The literature review chapter is comprised of five sections; i.e. having a general
idea about nature and of value of children's literature, understanding gender role portrayal
in children’s picture books, introducing nature of stereotypes, discussing female
underrepresentation in children’s picture books and theoretical and research-based studies
related to the research questions. More specifically, section one reviews values of
children's literature. Section two describes types, figures, as well as evaluation and
selection of picture books. Section three discusses gender identity and the development of
gender role theories. Section four looks at gender stereotypes and the influence of gender
stereotyping. Section five reviews previous empirical studies on gender roles in Chinese
and English award-winning picture books.
Children’s Literature
Children’s literature has its own heritage from ancient times to the present. However,
there is no single definition of Children’s literature due to the complicated characteristics
of the range of subject matter (Anderson, 2006). Many diverse definitions are possible.
They range from a body of texts written to be read by young children (Lukens, 2003), high
10
quality trade books for children, covering a broad interest and relevance of topics
(Lynch-Brown and Tomlinson, 1993) to “a category of books, the existence of which
absolutely depends on supposed relationships with a particular reading audience: Children”
(Oberstein,1996:17). Nodelman (1996) notes that quality literature educates and provides
“access to a vast spectrum of ways of being human” (p. 129). Thus, children's literature has
great impact and power; moreover, high quality children's literature could has great
potential as vehicles to help children develop a positive attitude toward books, explore a
fantastic world, influence their ideas, and give them pleasure.
Values of Children’s Literature
Many educators and supporters of children's literature have confirmed that
children’s literature has the benefits of practical and intangible learning for children.
Stoodt-Hill & Amspaugh-Corson (2001) reveal that there are several values of children’s
literature: enjoyment, aesthetics, understanding, imagination, information and knowledge,
cognition and language.
The first value to note is that children's literature provides enjoyment. Stories have
the power to promote emotional development. Children’s literature “contains numerous
moments of crisis, when characters make moral decisions and contemplate the reasons for
their decisions,” a crucial skill for children to see modeled (Norton, 2010, p. 34).
11
Second, children's literature helps students perceive aesthetics. Literature with
verbal art leads children to appreciate the beauty of language. Owing to different individual
experiences, children tend to develop personal concepts of beauty and exhibit a great deal
of variation in literary appreciation. Furthermore, reading books promote aesthetic
development through illustrations (Anderson, 2006).
Third, children's literature helps young readers to understand themselves and others.
By broadening their understanding through reading, children can gain insight into their
actions and feelings and discover what kinds of world surrounding them. “Reading about
story characters' feelings and actions develops children's ability to understand and
appreciate others' feelings.” (Stoodt-Hill & Amspaugh-Corson, 2001, p. 8)
Fourth, children's literature motivates cultural awareness. After knowing other
people’s language, experiences, expressions, problems, and life styles, children may realize
that to some degree people are alike. Glazer (1997) suggests that children's literature assists
readers to have a broader worldview to appreciate and absorb other people's concerns as
well as have self-esteem to themselves. That is to say, children's literature provides a
vehicle for readers to learn about not only their own cultural heritage but appreciate that of
others.
Children’s literature is of value because of developing imagination, a creative power
involved in every part of daily life. Norton stresses “the role that literature plays in
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nurturing and expanding the imagination” (2010, p. 4). Kieran Egan suggests imagination
as:
... a particular kind of flexibility, energy, and vividness that comes from the
ability to think of the possible and not just the actual ...To be imaginative,
then, is not to have a particular function highly developed, but it is to have
heightened capacity in all mental functions... It makes all mental life more
meaningful; it makes life more abundant. (1992, p. 65)
Moreover, literature encourages creativity related to higher-order thinking skill, and
people who are creative thinkers are capable of inventing novel concepts and ideas
(Presseisen, 1986).
Children benefit from literature for the language model it provides. Chomsky (1972)
states that it is evident that if children are regularly exposed to a literacy-rich environment,
they would use more complex linguistic structures. Chomsky (1972) further describes that
abundant linguistic input can affect language acquisition by reading or listening to
children's literature. Besides, Glazer (1997) upholds the same opinion that experiencing
good literature attributes to children’s growth in gaining new vocabulary and syntax.
Furthermore, children's literature stimulates cognition. Children gain the
opportunity to respond to literature and build up their own views through qualified
children's books. By doing so, it makes a way to strengthen the cognitive development.
13
Kasten, Kristo & McClure (2005) point out that good literature assists people to think
about and know more about the environment they live in.
Finally, children's literature increases information and knowledge. Children's
literature is various and diverse. Table 1 outlines a common organization of literature
genres (Anderson 2006). Informational books, for instance, not only promote children’s
interest in novel topics but also broaden their world knowledge (Stoodt-Hill &
Amspaugh-Corson 2001). Tunnell & Jacobs (1997) recommends that trade books are
concerned with a subject connected to life with interesting observations and details. “Trade
books offer the opportunity to explore a broad range of topics as well as to examine
in-depth a single topic…” (Holmes and Ammon 1985, pp. 366). Picture books and
illustrations add visual arts to interact with language to offer multiple functions, such as
telling a story, creating a poem, or delivering message (Stoodt-Hill & Amspaugh-Corson
2001). Indeed, children’s literature provides an avenue for readers to discover and
construct knowledge about readers’ world.
14 Table 1
Literature Genres of Children’s Literature
Category Thematic category Subcategory
Early Childhood Books Concept Alphabet
Counting General Pattern picture books
Wordless picture books Traditional Literature Myths
Fables
Ballads and folk songs Legends
Note. Original from “Elementary children’s literature: The basics for teachers and parents,”
by N. Anderson, 2006.
Picture Books
Stoodt-Hill & Amspaugh-Corson (2001) points out that picture books are usually
first introduced to children because of their easy-to-access format. They further define that
“picture books are perhaps the most recognizable book format in children’s literature. In
these books, the story is told through pictures and words” (p. 23). Picture books are not a
15
form that presents one genre, but all genres because there are many genres and sub-genres
in picture books (Kasten, Kristo & McClure 2005). Also, Anderson (2006) indicates that
picture books impart information through a series of illustrations without amount of text,
and this makes its characteristic. Illustrations and texts are equally significant in conveying
message in a picture book. In spite of diverse definition of picture books, there are two
essential elements in picture books: illustrations and texts. There is far more than words to
describe the significance of picture books. In view of this, the following parts will
elaborately introduce the types, features, evaluation, and selection of picture books.
Types of Picture Books
Picture books are in a wide variety of format, such as the forms, the designs and the
sizes (Glazer, 1997). According to Stoodt-Hill & Amspaugh-Corson (2001), picture books
can be classified as five major types:
1) Traditional style picture books are wonderful tools to be used in readers’ theater.
Pictures and words interact to tell a story.
2) Wordless picture books help build up children’s comprehension. Since words are absent
in wordless books, illustrators use their artistic skills to create characters, settings, plots,
themes, and styles.
3) Graphic novels act as comic books. The writer first introduces each character then the
16 plot.
4) Illustrated books compared with picture books or graphic novels have fewer pictures
than both of them do.
5) Picture books are good for older students. Picture books are appropriated both by
children and adults from ages 5 to 50, but in different views. Concepts, literary elements,
genre, and writing are introduced effectively by picture books.
All in all, the types of picture books discussed above can be employed as useful tool
in drama, developing creativity and imagination by story plots, and promoting readers’
comprehension and concepts by illustrations for children and adults.
Features of Picture Books
A prospect of skilled and high-quality writing needs careful composition of the text
in a picture book. Kasten, Kristo & McClure (2005) clearly outline the features of picture
books:
1) Characters are the heart and soul of picture books. Readers can know characters by what
they say or what they do or what others describe about them. Recurring characters, who
often appears from time to time, will hook on readers. Russell (2009) contends that
portrayal of characters in picture books is necessarily simple and clear.
2) Plots are often simple and linear in picture books. Quality plots like some actions and
17 tension are appealing to readers (Lukens2003).
3) Setting is necessary to be established in the beginning few pages due to the limited
space of the picture books.
4) Well-written prose captures readers’ attention. Good writing includes appealing
language, coherent ideas, and descriptive repetition.
5) Figurative language is not literal, but metaphoric.
6) Leads and clues make readers turn to next page or stop reading. The opening line of a
book is important in giving readers the first impression.
7) Dialogue is a powerful instrument to moves the story forward. An effective dialogue can
develop characters in stories.
8) Understatement is a skill to make readers connect and fill in the story lines. During
creating works, it is difficult for writers to keep balance between not too much and not
too less. Understatements leave readers to deduce, suppose, and develop perception.
9) Voice is an untouchable feature of experienced writing. Every writer has his or her own
signature style.
10) Good writing in nonfiction is interesting and repeat information to attract readers.
In brief, with all the aforementioned features, picture books can attract readers by
recurring characters and simple plots, offer information, stretch imagination, construct
concepts, appreciate different writers’ voice styles, and benefit readers’ language
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development by the simplified and clear sentence patterns. People expect to read picture
books with an exciting art form, good writing, and enchanting design, so it is an important
skill to choose quality picture books. In the following paragraphs, how to evaluate picture
books will be discussed.
Selection and Evaluation of Picture Books
A good picture book, as mentioned in Children’s Literature: Discovery for a
Lifetime is
one that children enjoy. They ask to hear the story again and again. Whenever
possible, they pore over the pictures. Creating superb picture books is not easy,
due to the short and simple text that must be interesting while also retaining
freshness and quality through many readings. (Stoodt-Hill & Amspaugh-Corson,
2001, p. 62)
Consequently, picture book selection is critical. Stoodt-Hill & Amspaugh-Corson
(2001) offer seven criteria for selecting high-quality picture books for children to enjoy.
First, a picture book is suitable for different ages. Second, the main characters should be
effortlessly identified by children. Third, not only can children understand the plot, but also
stories include beginnings, middles, and ending. Fourth, “the theme grows out of plot, and
plot is appropriate for children” (p.62). Fifth, the story is told in entertainment and is
19
described in a simple narrative. Sixth, nonfiction presented in an amusing, genuine, and
precise mode. Seventh, the illustrations can facilitate readers to understand insufficient
parts of the text.
In addition, Lynch-Brown & Tomlinson (1993) alert readers not to choose picture
books that use racial, ethnic, or sexual stereotyping in text and illustrations with children.
In other words, the text and the illustrations should exclude these stereotypes to prevent
them from affecting children. The above criteria provide the chief elements for selecting
picture books. If parents and teachers carefully select appropriate and authentic picture
books, through stories of everyday experience, children could define themselves, such as
expressing their ideas, encountering exciting and imaginative life beyond their
environment, and absorbing the wisdom of others.
Gender Identity and Theories of Gender Role Development
A gender role is a set of social and behavioral norms that one understands to
characterize appropriately for either a man or a woman in his or her culture (Berns, 2007).
It is important to know how children’s gender role develops. Many theorists argue that
children perceive the concept of gender roles from the bases for the development of gender
identity. Therefore, in this section, the definition of gender identity will be discussed first
and then followed by the theories of gender development.
20 Gender Identity
Children learn aspects of the selfsame roles, beliefs, and expectations during the
preschool years (Martin & Fabes, 2006). Gender, a typical element of human identity,
governs people’s many primary features of life, such as the recreational, academic,
occupational, and relationship activities. All of these are so important in the life that one
anticipates to chase (Egan & Perry, 2001). They further refer to gender identity as
including ” 1) knowledge of membership in a gender category, 2) compatibility with his or
her gender group (i.e., self-perceptions of gender typicality as well as feelings of
contentment with one's gender), 3) pressure for gender conformity, and 4) attitudes toward
gender groups (P. 451).” Besides, Berk (2006) claims that gender identity is linked to a
person's concept about the self as masculine or feminine in characteristics. According to
Berndt (1992), gender roles refer to the behaviors and characteristics expected of a male or
female in a particular society.
Namely, gender identity which involves beliefs, attitudes, and characteristics reflects
how an individual feels about and expresses his or her gender role, and how others are
expected to behave appropriately for gender roles in their culture. Thus, it is an interesting
issue to know how children know themselves as males or females and how they develop
their gender roles.
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Theoretical Approaches of Gender Identity Development
Theories of gender-role development are explained for how children’s behaviors,
values, and attitudes match their gender. The following three theories of gender
development are considered a possible framework for explaining how the critical changes
influence children’s gender development (see Figure 1). The related theories of Figure 1
will be discussed in detail as follows.
Figure 1：Original from “Theories of Gender Role Development,” by R. M. Berns, 2007.
22
Social Learning Theory or Social Cognitive Theory
Social learning theory emphasizes that children’s gender development occurs
through interactions with the environment. Berns (2007) refers to theories proposed by
Walter Mischel (1970) and Bandura (1989) that children acquire and perform appropriated
gender roles from modeling or imitating others as well as getting responses from others to
their behaviors. Children are easily influenced by the models they perceived to be similar
to them. For example, if children identify with the same-sex parents, children will
incorporate their parents' values and norms into their behaviors. Besides, Mischel (1966)
stresses that two important processes in the gender role development are direct learning
and observation. In direct learning, children learn gender roles from parents and other
people in their world through differential treatment, rewards, and punishments.
The Cognitive Development Theory
The cognitive development theory is first proposed by Kohlberg (1966), who claims
that children’s sense of themselves as being female or male is the most important factor in
gender role development (Martin & Fabes, 2006). Furthermore, Kohlberg (1966) proposes
three stages of the development of gender identity in children:
1) The first stage is gender labeling. By age of about 30 months, children can label
themselves boys or girls accurately according to their gender group.
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2) The second stage is gender stability. Between 3 and 4 years old, children understand that
gender is stable immutably: boys will grow up to be men, but rather than girls.
3) The third stage is gender consistency. From age 3 to 5, children know that gender does
not change even though they wish to. Children have the sense of gender consistency
despite changes in their appearance or activities.
Further, Berndt (1992) implies that when children develop their identity, they
receive messages actively rather than passively from socialization agents. Berns (2007)
states that if a child identifies himself as a boy, he will do boy things, such as playing ball
and racing games. When a child sees herself as a girl, she will do girl things like playing
house and dolls. Children form their own gender identity based on the environments of
family, school, and community.
Gender Schema Theory
Gender schema theory combines social learning and cognitive development features
(Berk, 2006) to stress the importance of cultural factors. Proposed by Bem (1981), gender
schema theory emphasizes that an individual perceives himself or herself as a male or
female by gender-linked information processing and organizing. A gender schema is a
conceptual network served to process information as well as select and imitate same-sex
models. Once children develop a schema for what males or females do in their society,
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they would follow the behavioral standards (Berns, 2007). Marti & Halverso (1987) posit
that gender schema theory integrates various elements of gender typing, such as gender
stereotyping, gender identity, and gender adoption to form their attitude toward gender
orientation. Berns also describes children’s behavior as:
... If their behavior matches what they interpret as appropriate to their gender,
they feel positive about themselves; if they don’t conform to the stereotype, they
feel negative about themselves. (Berns, 2007, p. 542)
To sum up, the above discussed theories of gender role development explain the
process of learning about gender roles and forming one’s identification with a gender role.
In addition, the effects of environment, cognition, and gender schema attribute to the
development of gender role differences. Nevertheless, gender roles are influenced by
cultures that form role expectations based on gender stereotypes. In the next section,
gender stereotyping will be elaborately discussed.
Gender Stereotype
According to Wood (2003), gender stereotypes reflect social and cultural assumptions
as well as perspective toward gender roles, so there are no identical standards of gender
stereotypes to fit diverse societies and cultures. Berk (2006) asserts that gender stereotypes
are widely known as beliefs about simplistic generalizations about the roles of each gender.
25
Besides, Bolich (2007) classifies gender stereotypes into two types: descriptive and
prescriptive. He defines descriptive stereotypes as “normative sets that express a social
consensus on the way men and women typically are” and prescriptive stereotypes as
“normative expectations of desired gender identities and roles, a hypothesized standard of
how a man or woman should be” (p.197).
The Influence of Gender Stereotyping
Best et al. conducted a study in 1977 to explore children’s stereotypes about the traits
and behaviors of boys and girls. (see Table 2)
26 Table 2
Gender Role Stereotypes of 5-, 8-, and 11-year-olds
Boys 5-Year-Olds Expect Boys to … Be the strong person (robust) Get into a fight (aggressive, tough) Be a messy person (disorderly) Say bad words (coarse)
Own a big store (ambitious) Make most of the rules (dominant) 8-Year-Olds Expect Boys to … Be adventurous
Get along by themselves Talk loudly (excitable)
Brag about the things they have done 11-Year-Olds Expect Boys to … Be sure of themselves (confident)
Be the steady person (stable, unemotional) Be the jolly person
Girls 5-Year-Olds Expect Girls to.. Cry a lot (emotional) Be a gentle person
Be soft-hearted (sensitive)
Hug and kiss a lot (affectionate) 8-Year-Olds Also Expect Girls to.... Be a weak person
Always say “thank you” (appreciative) Be excitable
Always change her mind (fickle)
Always change her mind (fickle)