Questions on picture books – checklist for analysing gender
images in picture books
Jens Krabel, Dissens e.V.
With this checklist, we would like to give you the chance to take a critical genderrelated look at the picture books you work with on a daily basis. On the other hand,
we also want to recommend picture books that can support girls and boys in
developing their gender identities.
Preliminary remarks
What significance children afford a picture book, how they interpret it and whether
they like to read it and/or look at its pictures all depend to a great extent on their own
personal themes, life stories, experiences and previous knowledge. However, this
also means that no particular picture book is pedagogical in itself, nor does it have a
predictable effect on children. On the contrary, girls and boys are very opinionated
readers and observers of picture books. They actively incorporate the stories and
pictures that they encounter in picture books into their own subjective interperetation
of the world and in their own identity conflicts. However, the way they do this may not
always please pedagogically trained staff. Educators often have to admit that their
educational and pedagogical expectations run up against a blank wall, because the
children understand (want to understand) the stories very differently than they do.
One example that demonstrates how children change emancipatory messages in
their meaning is provided in Susanne Keunert's book "Geschlechtserwerb und
Medienrezeption" [Acquiring a Gender and Media Reception]. She tells the story of
how a girl “re-remembers” the ending of the picture book "Die Tütenprinzessin" [The
Paper Bag Princess]. In the original story, a princess, who has nothing left but a
paper bag to clothe herself with, frees a prince from the grips of a dragon. Instead of
showing gratitude, the prince criticises the princess's appearance. This makes her
furious and she leaves the prince, wanting to have nothing more to do with him.
When the girl was asked to tell what happened in the story about the Paper Bag
Princess, she changed the ending so that the princess takes the prince’s criticism
seriously, puts on more attractive clothes and then marries him.
Nevertheless, even if it is difficult to foretell how children understand (want to
understand) picture books, several arguments speak in favour of working
pedagogically with children to select picture books in which girls and boys, women
and men are shown in various different ways.
(More recent) media research emphasises that the picture book continues to be an
important and indispensible medium, especially for younger children. Children use
the contents, stories and pictures of picture books in many ways, using them to make
a picture of the world, to learn how to find their way in this world and to become sure
of themselves.
In order to make sure that girls and boys have the chance to expand their scope for
developing and the way they act without being held back by restrictive stereotypical
gender images, it is important for them to learn about the different ways of being a
girl or a boy.
Picture books in which strong, cool, cheeky, brave, adventurous, fearful, sad,
reserved, cuddly girls and boys play a role, who live in relationships with thoughtful,
caring, unemployed, achievement-oriented, professionally successful fathers and
mothers, show the children how diverse and colourful the various kinds of lives led by
girls, boys, men and women can be.
Whether children want to take on board these ways of living for themselves is, in turn,
a completely different question.
For (certain) children, however, there is another important reason to have access to
picture books that show the diversity of the lives of children, women and men. More
and more children nowadays live in so-called patchwork families, that is, families in
which the children live and grow up with single fathers or mothers, with step mothers
or step fathers, with lesbian mothers or gay fathers.
These children also have to have the opportunity of recognising themselves in picture
books, to encounter the familiar and to feel "at home" when reading and looking at
picture books.
On this note, we hope you have lots of fun "analysing" picture books and buying new
ones, if you want.
Checklist contents:
Questions on children, girls and boys in picture books
p3
Questions on mothers, fathers and families in picture books
p4
Questions on fairytale figures in picture books
p5
Questions on animal figures in picture books
p5
Questions on sexual violence and prevention in picture books
p5
Recommended picture books with a short description of content
from page 6 on
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for your national country)
I. Children, girls and boys
1. Are there picture books in which girls and boys deal with becoming a girl or
a boy?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
2. Are there picture books in which different sides of boys are shown, in which
boys are, for example, strong, cool, cheeky, brave, adventurous and fearful,
sad, reserved, cuddly?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
3. Are there picture books in which the main character is a boy who is mainly
fearful and/or sad and/or reserved and/or shows his "weak" side?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
4. Are there picture books in which different sides of girls are shown, in which
girls are, for example, strong, cool, cheeky, brave, adventurous and fearful, sad,
reserved, cuddly?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
5. Are there picture books in which girls have exciting adventures and/or assert
themselves, even against what their parents want or against other adult
attachment figures?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
6. Are there picture books in which disabilities in children are dealt with?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
II. Mothers, Fathers and Families
1. Are there picture books in which mothers are thoughtful, caring and
achievement-oriented, successful (in their career)?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
2. Are there picture books in which fathers have new, modern ways of living or
who are unemployed?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
3. Are there picture books in which the (good) relationship between fathers and
their sons is at the forefront?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
4. Are there picture books in which the (good) relationship between fathers and
their daughters is at the forefront?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
5. Are there picture books in which "patchwork families", which are becoming
more and more common in society, play a role?
These might be:
- Single mothers or fathers with their children
- Divorced or widowed mothers or fathers who have new partners and the children
have to come to terms with the new step father or step mother
- Lesbian or gay marriages or partnerships where there are children
- Families with transsexual or transgender people
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
6. Are there picture books in which migration families are the main characters
in the story?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
III. Fairy tales
1. Are there picture books that ironically play with traditional fairytale figures or
that give fairytale characters "untypical roles"?
These might be, for example:
- Princesses who do not want to get married or who at least do not want to marry the
prince who has been chosen for them
- Princes who do not want to marry sensitive princesses, but courageous,
adventurous and independent princesses
- Princes who fall in love with other princes
- Kings who do not want to reign, but prefer to spend their time with the children, with
the family
- Loveable step mothers
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
IV. Animals figures
1. Are there picture books in which animals are the main figures in the story
and that cannot be clearly identified as male or female animals?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
2. Are there picture books in which same-sex (love) relationships between
animals are shown?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
V. Sexual violence and prevention
1. Are there picture books that deal with sexual violence against boys?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
2. Are there picture books in which children develop their own strategies in
order to be able to defend themselves against sexual violence?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
3. Are there picture books that deal with the sexual violence in the family or
close to the family?
Yes
No
I am interested in knowing such picture books (see page 6)
Recommended picture books on the subject of:
I. children, girls and boys
1. Picture books in which girls and boys deal with becoming a girl or a boy:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
2. Picture books in which different sides of boys are shown, in which boys are, for
example, strong, cool, cheeky, brave, adventurous and fearful, sad, reserved, cuddly:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
3. Picture books in which the main character is a boy who is mainly fearful and/or sad
and/or reserved and/or shows his "weak" side:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
4. Are there picture books in which different sides of girls are shown, in which girls
are, for example, strong, cool, cheeky, brave, adventurous and fearful, sad, reserved,
cuddly:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
5. Picture books in which girls have exciting adventures and/or assert themselves,
even against what their parents want or against other adult attachment figures:
i(Please
fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
6. Picture books in which disabilities in children are dealt with:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
Recommended picture books on the subject of:
II. Mothers, fathers and families
1. Picture books in which mothers are thoughtful, caring and achievement-oriented,
successful (in their career):
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
2. Picture books in which fathers have new, modern ways of living or who are
unemployed:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
3. Picture books in which the (good) relationship between fathers and their sons is at
the forefront:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
4. Picture books in which the (good) relationship between fathers and their daughters
is at the forefront:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
5. Picture books in which "patchwork families", which are becoming more and more
common in society, play a role:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
6. Picture books in which migration families are the main characters in the story:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
Recommended picture books on the subject of:
III. Fairy Tales
1. Picture books that ironically play with traditional fairytale figures or that give
fairytale characters "untypical roles":
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
Recommended picture books on the subject of:
IV. Animals figures
1. Picture books in which animals are the main figures in the story and that cannot be
clearly identified as male or female animals:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
2. Picture books in which same-sex (love) relationships between animals are shown:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
Recommended picture books on the subject of:
V. Sexual violence and prevention
1. Picture books that deal with sexual violence against boys:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
2. Picture books in which children develop their own strategies in order to be able to
defend themselves against sexual violence:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)
3. Picture books that deal with the sexual violence in the family or close to the family:
(Please fill in the picture books you recommend for the country you life)