A study of spirituality in children’s books based on the works of Douglas Wood

Abstract

ABSTRACT Children’s literature is a spectrum which reflects all the characteristics and needs of children as well as the issues related to them. An aspect of a child’s life is spirituality. While children’s books can play a significant role in the spiritual development of children, the spirituality issue has been underrepresented in children’s literature. The present study was conducted to explore the reflection of spirituality in children’s books. To this end, the works of Douglas Wood were case studied as they are concerned with spiritual matters. The study is scientifically based on the Relational Consciousness theory by Rebecca Nye and David Hay, which focuses on children’s spirituality. It seems that the targeted books have the potential to take children on a spiritual journey and affect them in terms of spiritual growth and consciousness; in his books, Douglas Wood introduces different aspects of spirituality and shares his experiences with the addressee.