Picture books, often marketed to and written for young children, are typically thought of only as tools to inspire early literacy. They rarely make their way into secondary lesson plans, and with their seemingly simple illustrations and text, they are mostly deemed (socially, if not academically) inappropriate for accomplished readers. This thesis explores the advantages of including picture books when teaching four young adult texts: Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising (2000), Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief (2005), Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming (2014), and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2003). Picture books can serve as valuable companions to anchor texts such as these because they help develop critical thinking skills and invite students to analyze the illustrations. Additionally, when teachers include anchor texts to help connect themes of acceptance and social awareness, picture books encourage adolescents to be more hopeful and empathetic and to recognize and seize their agency against contemporary injustices.
","abstract_html":"<p>Picture books, often marketed to and written for young children, are typically thought of only as tools to inspire early literacy. They rarely make their way into secondary lesson plans, and with their seemingly simple illustrations and text, they are mostly deemed (socially, if not academically) inappropriate for accomplished readers. This thesis explores the advantages of including picture books when teaching four young adult texts: Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising (2000), Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief (2005), Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming (2014), and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2003). Picture books can serve as valuable companions to anchor texts such as these because they help develop critical thinking skills and invite students to analyze the illustrations. Additionally, when teachers include anchor texts to help connect themes of acceptance and social awareness, picture books encourage adolescents to be more hopeful and empathetic and to recognize and seize their agency against contemporary injustices.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hoak, Melissa"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"English Language and Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ramona Caponegro","Ian Wojcik-Andrews"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z","subjects":["agency","anchor texts","empathy","picture books","secondary ELA","visual literacy","Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/821","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ramona Caponegro","Ian Wojcik-Andrews"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hoak, Melissa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-03-14T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English Language and Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["agency","anchor texts","empathy","picture books","secondary ELA","visual literacy","Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/821"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Picture books, often marketed to and written for young children, are typically thought of only as tools to inspire early literacy. They rarely make their way into secondary lesson plans, and with their seemingly simple illustrations and text, they are mostly deemed (socially, if not academically) inappropriate for accomplished readers. This thesis explores the advantages of including picture books when teaching four young adult texts: Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising (2000), Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief (2005), Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming (2014), and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2003). Picture books can serve as valuable companions to anchor texts such as these because they help develop critical thinking skills and invite students to analyze the illustrations. Additionally, when teachers include anchor texts to help connect themes of acceptance and social awareness, picture books encourage adolescents to be more hopeful and empathetic and to recognize and seize their agency against contemporary injustices.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Illustrating adolescent awareness: Teaching historical injustices and promoting agency through picture books in secondary classrooms"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ramona Caponegro","Ian Wojcik-Andrews"],"dc:creator":["Hoak, Melissa"],"dc:date.available":["2018-03-14T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Picture books, often marketed to and written for young children, are typically thought of only as tools to inspire early literacy. They rarely make their way into secondary lesson plans, and with their seemingly simple illustrations and text, they are mostly deemed (socially, if not academically) inappropriate for accomplished readers. This thesis explores the advantages of including picture books when teaching four young adult texts: Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising (2000), Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief (2005), Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming (2014), and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2003). Picture books can serve as valuable companions to anchor texts such as these because they help develop critical thinking skills and invite students to analyze the illustrations. Additionally, when teachers include anchor texts to help connect themes of acceptance and social awareness, picture books encourage adolescents to be more hopeful and empathetic and to recognize and seize their agency against contemporary injustices.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/821"],"dc:subject":["agency","anchor texts","empathy","picture books","secondary ELA","visual literacy","Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["Illustrating adolescent awareness: Teaching historical injustices and promoting agency through picture books in secondary classrooms"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English Language and Literature"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z"}