Infants acquire various visual information from picture books. Picture books frequently feature animals, which are considered an important part of child development. This study quantitatively analyzed the depictions of animals in 669 baby picture books, focusing on their food, clothing, and shelter, and discussed the images that the authors had about animals, as well as the images and knowledge they might impart to infant readers. Mammals, such as rabbits and cats, appear in many baby picture books, with baby talk and onomatopoeia. Anthropomorphic rabbits and bears were particularly common among the clothed animals. Many animals were barefoot, and their body color was most often realistic. Anthropomorphic animals often prepared or consumed unrealistic food and drink using utensils. There were links between certain animals and food, including rabbits and carrots, cats and fish, dogs and bones, and bears and honey. A few illustrations of food were identified that should be given with caution or should not be given at all to real animals. Depictions of predation by carnivores and cruelty are avoided. Most animals were depicted without dwelling places. Rabbits and bears often appeared as anthropomorphic animals with their own houses. Cats and dogs were often depicted in humans’ homes, with cats being indoors and dogs in the garden. The authors depict many animals that are known and loved by children in consideration of infants who are acquiring language skills and their perception of the external world. The images held by the authors reflect the human–animal relationships; however, sometimes, they do not necessarily correspond to the actual ecology of animals. Baby picture books that advance the developmental process of infants would effectively convey the appropriate images and knowledge about animals to readers. Greater attention to animal expressions in picture books will help create better picture books with respect to children’s perception of animals, which may improve human–animal interactions.
| Published in | International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.14 |
| Page(s) | 119-126 |
| 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), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Anthropomorphic Animals, Baby Picture Books, Child Development, Depictions of Animals, Human–Animal Interactions
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APA Style
Juri Nakagawa, Naoko Koda. (2023). Animal Depictions in Baby Picture Books: Focusing on Food, Clothing, and Shelter. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(3), 119-126. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.14
ACS Style
Juri Nakagawa; Naoko Koda. Animal Depictions in Baby Picture Books: Focusing on Food, Clothing, and Shelter. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(3), 119-126. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.14
AMA Style
Juri Nakagawa, Naoko Koda. Animal Depictions in Baby Picture Books: Focusing on Food, Clothing, and Shelter. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(3):119-126. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.14
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.14,
author = {Juri Nakagawa and Naoko Koda},
title = {Animal Depictions in Baby Picture Books: Focusing on Food, Clothing, and Shelter},
journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
volume = {11},
number = {3},
pages = {119-126},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231103.14},
abstract = {Infants acquire various visual information from picture books. Picture books frequently feature animals, which are considered an important part of child development. This study quantitatively analyzed the depictions of animals in 669 baby picture books, focusing on their food, clothing, and shelter, and discussed the images that the authors had about animals, as well as the images and knowledge they might impart to infant readers. Mammals, such as rabbits and cats, appear in many baby picture books, with baby talk and onomatopoeia. Anthropomorphic rabbits and bears were particularly common among the clothed animals. Many animals were barefoot, and their body color was most often realistic. Anthropomorphic animals often prepared or consumed unrealistic food and drink using utensils. There were links between certain animals and food, including rabbits and carrots, cats and fish, dogs and bones, and bears and honey. A few illustrations of food were identified that should be given with caution or should not be given at all to real animals. Depictions of predation by carnivores and cruelty are avoided. Most animals were depicted without dwelling places. Rabbits and bears often appeared as anthropomorphic animals with their own houses. Cats and dogs were often depicted in humans’ homes, with cats being indoors and dogs in the garden. The authors depict many animals that are known and loved by children in consideration of infants who are acquiring language skills and their perception of the external world. The images held by the authors reflect the human–animal relationships; however, sometimes, they do not necessarily correspond to the actual ecology of animals. Baby picture books that advance the developmental process of infants would effectively convey the appropriate images and knowledge about animals to readers. Greater attention to animal expressions in picture books will help create better picture books with respect to children’s perception of animals, which may improve human–animal interactions.},
year = {2023}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Animal Depictions in Baby Picture Books: Focusing on Food, Clothing, and Shelter AU - Juri Nakagawa AU - Naoko Koda Y1 - 2023/06/06 PY - 2023 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.14 DO - 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.14 T2 - International Journal of Literature and Arts JF - International Journal of Literature and Arts JO - International Journal of Literature and Arts SP - 119 EP - 126 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2331-057X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.14 AB - Infants acquire various visual information from picture books. Picture books frequently feature animals, which are considered an important part of child development. This study quantitatively analyzed the depictions of animals in 669 baby picture books, focusing on their food, clothing, and shelter, and discussed the images that the authors had about animals, as well as the images and knowledge they might impart to infant readers. Mammals, such as rabbits and cats, appear in many baby picture books, with baby talk and onomatopoeia. Anthropomorphic rabbits and bears were particularly common among the clothed animals. Many animals were barefoot, and their body color was most often realistic. Anthropomorphic animals often prepared or consumed unrealistic food and drink using utensils. There were links between certain animals and food, including rabbits and carrots, cats and fish, dogs and bones, and bears and honey. A few illustrations of food were identified that should be given with caution or should not be given at all to real animals. Depictions of predation by carnivores and cruelty are avoided. Most animals were depicted without dwelling places. Rabbits and bears often appeared as anthropomorphic animals with their own houses. Cats and dogs were often depicted in humans’ homes, with cats being indoors and dogs in the garden. The authors depict many animals that are known and loved by children in consideration of infants who are acquiring language skills and their perception of the external world. The images held by the authors reflect the human–animal relationships; however, sometimes, they do not necessarily correspond to the actual ecology of animals. Baby picture books that advance the developmental process of infants would effectively convey the appropriate images and knowledge about animals to readers. Greater attention to animal expressions in picture books will help create better picture books with respect to children’s perception of animals, which may improve human–animal interactions. VL - 11 IS - 3 ER -
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