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'But Dragons Don't Exist, Do They?' Preschoolers' Focus in Determining Whether a Picturebook Is a Non-Fiction or Not

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Title: 'But Dragons Don't Exist, Do They?' Preschoolers' Focus in Determining Whether a Picturebook Is a Non-Fiction or Not
Language: English
Authors: Anna Backman (ORCID 0000-0001-6190-8133)
Source: Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. 2025 25(2):367-393.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 27
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Preschool Education
Descriptors: Preschool Children, Picture Books, Fiction, Nonfiction, Reading, Imagination, Foreign Countries, Knowledge Level, Preschool Education
Geographic Terms: Sweden
DOI: 10.1177/14687984231161115
ISSN: 1468-7984
1741-2919
Abstract: Preschoolers are offered few opportunities to become acquainted with non-fiction books, and when they are given the possibility to read non-fiction picturebooks, these are often fictionalised in one way or another. The fictionalisation of children's non-fiction blurs the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction picturebooks. This could mean that children's early opportunities to experience how different kinds of books, pictures and texts can be used and produced for different purposes are also blurred. Against this background, reading activities are designed in this study in which a group of five-year-olds is introduced to fiction and non-fiction picturebooks side by side. The study aims to contribute to an understanding of how children distinguish and experience different kinds of picturebooks when they are introduced to differences between them, and answers the research question: What is in focus when preschoolers determine whether a picturebook is a non-fiction or not? The analysis shows that "the depiction" (whether the picturebook depicts "imaginary constructs" or "established knowledge") "is in focus" when preschoolers make this determination. This gives the children in the reading activities the opportunity to experience different kinds of picturebooks, but also to question whether non-fiction picturebooks depicting imaginary constructed ('made up') things, characters and events are non-fiction and to evaluate the reliability of such fictionalised non-fiction picturebooks.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1471830
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: 'But Dragons Don't Exist, Do They?' Preschoolers' Focus in Determining Whether a Picturebook Is a Non-Fiction or Not
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschool+Children%22">Preschool Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Picture+Books%22">Picture Books</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fiction%22">Fiction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nonfiction%22">Nonfiction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading%22">Reading</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Imagination%22">Imagination</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Knowledge+Level%22">Knowledge Level</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preschool+Education%22">Preschool Education</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1177/14687984231161115
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  Data: Preschoolers are offered few opportunities to become acquainted with non-fiction books, and when they are given the possibility to read non-fiction picturebooks, these are often fictionalised in one way or another. The fictionalisation of children's non-fiction blurs the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction picturebooks. This could mean that children's early opportunities to experience how different kinds of books, pictures and texts can be used and produced for different purposes are also blurred. Against this background, reading activities are designed in this study in which a group of five-year-olds is introduced to fiction and non-fiction picturebooks side by side. The study aims to contribute to an understanding of how children distinguish and experience different kinds of picturebooks when they are introduced to differences between them, and answers the research question: What is in focus when preschoolers determine whether a picturebook is a non-fiction or not? The analysis shows that "the depiction" (whether the picturebook depicts "imaginary constructs" or "established knowledge") "is in focus" when preschoolers make this determination. This gives the children in the reading activities the opportunity to experience different kinds of picturebooks, but also to question whether non-fiction picturebooks depicting imaginary constructed ('made up') things, characters and events are non-fiction and to evaluate the reliability of such fictionalised non-fiction picturebooks.
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        StartPage: 367
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        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Picture Books
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      – SubjectFull: Fiction
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      – SubjectFull: Preschool Education
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      – SubjectFull: Sweden
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: 'But Dragons Don't Exist, Do They?' Preschoolers' Focus in Determining Whether a Picturebook Is a Non-Fiction or Not
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