The Role of the Child in a War Zone: 10-year-old Students' Responses to a Cognitively Challenging Picturebook on War – An Interview Study

Abstract

Abstract:This article explores how a shared reading of a challenging picturebook about war, Når kaniner blir redde [When Rabbits Get Scared] (Svingen and Slocinska), may foster students' critical and emotional literacy. The research question is: How may a shared reading of this challenging picturebook about war promote critical and emotional literacy in 10-year-old students? According to Martha Nussbaum, developing students' narrative imaginations through stories is a prerequisite for educating responsible citizens (Nussbaum Cultivating Humanity; Nussbaum Not for Profit). Picturebooks can be a tool for such education. The data were collected in an intervention project and the authors present the findings from student group interviews by identifying characteristics of critical and emotional literacy. The analysis demonstrates that a shared picturebook reading of this book may foster the students as responsible actors by promoting their ability to see the world from other people's perspectives and ignite critical, independent voices in them.