Abstract   The purpose of this study is to investigate how educators and teachers working with younger ages work with the picture book in preschool and school, based on the aesthetic subjects and how this work affects children's learning. This is relevant and important for the preschool teacher and teacher's profession as children of today live in a world where symbols, characters, text and image are part of their culture, and language, gestures and images are included in a broader perspective on what reading and writing mean. In preschool, children should be encouraged to use and explore various communicative tools to support and challenge their learning. In the study, the qualitative research method the focus group interview is used. The focus groups consisted of educators in preschool and teachers working with younger ages. In the focus group interviews, educators and teachers present a concrete example of how they process the picture book, based on the aesthetic subjects. This presentation is used as an icebreaker for the continued discussion on the subject. The focus group interviews were analysed based on the model of the phenomenography of data analysis and the socio-cultural theory of learning. In the results, focus group interviews 1, 2 and 3, their work on the picture book are presented  based on the aesthetic subjects and how the aesthetic subjects affected children in preschool and school. In conclusion, I find stress as an influence of the aesthetic subjects in teaching

The purpose of this study is to assess the instructional use of mathematics picture books and teaching activities in the teaching of two second-grade mathematical units: ¡§Multiples¡¨ and ¡§Classification¡¨. In order to achieve this purpose, the researcher created four mathematics picture books. Furthermore, she explored the mathematical learning effects of second-grade elementary school students through mathematics picture book teaching. The stages of this study were three: creation of 4 picture books; implementation of using picture books in mathematics class; and, data analyzes on the collection of pre-test and post-test data; checklists of picture books follow-up activities; mathematics diaries; and, notes on students interview, classroom observations by teacher and investigator. The findings are three: 1) the creation of mathematics picture books; 2) the implementation of mathematics picture books in mathematics teaching; and, 3) the effects of using picture books in second-grade elementary school children's learning of mathematics. The creation of mathematics picture books. While ¡§Multi-colored Ice-cream¡¨ and ¡§Grandpa¡¦s Magic Forest¡¨ were designed in accordance to the unit of ¡§Multiples¡¨, two other books, named ¡§My Swimsuit is Lost¡¨ and ¡§Lala is Sick¡¨ were designed to integrate instruction in ¡§Classification¡¨. In these four stories, the plots were close to real life of students. These vivid presentations of illustrations and compositions not only drew students¡¦ interests and kept their high concentration, but also made them feel happy in exploring mathematical concepts implied in these books. The implementation of mathematics picture books. During the process of picture book teaching activities, students could keep high degrees of participation. Moreover, showing picture books through TV screen was applicable to whole class; using mathematics activities that were highly connected with contents of these picture books could motivate students¡¦ mathematics learning; applying these extensive activities flexibly could limit these activities which were infinite. The effects of using mathematics picture books. There was not only an advance in the cognition and understanding on ¡§Multiples¡¨ and ¡§Classification¡¨, but also positive attitude towards mathematics, mathematics class and mathematics learning. Besides, most students expressed their high expectations in mathematics picture book related teaching activities.

Syftet med denna studie är att se hur några bilderböcker utmanar de stereotypa könsrollerna. Jag kommer att granska hur pojkar och flickor framställs ur ett genusperspektiv och även titta på hur text och bild kompletterar varandra, med hjälp av Nikolajevas (2000) analysmodell för bilderböcker. Jag har valt att analysera tre stycken böcker och två av dessa har pojkar som huvudkaraktärer och en har en flicka som huvudkaraktär. Med den medvetenhet man har idag kring genus så kan dessa böcker vara ett bra material och verktyg i förskolan för att kunna visa att man får vara precis den man vill vara och det är inget som är konstigt med det. / The purpose of this study is to see how some picture books challenge gender stereotypes. I will review how boys and girls are portrayed from a gender perspective and also look at how text and image complement each other, with the help of Nikolajeva’s (2000) analysis model for picture books. I have chosen to analyze three books and two of these have boys as the main characters and one has a girl as the main character. With the awareness we have today on gender are these books a good material and a tool that can be useful in the preschool, in order to show that you can be just the one you want to be and there is nothing strange about it.

The picture book is an artistic medium is part of literature, especially of children’s literature. This discussion of the picture book extends to the dynamic between author and illustrator, and interactions between the verbal and the visual, as described by contemporary researchers, such as Maria Nikolajeva, Lawrence R. Sipe, and Carole Scott. Most of them were not picture book creators, so the voice of the picture book’s creator is easily overlooked. To fill the gap between the researcher and the creator, this project explores the creative process of the picture book by studio-art research. This project is concerned with the creation process of a picture book, presenting a coherent overview of an approach to creating an artist’s picture book, especially in the idea of development through both visual and narrative by two methods: research and practice. This thesis demonstrates my framework of creating an artistic picture book, Little Mouse. Chapter one discusses the methodology of the studio-art research, compares practical-led research and practical-based research, and identifies my multicultural background, to set the foundation of this project. In Chapter two, I applied a part of practical-led methodology to adapt and transfer a range of sources from history, theory, literature and popular culture to build up and enhance the depth of my concept of Little Mouse, which encompasses and analyses my core interest - a life-changing journey. Chapter three discusses how I applied practical-based methodology to reflect the progress of the practical work of making Little Mouse, particularly focusing on how framed a fiction story, and discussing step by step my approach to illustration practice. In the last chapter, I tested my potential readers to review whether my work succeeded in communicating and delivering my visual research in the form of my finished book. This project hybridizes multicultural sources to form a contemporary picture book which blurs the boundaries between illustrator/writer and reality/fiction. This also provides a case study of the picture book for bridging research and picture book’s creator and demonstrates a process of understanding and interpreting creative activities.

I detta examensarbete kan du läsa om hur fadersgestalten integreras i barns verklighet samt i dess lekvärld med bilderböcker. Syftet med studien är att belysa hur fadersgestalten framställs i äldre och nya bilderböcker, och om den har ändrats med tiden. Jag har granskat sex böcker ifrån 1959 fram tills idag, varav två stycken har analyserats på djupet. Frågeställningen till arbetet lyder: Hur framställs fadersgestalten i de olika böckerna? Är han närvarande eller frånvarande i barnets verklighet? Studien använder sig av en multimodal utgångspunkt samt stödjer sig på föregående forskning och litteratur för att nå resultatet. Resultatet av att granska fadergestaltningen i dessa olika böcker är blanda annat att tidningen är en central symbol.  Pappan visas vid flera tillfällen i bilderböckerna sittande med tidningen framför ansiktet. Detta är något som man kan forska vidare på, få svar på hur det kommer sig att så många författare samt illustratörer väljer att gestalta fadern på detta sätt. / In this thesis, you can read about how the father figure is integrated into children’s reality and play world by the way of picture books. The purpose of the study is to illustrate how the father figure is portrayed in old and new picture books, and if it has changed over time. I have examined 6 books from 1959 until the present day on a general level, whereof two pieces have been analysed more in depth. The main questions of this thesis are: How is the father figure portrayed in the different books? Is he present or absent in the child's reality? The study uses a multimodal basis and draws on previous research and literature to reach the result. The results of examining the father figure in these different books were that the newspaper is a central symbol. The father appears on several occasions in the picture books sitting with the newspaper in front of his face. This is something that you can research further on. Get answers on how is it that so many writers and illustrators choose to portray the father in this way.

The purpose of this study is to analyze picture books from a gender perspective. The books are found in a book box that the libraries send out to preschools. This study is based on the following questions: How are boys and girls portrayed in picture books? Do the picture books encourage or discourage the principles of equality found in the Curriculum for the Pre-School and the equality work conducted in the preschools? I performed a qualitative text and picture analysis of 12 picture books. I used Maria Nikolajeva and Kajsa Wahlströms schedule of typical masculine and feminine qualities and activities when analysing the picture books. I reached the conclusion that in the vast majority of the books boys and girls are portrayed with qualities that are both typical masculine and feminine. Only a few books in the book box portray the boys and girls characters in a stereotype manner. Hence, as a conclusion, the analyzed picture books discourage the traditional stereotype gender patterns and therefore encourage the principles of equality as described in the Curriculum for the Pres-School.

The thesis consist of two parts - a creative part and a written report.The creative part is a picture book about rivers and the plentiful connections they have with The creative part is a picture book about rivers and the plentiful connections they have with us humans. It follows a child and her grandma as they look for answers to a question – what is a river? In their imaginary expedition, they discover rivers flowing in the sky and in living organisms; meet pilgrims and conquistadores, magical shape-shifting river dolphins and older-than-dinosaurs species of sturgeons; fish and bathe; gathering all the stories they participate in into their own story about the river. The book combines factual infor­mation, various stories from riverine environments as well as more loose associations and metaphors. The themes I touch upon include folklore, myths, daily needs of people rivers cater to, cultural metaphors, environmental problems, peculiarities of plants and animals, history, language etc. Every spread of the book is like a different chapter about different meanings rivers might have in different contexts. The book tells about a river as a journey, home, a refreshment, a name, a meeting place, a riddle, memory, depth, energy, a reflection, a path, the ocean; and as a thread that connects stories of different times and places. To make my book, I used a variety of materials, including pencils, watercolours, gouache, digital drawing; and a collection of geographical, historical, mythological references I have gathered as well as my own memories of growing up close to a river. I have tried to balance both factually accurate and poetic storytelling to create a story of interconnectedness and wonder. The key questions I worked with were: how to tell a story about natural environment in an engaging way; how to find a narrative structure that would communicate my story effectively and would have its inner logic; how to deal with issues of historical consciousness, ecological awareness, management of natural resources in a context of children’s books; how to encourage readers to think about relations of their physical and emotional environemnts. The title of the book is What Is a River? . It is supposed to be for children, but also for adults who would find the subject interesting. The report analyses the background, processes, and results of making the book.

Hur skriver man en genuin bilderbok? Genom fyra olika bilderböcker för småbarnsåldern presenteras olika förslag på hur text och bild kan samspela, och på hur barn- och högläsaren kan involveras i historien genom den fysiska läsningsprocessen. Texterna behandlar bland annat frågor om identitet, hjälpsamhet och olika sätt att se på saker. / How do you compose a genuine children’s picture book?  In this work, four different picture books aimed for toddlers are presenting different suggestions of how text and image can collaborate, and how the child reader as well as the the person reading aloud can become involved in the story through the physical action of reading.  The texts are touching on topics like identity, helpfulness, and alternative ways of looking at everyday life.

The purpose of this picture book analysis is to examine how death and grief are expressed in three analysis objects. In this essay it is discussed, with the support of previous research, whether and how these picture books can be used in education for primary school. Several researchers believe that the picture book is useful as a pedagogical tool for developing empa-thy and for discussing current topics. Therefore, with the help of Nikolajeva’s theories on the hermeneutic circle, I have conducted a picture box analysis. In the picture book analysis, I examined the outer binders of the books, what narrator voice and point of view that is used, how death is portrayed, and how the character's mourning processes are depicted. My results of the analyzes show that death is expressed through paraphrase and mourning processes are expressed in all analysis objects even if it is expressed in different ways. / Syftet med denna bilderboksanalys är att granska hur död och sorg uttrycks i tre analysobjekt. I denna uppsats diskuteras det, med stöd av tidigare forskning, om och i så fall hur bilderböckerna kan användas i undervisning för lågstadiet. Flera forskare anser att bilderboken är användbar som ett pedagogiskt verktyg för att utveckla empati och för att diskutera aktuella ämnen. Därför har jag, med hjälp av Nikolajevas teorier angående den hermeneutiska cirkeln, genomfört en bilderboksanalys. I bilderboksanalysen granskade jag böckernas yttre pärmar, vilken berättarröst och synvinkel som används, hur döden skildras samt hur karaktärernas sorgeprocesser skildras. Mitt resultat av analyserna visar att död uttrycks genom omskrivningar och sorgeprocesser uttrycks i samtliga analysobjekt även om det uttrycks på olika sätt.

The purpose of the study is to provide insights about how the phases and phase transformations of water are presented in picture books aimed for children of preschool age. The studys framework is based on the picture book theory, whose central concepts are iconotext and readerly gap. A qualitative content analysis with a inductive approach was used. The illustrations were analyzed using relevance trees and an image analysis model. The picture books that were analyzed were compiled from Bibliotek i Väst ten most loaned picture books 2021. The results and conclusions show that it is possible to disinguish the phases of the water and phase transformations in picture books for preschool children. This is made visible in the form of illustrations and also in individual cases. No concepts or any scientific language were used in the picture books except in one occasion when the phase transformation of water freezing was mentioned in the text of a picture book. This led to the conclusion that knowledge and experience from the educator is required to be able to make abstract phenomena visible and put scientific concepts in the right context for the children to understand. / Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om hur vattnets faser och fasomvandlingar framställs i bilderböcker riktade till barn i förskoleåldern. Studiens ramverk utgår ifrån bilderboksteorin vars centrala begrepp är ikonotext ochläslucka. Studien använde en kvalitativ innehållsanalys med en induktiv ansats.Illustrationerna analyserades med hjälp av relevansträd samt en bildanalysmodell. Bilderböckerna som analyserats sammanställdes från bibliotekskoncernen Bibliotek i Väst tio mest utlånade bilderböcker 2021. Resultatet och slutsatsen visar att det går att urskilja vattnets faser och fasomvandlingar i bilderböcker för förskolebarn. Detta synliggörs i form av illustrationer och enstaka fall i texten. Inga begrepp eller något naturvetenskapligt språk användes i bilderböckerna förutom vid ett tillfälle där vattnets fasomvandling frysning nämndes i texten av en bilderbok. Detta gjorde att en slutsats drogs att det krävs kunskap och erfarenhet från pedagogen att kunna synliggöra abstrakta fenomen och sätta naturvetenskapliga begrepp i rätt kontext för att barnen ska förstå.