SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Children's Books Increasingly Ignore Natural World
from Miller-McCune
Picture an illustrated children's book--one that has won a prestigious award--and your mind conjures up images of furry animals, puffy clouds, and eager boys and girls enjoying adventures in the wild.
In fact, our kids are entering a much different world in their earliest literary experiences--one in which nature plays an increasingly minor role. That's the conclusion of a newly published study, which suggests these books reflect our growing estrangement from the natural environment.
A group of researchers led by University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociologist J. Allen Williams Jr. studied the winners of the American Library Association's prestigious Caldecott Medal between 1938 (the year the prize was first awarded) through 2008. They looked at more than 8,000 images in the 296 volumes.
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