Abstract:

Children's picture books are instruments which communicate cultural values and this in return makes them a valuable indicator of societal norms. This study aims to discover in what ways these books are used as character building tools for preschool children. As a result, an emphasis on moderation in children's behavior and expressions was found to be one of the stri- king communalities in all the books examined. Characters that overeat, overplay, over-sweat or even over-rest are punished through the course of the story and learn a valuable lesson. Most of the books analyzed were gendered; they either targeted boys or girls. Gendered roles and their hierarchies were directly reflected and the traditional intact two parent families with a male breadwinner appeared to be the norm. Girls were mostly restricted to the private while the boys were allowed to take part in the public sphere. No reference to tolerance for other faiths, cultures, and ethnic and immigrant groups was made. It is clear that these books reflect the Turkish culture and its ideology of raising "normal" children blind to differences.

Keywords: