Picture books are familiar media for children and have a great influence on children's development. Particularly, narrative picture books contribute to the development of children's imagination and provide the basis of rich cultural life throughout their lives. There are many animals depicted in picture books. Animals in narrative picture books for children often appear anthropomorphized, and depictions of animals sometimes mix real and anthropomorphic characteristics. This study focused on conversions of animals in picture books between anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic forms. In 591 picture books, 1,930 cases of conversion were observed. In stories with human characters, many conversions involved cats and dogs and changes from non-anthropomorphic animals to anthropomorphic forms. The main triggers of temporary conversions were human or animal-like behaviors and emotions of the characters, while the main causes of long-term conversions were the structures of the stories and character movement to different worlds or into space. The backgrounds of the conversions were deeply related to the social image of animals and to human-animal interactions. Conversion highlights the boundaries between animals and humans and conveys impressive scenes to children which should stimulate child development. The depiction related to children's development in picture books would be one of the reasons why animal picture books are so popular among children.
| Published in | International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 9, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijla.20210906.27 |
| Page(s) | 374-383 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Anthropomorphic Animals, Child Development, Conversion in Depiction, Human-animal Interactions, Picture Books
| [1] | Strouse, G. A., Nyhout, A., and Ganea, P. A. (2018) The role of book features in young children's transfer of information from picture books to real-world contexts. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, art. 50. |
| [2] | Ganea, P. A., Ma, L., and DeLoache, J. S. (2011) Young children’s learning and transfer of biological information from picture books to real animals. Child Development, 82 (5), 1421-1433. |
| [3] | Evans, M. A., and Saint-Aubin, J. (2005) What children are looking at during shared storybook reading: Evidence from eye movement, monitoring. Psychological Science, 16 (11), 913-920. |
| [4] | DeLoache, J. S., and Burns, N. M. (1994) Early understanding of the representational function of pictures. Cognition, 52 (2), 83-110. |
| [5] | Ganea, P. A., Pickard, M. B., and DeLoache, J. S. (2008) Transfer between picture books and the real world by very young children. Journal of Cognition and Development, 9 (1), 46–66. |
| [6] | Walker, C. M., Gopnik, A., and Ganea, P. A. (2015) Learning to learn from stories: Children's developing sensitivity to the causal structure of fictional worlds. Child Development, 86 (1), 310-318. |
| [7] | Uchida, N. (1994) Sozo ryoku [The imagination]. Tokyo: Kodansha (in Japanese). |
| [8] | Vygotsky, L. S. (2004) Imagination and creativity in childhood. Journal of Russian and East European Psychology, 42 (1), 7-97. |
| [9] | Marriott, S. (2002) Red in tooth and claw? Images of nature in modern picture books. Children’s Literature in Education, 33 (3), 175-183. |
| [10] | Ganea, P. A., Canfield, C. F., Simons-Ghafari, K., and Chou, T. (2014) Do cavies talk? The effect of anthropomorphic picture books on children's knowledge about animals. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, art. 283. |
| [11] | Waxman, S. R., Herrmann, P., Woodring, J., and Medin, D. L. (2014) Humans (really) are animals: Picture-book reading influences 5-year-old urban children’s construal of the relation between humans and non-human animals, Frontiers in Psychology, 5, art. 172. |
| [12] | Newman, C. (2014) Hey kids, all deer aren't like Bambi. National Geographic, Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/3/140327-childrens-books-fantasy-animals-psychology. |
| [13] | McCrindle, C. M. E., and Odendaal, J. S. J. (1994) Animals in books used for preschool children. Anthrozoös, 7 (2), 135-146. |
| [14] | Hara, K., and Koda, N. (2000) Quantitative analysis of anthropomorphic animals in picture books: Roles and features of animals. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8 (6), 308-315. |
| [15] | Rost, D. H., and Hartmann, A. H. (1994) Children and their pets. Anthrozoös, 7 (4), 242-254. |
| [16] | Thorne, C. (1997) Evolution and domestication. In C. Thorne (Ed.), The Waltham book of dog and cat behaviour (pp. 1-30). Oxford: Pergamon Press. |
| [17] | Davis, S. J. M., and Valla, F. R. (1978) Evidence for domestication of the dog 12,000 years ago in the Natufian of Israel. Nature, 276 (5688), 608-610. |
| [18] | Serpell, J. A. (1996) Evidence for an association between pet behavior and owner attachment levels. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 47 (1-2), 49-60. |
| [19] | Miklósi, Á., Pongrácz, P., Lakatos, G., Topál, J., and Csányi, V. (2005) A comparative study of the use of visual communicative signals in interactions between dogs (Canis familiaris) and humans and cats (Felis catus) and humans. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 119 (2), 179-186. |
| [20] | Turner, D. C., and Bateson, P. (1998). The domestic cat. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. |
| [21] | Pastoureau, M. (2014) The bear: History of a fallen king (Hirano, T., Trans.). Paris: Le Seuil. (Original work published in 2007) |
| [22] | Lorenz, K. (1943) Die angeborenen Formen möglicher Erfahrung. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 5 (2), 235-409. |
| [23] | Yano, S. (2002) Dobutsu ehon wo meguru boken [Adventures over animal picture books]. Tokyo: Keiso Shobo (in Japanese). |
| [24] | Nakamura, T. (1990) Tanuki to sono sekai [The raccoon dogs and their world]. Tokyo: Asahi Sensho (in Japanese). |
| [25] | DeLoache, J. S., Pickard, M. B., and LoBue, V. (2011) How very young children think about animals. In P. McCardle, S. McCune, J. A. Griffin, & V. Maholmes (Eds.), How animals affect us: Examining the influence of human-animal interaction on child development and human health (pp. 85-99). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. |
| [26] | LoBue, V., Pickard, M. B., Sherman, K., Axford, C., and DeLoache, J. S. (2013) Young children’s interest in live animals, British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 31 (1), 57–69. |
| [27] | Imada, Y. (2013) Ehon toha nanika: yoji to ehon [What is a picture book? An infant and a picture book]. In basic in Usui, H. (2002). Hito tono kakawari no syogai hattatsu [Lifelong development of human relations]. In N. Uchida (Ed.), Developmental psychology (pp. 116-132). Tokyo: Foundation for the Promotion of The Open University of Japan. Troduction to picture books. Tokyo: Minerva Shobo (in Japanese). |
| [28] | Usui, H. (2002) Hito tono kakawari no syogai hattatsu [Lifelong development of human relations]. In N. Uchida (Ed.), Developmental psychology (pp. 116-132). Tokyo: Foundation for the Promotion of The Open University of Japan (in Japanese). |
| [29] | Lewis, M. (2008) The emergence of human emotions. In M. Lewis, J. M. Haviland-Jones & L. F. Barrett (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (pp. 304-319). New York: The Guilford Press. |
| [30] | Ginsburg, K. R., and the Committee on Communications, and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. (2007) The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. American Academy of Pediatrics, 119 (1), 182-191. |
| [31] | Parten, M. B. (1932) Social participation among pre-school children. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 27 (3), 243–269. |
| [32] | Miyake, K. (1998) Nyuyoji no shakai teki hattatsu [Social development of infants and young children]. In H. Kojima & K. Miyake (Eds.) Developmental psychology (pp. 61-72). Tokyo: Foundation for the Promotion of The Open University of Japan (in Japanese). |
| [33] | Eisenberg, N, and Mussen, P., H. (1989) The roots of prosocial behavior in children. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. |
| [34] | Miyake, K. (1998) Nyuyoji no jocho teki hattatsu [Emotional development of infants and young children]. In H. Kojima & K. Miyake (Eds.), Developmental psychology (pp. 73-82). Tokyo: Foundation for the Promotion of The Open University of Japan (in Japanese). |
| [35] | Matsuoka, K. (1987) Ehon no sekai, kodomo no sekai [Picture books’ world: Children’s world]. Tokyo: Japan Editor School Press (in Japanese). |
| [36] | Rochat, P. (2003) Five levels of self-awareness as they unfold early in life. Consciousness and Cognition, 12 (4), 717-731. |
| [37] | Uchida, N. (1986) Gokko kara fantaji e: kodomo no sozo sekai [From playing to fantasy: Children's imagination]. Tokyo: Shinchosha (in Japanese). |
| [38] | Seta, T. (1980) Osanaiko no bungaku [Literature of young children]. Tokyo: Chuokoron-shinsha (in Japanese). |
| [39] | Bowlby, J. (1988) A secure base: Clinical applications of attachment theory. London: Routledge. |
| [40] | Ikuta, Y. (2018) E wo yomukoto: fantajiehon wo yomitoku- kodomo no kuusousekai no ehon hyogen [The process of reading a picture: Read fantasy picture book-Picture book expression of children's fantasy world]. In T. Fujimoto & Y. Ikuta (Eds.), Interpret a picture: Introduction to picture books (pp. 27-34). Tokyo: Minerva Shobo (in Japanese). |
| [41] | Saito, J. (2006) Yukite kaerishi monogatari [There and back again]. Tokyo: Japan Editor School Press (in Japanese). |
APA Style
Kanae Hara, Naoko Koda. (2021). Conversion in Depictions of Anthropomorphic Animals in Picture Books. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 9(6), 374-383. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210906.27
ACS Style
Kanae Hara; Naoko Koda. Conversion in Depictions of Anthropomorphic Animals in Picture Books. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2021, 9(6), 374-383. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210906.27
AMA Style
Kanae Hara, Naoko Koda. Conversion in Depictions of Anthropomorphic Animals in Picture Books. Int J Lit Arts. 2021;9(6):374-383. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210906.27
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20210906.27,
author = {Kanae Hara and Naoko Koda},
title = {Conversion in Depictions of Anthropomorphic Animals in Picture Books},
journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
volume = {9},
number = {6},
pages = {374-383},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20210906.27},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210906.27},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20210906.27},
abstract = {Picture books are familiar media for children and have a great influence on children's development. Particularly, narrative picture books contribute to the development of children's imagination and provide the basis of rich cultural life throughout their lives. There are many animals depicted in picture books. Animals in narrative picture books for children often appear anthropomorphized, and depictions of animals sometimes mix real and anthropomorphic characteristics. This study focused on conversions of animals in picture books between anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic forms. In 591 picture books, 1,930 cases of conversion were observed. In stories with human characters, many conversions involved cats and dogs and changes from non-anthropomorphic animals to anthropomorphic forms. The main triggers of temporary conversions were human or animal-like behaviors and emotions of the characters, while the main causes of long-term conversions were the structures of the stories and character movement to different worlds or into space. The backgrounds of the conversions were deeply related to the social image of animals and to human-animal interactions. Conversion highlights the boundaries between animals and humans and conveys impressive scenes to children which should stimulate child development. The depiction related to children's development in picture books would be one of the reasons why animal picture books are so popular among children.},
year = {2021}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Conversion in Depictions of Anthropomorphic Animals in Picture Books AU - Kanae Hara AU - Naoko Koda Y1 - 2021/12/11 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210906.27 DO - 10.11648/j.ijla.20210906.27 T2 - International Journal of Literature and Arts JF - International Journal of Literature and Arts JO - International Journal of Literature and Arts SP - 374 EP - 383 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2331-057X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210906.27 AB - Picture books are familiar media for children and have a great influence on children's development. Particularly, narrative picture books contribute to the development of children's imagination and provide the basis of rich cultural life throughout their lives. There are many animals depicted in picture books. Animals in narrative picture books for children often appear anthropomorphized, and depictions of animals sometimes mix real and anthropomorphic characteristics. This study focused on conversions of animals in picture books between anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic forms. In 591 picture books, 1,930 cases of conversion were observed. In stories with human characters, many conversions involved cats and dogs and changes from non-anthropomorphic animals to anthropomorphic forms. The main triggers of temporary conversions were human or animal-like behaviors and emotions of the characters, while the main causes of long-term conversions were the structures of the stories and character movement to different worlds or into space. The backgrounds of the conversions were deeply related to the social image of animals and to human-animal interactions. Conversion highlights the boundaries between animals and humans and conveys impressive scenes to children which should stimulate child development. The depiction related to children's development in picture books would be one of the reasons why animal picture books are so popular among children. VL - 9 IS - 6 ER -
Email: