Family literacies as peacemaking: Representations in Children’s literature

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the discursive contours of peacemaking within families as represented in children’s literature. We turned to the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award (JACBA), which recognizes literature that engages children in thinking about peace and social justice. We analyzed the 2015-2021 collection of twenty-six award winning books for younger children. We found at least ten pathways of peacemaking that families engage in through their multimodal literacy practices. Drawing on family-centric peacemaking episodes, we present analytically rich portraits of how peacemaking unfolds at textual, ideational, and interpersonal levels across time, space, and generations. We argue this analysis provides us insight into the historical, political, and social realities that inform students and families’ lives in early childhood literacy classrooms.