Faculty Publications

Biographies of Women in the Robert Sibert Award: A Critical Content Analysis

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Childrens Literature, Biographies, Females, Awards, Books, Barriers, Gender Bias, Racial Bias, Social Bias, Role, Minority Groups, Diversity, Occupations, Change Agents, Activism

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Children's Literature

Volume

47

Issue

1

First Page

62

Last Page

72

Abstract

In the realm of modern children's literature, biographies of women showcase lives of exceptional talent, perseverance, civic engagement, and more: lives meant to inspire young readers. Since its inception in 2001, the Robert Sibert Informational Book Medal and Honor award has included a biography (or two) every year, with the exception of 2004 and 2006. This critical content analysis examines biographies of girls and women that were awarded the Sibert medal or honor since 2001, focusing on demographic elements of the corpus as a whole, and thematic patterns that contain explicit or implicit messages about how being female featured in the trajectories toward recognition for the talent or public role for which the girls and women are known. The research builds on the lines of inquiry about award-winning books for which a precedent has been set by other scholars. The authors discuss their findings along thematic lines, and include implications for readers and for teachers.

Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Original Publication Date

1-1-2021

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