PICTURING PERCEPTION: HOW THE ENVIRONMENT IS PORTRAYED IN POPULAR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

As climate change threatens our planet, it is important children understand the world they are inheriting. Research has shown that books have an immense influence on young and emerging readers. Through a philosophy grounded in environmental criticism—a framework that explores how humans imagine our environment through literature—this thesis analyzes 40 popular children’s picture books for their portrayal of the environment in support of environmental literacy—the outcome of someone who makes informed decisions on environmental issues—using the North American Association for Environmental Education’s (NAAEE) guidelines for environmental education. This thesis investigates a collection of popular literature and provides recommendations to supporters of young readers in curating books that support environmental literacy. Results found that 80% of the literature does not support environmental literacy through questions guided by the NAAEE. However, additional analysis found that some literature may still promote environmental literacy through extended themes or when developmentally appropriate conversations are supplemented. This thesis concludes that while some of the analyzed literature does not support environmental literacy, many can still contribute to the development of environmental literacy in young readers.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Oregon

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Black, Olivia

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lynch, Katie

• Eco-literacy
• Eco-criticism
• Children's literature
• National Association for Environmental Education
• Picture books

Statement dc:rights

• CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/31232

OAI record oai:identifier

https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Ascholarsbank.uoregon.edu%3A1794%2F31232