une lecture appropriée pour les jeunes ou confirment implicitement que certains sujets demeurent sensibles ou tabous. Ensuite, notre analyse montre comment le plurilinguisme unique des huttérites, qui parlent un dialecte qui leur est propre, l’huttérien, ainsi que l’anglais et l’allemand, se retrouve dans l’objet littéraire, de quelle manière les différentes langues s’y entremêlent, et comment ces livres « interlinguaux » illustrent le « parler multilingue » du groupe. Bien que l’anglais occupe dans les documents un espace considérable et paraisse reléguer l’huttérien à l’arrière-plan, ce dernier apparait comme un élément fondamental pour symboliser et légitimer l’univers mental du lectorat. Certain·es auteur·es stipulent même que leur ouvrage s’inscrit dans une démarche visant à maintenir, voire à revitaliser le dialecte, alors que l’anglais prend de plus en plus de place au quotidien. Si la littérature de jeunesse huttérite semble essentiellement destinée au lectorat de la communauté, elle ne se restreint pas à ce destinataire : elle offre, au contraire, à quiconque le souhaite, l’occasion de découvrir et de démystifier une collectivité dont le parcours original et les contributions littéraires mériteraient de susciter davantage l’intérêt. / Children’s literature forms an essential cultural asset that can help us understand a society at a specific point in its history, for example the issues, the ideas or the major principles driving it, the changes taking place or the people that are part of it. In fact, because it often has an educational purpose, it tends to reflect the social context in which it is produced, to depict role models or desired behaviours, and to convey a unique vision of the world – generally the one of a group or of a particular society. This thesis focusses on Hutterite children’s literature – until now largely unknown – and examines the works of this community, which established itself in Canada and in the Unites-States over 100 years ago, and whose religious practices result from a rigorous following of Anabaptism. The research corpus of this thesis is based on two components: 1) books of Hutterite’s children’s literature, analyzed with a perspective from the field of narratology, and 2) surveys, designed to gather the opinions of the Hutterite society, and therefore understand its point of view on different issues concerning this type of literature (literary, language, pedagogical or moral concerns). First, the study shows that authors from the community offer readership books in which the practices depict what we could call an ideal “Hutterite citizen” reinforcing the identity and the sociocultural affiliation of children to Hutterites beliefs. Narrative frameworks, such as the themes, the plots and the characters in the stories convey the group’s ideological basis, indicating what is expected of children, in particular their role and place in the community. As a result, the Hutterite community, which ultimately decides what books are a suitable reading for children, implicitly confirms that some topics remain sensitive or taboo. Furthermore, this research shows how the unique multilingualism of the Hutterites, who speak their own dialect, Hutterisch, as well as English and German, is reflected in their children’s literature: children’s literary works, often “interlingual books”, usually combine different languages, using the “multilingual speech” of the group. Although English is predominantly used in Hutterite children’s literature, Hutterites words and phrases appear to emphasize and legitimize Hutterite culture and beliefs. Some authors are proud to highlight the fact their work provides the means of maintaining and even revitalizing the dialect, as the English language is encroaching on their society. Though Hutterite children’s literature seems to be destined essentially to the community’s readership, it is not limited to it: on the contrary, it offers everyone the opportunity to discover and to demystify a communal group whose journey and literary contributions deserve our attention. / Kinderliteratur ist ein wesentliches Kulturgut, das uns ermöglicht, eine Gesellschaft zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt ihrer Geschichte zu erfassen. Man kann beispielsweise an die folgenden Punkte denken: die Herausforderungen, die Ideen oder die wichtigen Prinzipien, die diese Minderheitsgruppe anregt, die Veränderungen, die geschehen, oder die Individuen, die sie bilden. Da sie häufig eine pädagogische Aufgabe erfüllt, zielt sie meistens darauf ab, den sozialen Hintergrund widerzuspiegeln, Vorbilder oder gewünschte Verhalten zu schildern oder ein bestimmtes Weltbild zu vermitteln – i.d.R. die Denkweise der Erwachsenen. Die vorliegende These befasst sich mit der Kinderliteratur der Hutterer*innen – bisher größtenteils unbekannt – und beschäftigt sich mit den Werken dieser Gemeinschaft, die sich seit über hundert Jahren sowohl in Kanada als auch in den USA befindet, und deren Gepflogenheiten auf einer rigoristischen Herangehensweise beruhen. Das Projekt veranschaulicht, wie und inwiefern Kinderliteratur sowohl den gesellschaftlichen Kontext dieser Gruppe als auch ihre einzigartige Identität und ihr soziokulturelles, sprachliches, religiöses und historisches Erbe auf Papier überträgt. Dafür formen zwei Elemente den Forschungskorpus: 1) die Werke, die u.a. mit Hilfe der Narratologie analysiert werden und 2) Fragebögen, die die Meinung einiger Mitglieder der Gemeinschaft sammeln sollten und ihre Weltanschauung bezüglich verschiedener Themen, die diese Literatur betreffen (z.B. literarische, sprachliche, pädagogische oder moralische Fragen), demonstrieren sollten. Zuerst beweist das Forschungsprojekt, dass hutterische Autor*innen der Leserschaft Bücher bieten, in denen die vorgestellten Herangehensweisen und ein „typisch hutterisches“ Verhalten wertgeschätzt werden und die identische und soziokulturelle Zugehörigkeit der Kinder bestärken. Die Erzählstrukturen der Werke, u.a. die Themen, die Handlungen oder die Figuren, vermitteln die ideologischen Grundlagen der Gemeinschaft und zeigen, was von der Leserschaft erwartet wird, neben ihrer Rolle und ihrem Platz in der Gesellschaft. Die Erwachsenen, die die Werke zugänglich machen, deuten außerdem darauf hin, welche Lektüre für Kinder geeignet ist, und bestätigen dabei implizit, welche Themen nach wie vor sensibel sind oder tabuisiert werden. Danach stellt die Analyse dar, wie die besondere Mehrsprachigkeit der Hutterer*innen, die einen einzigartigen Dialekt (Hutterisch), Englisch und Hochdeutsch sprechen, in den Werken verkörpert wird, auf welche Weise die verschiedenen Sprachen sich mischen, und wie „interlinguale“ Bücher das „mehrsprachige Sprechen“ dieser Gruppe schildern. Trotz des großen Platzes, den das Englische einnimmt, und des Eindrucks, dass das Hutterische in den Hintergrund rückt, ist der Dialekt in der Tat ein grundlegendes Element, um die Gedankenwelt der Leserschaft zu symbolisieren und zu legitimieren. Einige Autor*innen erwähnen sogar ausdrücklich, dass das Buch zum Erhalten und zur Wiederbelebung des Dialekts beitragen soll – da die englische Sprache immer mehr Platz in ihrem Alltag einnimmt. Obgleich diese Literatur sich eher an die Kinder der Gemeinschaft zu richten scheint, beschränkt sie sich nicht auf diese Leserschaft. Sie bietet jungen Leser*innen die Möglichkeit, eine Gemeinschaft zu entdecken und zu entmystifizieren, deren einzigartige Geschichte und literarische Beiträge weitaus mehr Interesse erwecken sollten.

This two years master’s thesis is a review and exploration of the Swedish debate concerning children’s literature from the 19th century to the present, as well as the evaluation and analysis of four adaptations of the tale Red Riding Hood. The aims are to identify how ideas and values regarding the role of children’s literature in society have developed over time and to contribute with a knowledge base for continued reflection and discussion on the subject of children’s reading and mediation of children’s literature in public libraries. The theory and method used in the thesis, is primarily based on the discourse analysis of Michel Foucault. I have identified four main discourses: the educational discourse, the liberation discourse, the politicized dis- course and the popular discourse. To explore the tension between contingency and permanence within the dis- cursive field I have revolved the analysis around key concepts such as ”pedagogy”, ”children” and ”childhood”. The four different adaptations of Red Riding Hood illustrate how beliefs about children and children’s reading have been revised over time. The study shows that the debate and the literature have evolved from a didactic and instrumental point of view to a more liberating and aesthetic approach. But the movement is not linear and uni- vocal. The current debates and the range of children’s literature today exhibit tendencies both of protective mo- rality, expressive and imaginative aesthetics and political awareness. The predominant view of children is still as human “becoming’s” rather than “beings”, and the value of reading literature is thus regarded as extrinsic and as a tool for language development. This continuous and ongoing educational discourse takes little interest in the children’s own ideas and opinions about books and reading. It is my conclusion that children’s libraries, as me- diators of children’s literature, have an enhanced role to play in today’s technologically based society; providing and encouraging book discussions and other literary activities where not only the literature is in focus, but the children’s own reading experiences as well.

This study examines booktalk, that is, teacher-led group discussions about books for children in a Swedish school. The empirical data comprise 24 hours of videorecorded booktalk in grades 4–7. In total, 40 children (aged 10–14 years) were recorded during 24 sessions. The present approach diverges from previous readerresponse studies in that it draws on authentic data, and in that it examines talk at a micro level, applying an approach from discursive psychology. By focusing on authentic book discussions, the study contributes to the development of readerresponse methods. All eight books applied in the booktalk sessions involved some type of  existential issue: freedom, separation, loyalty, and mortal danger (Chapter 4). Yet, such issues were rarely discussed. An important task of the present thesis was to understand why such issues did not materialise, that is, what did not take place. In Chapter 5, a series of booktalk dilemmas were identified. The booktalk sessions were generally lively and informal. Yet, booktalk as such was often transformed into other local educational projects; e.g. time scheduling, vocabulary lessons or reading aloud exercises. Gender was invoked in all booktalk sessions (Chapter 6). In line with predictions from reader-response theory, progressive texts were, at times, discussed in gender stereotypical ways. The findings also revealed a generational pattern in that the pupils discussed fictive children in less traditional ways than adult characters. The interface between texts and life was invoked in all booktalk sessions (Chapter 7). There was, again, a generational pattern in that children entertained ideas other than those of their teachers concerning legitimate topics in a school context. Also, the discussions revealed a problem of balance between pupils’ privacy, on the one hand, and engaging discussions on texts and life, on the other.

The aim of this study is to analyse how children’s literature for ages 6 – 8 is adapted to pupils with reading difficulties. The material used for analysis in this study is six children’s books, examining some of the criteria by which a text is classified as easy-to-read. The result of the analysis shows that there is a possibility for pupils with reading difficulties to read something other than easy-to-read literature if it is carefully selected. The result also shows that the different criteria for an easy-to-read text cannot alone indicate whether a book as a whole is easy-to-read or not.