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Analysis of Storyline in Picture Books of Fantastic There and Back Again Stories

Received: 28 April 2023     Accepted: 26 May 2023     Published: 6 June 2023
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Abstract

Children acquire a variety of information from picture books and apply this information to reality. Fantastic narrative picture books contribute to child development of their imagination by providing various simulated experiences that they cannot experience in reality. The structure of there and back again stories is related to secure base. Child readers are expected to gain real and indirect fictional experiences, which promote psychosocially healthy development. This study quantitatively analyzed the storylines of 217 picture books of fantastic there and back again stories with human protagonists and explored the features of simulated experiences that children get from these. There were many cases in which the protagonists moved by themselves without help in a way impossible in the real world, implying children’s preference for novel experiences. The simplified description of the return movement was consistent with the conditions for establishing a secure base. This would stimulate the readers’ imagination after reading, in addition to the experience of exploration. In storylines with helpers, male protagonists are predominantly moved by the help of imaginary entities, which are consistent with previous studies showing that many male protagonists in picture books reflect the image of active and curious males. Moreover, there were many cases in which child protagonists were helped by imaginary entities associated with animism. Moving to another place with the help of imaginary entities overlaps with the zone of proximal development and is attractive for children. There were many cases in which the protagonists voluntarily moved to or were invited to visit paranormal places and were accepted there. This matches the self-centered nature of children. Cases in which the protagonists partake in adventure or fight in paranormal places are attractive to children and are expected to become materials for fantastic play activities. Storylines often lack clear features. Various narratives without templated contents are expected to encourage children to use their imagination to overcome various difficulties in life.

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.13
Page(s) 110-118
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), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Child Development, Fantasy, Imagination, Picture Books, There and Back Again

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Naoko Koda, Kanae Hara. (2023). Analysis of Storyline in Picture Books of Fantastic There and Back Again Stories. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(3), 110-118. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.13

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    ACS Style

    Naoko Koda; Kanae Hara. Analysis of Storyline in Picture Books of Fantastic There and Back Again Stories. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(3), 110-118. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.13

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    AMA Style

    Naoko Koda, Kanae Hara. Analysis of Storyline in Picture Books of Fantastic There and Back Again Stories. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(3):110-118. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.13,
      author = {Naoko Koda and Kanae Hara},
      title = {Analysis of Storyline in Picture Books of Fantastic There and Back Again Stories},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {11},
      number = {3},
      pages = {110-118},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231103.13},
      abstract = {Children acquire a variety of information from picture books and apply this information to reality. Fantastic narrative picture books contribute to child development of their imagination by providing various simulated experiences that they cannot experience in reality. The structure of there and back again stories is related to secure base. Child readers are expected to gain real and indirect fictional experiences, which promote psychosocially healthy development. This study quantitatively analyzed the storylines of 217 picture books of fantastic there and back again stories with human protagonists and explored the features of simulated experiences that children get from these. There were many cases in which the protagonists moved by themselves without help in a way impossible in the real world, implying children’s preference for novel experiences. The simplified description of the return movement was consistent with the conditions for establishing a secure base. This would stimulate the readers’ imagination after reading, in addition to the experience of exploration. In storylines with helpers, male protagonists are predominantly moved by the help of imaginary entities, which are consistent with previous studies showing that many male protagonists in picture books reflect the image of active and curious males. Moreover, there were many cases in which child protagonists were helped by imaginary entities associated with animism. Moving to another place with the help of imaginary entities overlaps with the zone of proximal development and is attractive for children. There were many cases in which the protagonists voluntarily moved to or were invited to visit paranormal places and were accepted there. This matches the self-centered nature of children. Cases in which the protagonists partake in adventure or fight in paranormal places are attractive to children and are expected to become materials for fantastic play activities. Storylines often lack clear features. Various narratives without templated contents are expected to encourage children to use their imagination to overcome various difficulties in life.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    AU  - Naoko Koda
    AU  - Kanae Hara
    Y1  - 2023/06/06
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.13
    T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
    JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
    JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
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    AB  - Children acquire a variety of information from picture books and apply this information to reality. Fantastic narrative picture books contribute to child development of their imagination by providing various simulated experiences that they cannot experience in reality. The structure of there and back again stories is related to secure base. Child readers are expected to gain real and indirect fictional experiences, which promote psychosocially healthy development. This study quantitatively analyzed the storylines of 217 picture books of fantastic there and back again stories with human protagonists and explored the features of simulated experiences that children get from these. There were many cases in which the protagonists moved by themselves without help in a way impossible in the real world, implying children’s preference for novel experiences. The simplified description of the return movement was consistent with the conditions for establishing a secure base. This would stimulate the readers’ imagination after reading, in addition to the experience of exploration. In storylines with helpers, male protagonists are predominantly moved by the help of imaginary entities, which are consistent with previous studies showing that many male protagonists in picture books reflect the image of active and curious males. Moreover, there were many cases in which child protagonists were helped by imaginary entities associated with animism. Moving to another place with the help of imaginary entities overlaps with the zone of proximal development and is attractive for children. There were many cases in which the protagonists voluntarily moved to or were invited to visit paranormal places and were accepted there. This matches the self-centered nature of children. Cases in which the protagonists partake in adventure or fight in paranormal places are attractive to children and are expected to become materials for fantastic play activities. Storylines often lack clear features. Various narratives without templated contents are expected to encourage children to use their imagination to overcome various difficulties in life.
    VL  - 11
    IS  - 3
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Author Information
  • Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan

  • Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan

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