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An Analysis of the Portrayals of Mothers in Children's Picturebooks in China

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Title: An Analysis of the Portrayals of Mothers in Children's Picturebooks in China
Language: English
Authors: Yanqi Wang, Bi Ying Hu, Xiulan Cheng (ORCID 0009-0001-4779-2944), Sherron Killingsworth Roberts
Source: Early Childhood Education Journal. 2025 53(7):2489-2507.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 19
Publication Date: 2025
Intended Audience: Teachers; Parents
Document Type: Journal Articles
Information Analyses
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Picture Books, Mothers, Illustrations, Sex Stereotypes, Gender Issues, Parent Role, Social Influences, Cultural Influences
Geographic Terms: China
DOI: 10.1007/s10643-024-01725-6
ISSN: 1082-3301
1573-1707
Abstract: Picturebooks are a unique and complex art form that combines both visual and textual elements. Based on Kohlberg's Cognitive Development Theory and Social Gender Theory, young children's perceptions are likely influenced by portrayals of mothers in picturebooks. Therefore, this content analysis examined both the text and the visual portrayals of mothers in 53 bestselling picturebooks from China between 2019 and 2022, related to the portrayals of mothers. The results revealed a wide and diverse range of representations of the mother's role through both illustrations and text in these popular picturebooks, contributing to the replacement of persistent gender stereotypes. Illustrations revealed patterns related to anthromorphic characters in about 66% of analyzed books as well as patterns related to gendered clothing, accessories, and scene placements, such as the aprons or the kitchen. Additionally, themes of the Caring Mother, Intelligent Mother, All-powerful Supermom, and Defective Mother emerged through our analysis based on the text. Finally, aligned within the Chinese sociocultural context and with Social Gender Theory, the paper provides authors, illustrators, educators, teachers, and parents with recommendations for creating, selecting, and leveraging picturebooks to serve as positive portrayals of mothers for young readers.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1483140
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0187863959;5mx01oct.25;2025Sep12.06:13;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0187863959-1">An Analysis of the Portrayals of Mothers in Children's Picturebooks in China </title> <p>Picturebooks are a unique and complex art form that combines both visual and textual elements. Based on Kohlberg's Cognitive Development Theory and Social Gender Theory, young children's perceptions are likely influenced by portrayals of mothers in picturebooks. Therefore, this content analysis examined both the text and the visual portrayals of mothers in 53 bestselling picturebooks from China between 2019 and 2022, related to the portrayals of mothers. The results revealed a wide and diverse range of representations of the mother's role through both illustrations and text in these popular picturebooks, contributing to the replacement of persistent gender stereotypes. Illustrations revealed patterns related to anthromorphic characters in about 66% of analyzed books as well as patterns related to gendered clothing, accessories, and scene placements, such as the aprons or the kitchen. Additionally, themes of the Caring Mother, Intelligent Mother, All-powerful Supermom, and Defective Mother emerged through our analysis based on the text. Finally, aligned within the Chinese sociocultural context and with Social Gender Theory, the paper provides authors, illustrators, educators, teachers, and parents with recommendations for creating, selecting, and leveraging picturebooks to serve as positive portrayals of mothers for young readers.</p> <p>Keywords: Picturebooks; Content analysis; Mothers; Gender stereotypes; China</p> <p>Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-2">Introduction</hd> <p>As a part of our larger society, social roles like mothers are not isolated, with a perpetual interplay and interaction between various roles. Marsiglio et al. ([<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref1">48</reflink>]) articulated the importance of empirically determining the meaning, status, and formation processes of role identities, and they encouraged researchers to explore the construction of roles through media that capture varying definitions and meanings of roles. Research shows that children use many experiences and external factors, including books, to construct their gender conceptions of males and females, appropriate gender behaviors, and potential adult success (Bem, [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref2">7</reflink>]; Bussey & Bandura, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref3">12</reflink>]; Turner-Bowker, [<reflink idref="bib78" id="ref4">78</reflink>]). For young children, picturebooks are a common medium during early socialization and gender role acquisition. Composed of text and illustrations, picturebooks are a centerpiece of young children's access to media, they are also an integral component of the discourse on how society and perceptions of mothers may be shaped (Dewitt, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref5">17</reflink>]; Lees & Senyard, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref6">37</reflink>]). Picturebooks combine written text and images to create a unique literary and visual art form (Arizpe & Styles, [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref7">5</reflink>]; Wolfenbarger & Sipe, [<reflink idref="bib82" id="ref8">82</reflink>]).</p> <p>As readers engage with picturebooks, reactions to every aspect of the book form a complete experience. Because the illustrations and text are inextricably intertwined, (Lewis, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref9">38</reflink>]; Sipe, [<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref10">71</reflink>]), the current study adopted Wolfenbarger and Sipe's ([<reflink idref="bib82" id="ref11">82</reflink>]) term "picturebook" as a one-word compound word to highlight the unique qualities that distinguish picturebooks from other books. The study explored the portrayal of mothers in bestselling picturebooks in China.</p> <p>In every culture, picturebooks are an important source of information about maternal ideology and should not be underestimated (Johnston & Swanson, [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref12">30</reflink>]). Children's perceptions of the mother role can be positively influenced by the portrayal of mothers in picturebooks, serving as role models for children and shaping their understandings of a mother's responsibilities (Rao & Wu, [<reflink idref="bib62" id="ref13">62</reflink>]). De Sarlo and colleagues ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref14">16</reflink>]) suggested that further exploration could offer valuable insights into the portrayal of mothers and their perceived roles in society. Motherhood is a societal and historical concept that applies to all females who have children (Bassin et al., [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref15">6</reflink>]; Glenn, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref16">23</reflink>]; Risman, [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref17">65</reflink>]). The role of mothers involves the expectations and responsibilities that are placed on them by their families and society (Ming, [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref18">52</reflink>]). Gender stereotypes appear to negatively impact young children's development by limiting behaviors and reinforcing serious inequalities (Karniol & Gal-Disegni, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref19">31</reflink>]; Witt, [<reflink idref="bib81" id="ref20">81</reflink>]). To effectively address this issue, we were curious to probe illustrations and text to discover if and how gender roles for mthers were portrayed in children's picturebooks. While extensive research on gender role stereotypes in children's literature exploded in the 1970s and 1980s, more academic attention is needed to examine how mothers are portrayed in picturebooks, particularly in China (Wu, [<reflink idref="bib83" id="ref21">83</reflink>]).</p> <p>In Western societies, where feminist theories germinated, more and more roles are expanding and changing from traditional housewife or domestic roles to more professional roles in the job market. These shifts bring attention to the challenges of balancing work and family life. With a lack of studies regarding mothers in the Chinese context (Wu, [<reflink idref="bib83" id="ref22">83</reflink>]), this study aims to address this gap by examining the portrayals of mothers in picturebooks within the Chinese cultural framework. Traditionally, popular Chinese culture has portrayed motherhood in two ways: stoic and suffering, or selfless and devoted, which have long served as moral benchmarks (Wu, [<reflink idref="bib83" id="ref23">83</reflink>]). The concept of mothers was often greeted with words of praise and associated with sacredness and greatness, which was followed by the logic initiated by the more suffering, the better. These stereotypes were derived from the proceeds of a mother's sacrifices and dedication to her home and family. On one hand, these stereotypes affirm the social value of motherhood, but on the other, they constitute an institutionalized suppression of women as simply devoted and sacrificial mothers (O'Reilly, [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref24">55</reflink>]). This study aims to explore whether stereotypes and traditional ideologies of mothers persist in bestselling picturebooks in the Chinese context. This research will provide information regarding the portrayal of mothers in bestselling picturebooks that likely shape children's concepts of mothers The research questions are as follows:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> How are mothers portrayed in Chinese bestselling picturebooks in terms of illustrations?</item> <p></p> <item> How are mothers portrayed in Chinese bestselling picturebooks in terms of content as indicated by the text?</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0187863959-3">Theoretical Framework</hd> <p>To examine the role of mothers in picturebooks, this study utilized Kohlberg's ([<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref25">34</reflink>]) Cognitive Development Theory, which is essential to understanding how children refine or supplement their gender cognition through picturebooks. In Kohlberg's Cognitive Development Theory, human understandings of concepts, such as gender, result from gradual cognitive maturation through assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium in interaction with the environment. Children become keenly aware of their gender identity as young as three years of age (Kohlberg, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref26">34</reflink>]) along with the associated gender expectations. The portrayal and performance of roles in picturebooks likely influence children's gender concepts as well as stereotypes. Ultimately, young children's gender cognitive development and their maturing behavioral performance are influenced by their environment, including media. This theory forms the basis for focusing on the mother's role in shaping children's gender perceptions in bestselling Chinese picturebooks.</p> <p>In addition, this study draws on Rubin's ([<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref27">63</reflink>]) Social Gender Theory to analyze the images of mothers presented in current picturebooks. Social Gender Theory emerged from deepened understandings of Western Feminist Theory, stemming from foundational principles within the women's liberation movement. Opposing the "naturalistic attitudes" of gendered traditions as well as the simplistic, dualistic patterns of male and female (Li, [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref28">39</reflink>]), the theory aimed to eliminate gender inequality and discrimination in socio-cultural and political-economic contexts. Social Gender Theory (Rubin, [<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref29">63</reflink>]) emphasized the strong influences of social systems, laws, and values that discriminate against women, resulting in political, cultural, and economic oppression. By recognizing gender equality as essential for establishing an egalitarian system and fostering a positive cultural environment (Ling & Yuan, [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref30">41</reflink>]), the current study relied on Social Gender Theory (Rubin, [<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref31">63</reflink>]) to analyze the depictions of mothers in recent bestselling picturebooks within the Chinese sociocultural context.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-4">Considering Media, Children's Literature, and the Portrayal of Mothers</hd> <p>Media, in particular children's literature and picturebooks, seem to be imbued with power through its repetitive and cumulative portrayals of gender. These repetitive portrayals shape our interpretations of artifacts (Dafleur & Dennis, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref32">14</reflink>]). Chinese media traditionally portrayed mothers as warm and selfless, leading children to view mothers as idealized and noble women. For example, <emph>The People's Daily</emph>, a Chinese mainstream media outlet, mothers were reported as reflecting a positive affirmation, publicizing exemplary deeds and recognizing their hard work. As an example, it praised mothers' hard work, perseverance, and self-confidence on the ground and extolled their self-sacrifice and selfless dedication to the cause of the Party and the country (Qiu, [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref33">61</reflink>]). Infused with traditional concepts such as "women are weak, but mothers are strong," the image of mothers was mostly generous, patient, and selfless. Movie portrayals in the past often depicted mothers as selfless, such as Zhaodi in the film "My Father and Mother," who tirelessly worked for the family. Although the image of women has evolved over time, the traditional concept of the "virtuous wife and mother" remains constant. (Tian, [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref34">76</reflink>]).</p> <p>Mothers in children's media were stereotyped in terms of being solely portrayed in the domestic domain until the 1960s, then declined in the 70s and 80s, and resurfaced in the 1990s throughout the 2000s (Hamilton et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref35">27</reflink>]; Kinman & Henderson, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref36">32</reflink>]; Powell et al., [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref37">59</reflink>]). In [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref38">10</reflink>], Brabant and Mooney conducted a study comparing female characters in comic strips from 1974 to 1994, to discover that mothers were typically portrayed in traditional roles, primarily engaged in domestic labor, wore aprons, and performed childcare. Blumberg ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref39">8</reflink>]) found pervasive stereotypes and underrepresentation of mothers in textbooks worldwide. The media often portrayed mothers in ways that contradicts gender equality gains (Sainsbury, [<reflink idref="bib66" id="ref40">66</reflink>]). Specifically, mothers have been portrayed in stereotypical roles in children's literature, with depictions of women only as doting wives or loving mothers reinforcing traditional gender roles (Diekman & Murnen, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref41">18</reflink>]; Dougherty & Engel, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref42">19</reflink>]). Moreover, mothers in children's books are often portrayed in stereotypical ways that adhere to traditional gender roles (Narahara, [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref43">54</reflink>]; Taylor, [<reflink idref="bib73" id="ref44">73</reflink>]). Archetypal maternal images hold intense primal meaning; yet at the same time, maternal images show flat, rather than round, rich characters (Gibson, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref45">22</reflink>]). Therefore, examining the bestselling picturebooks' for possible stereotypical portrayals of mothers is essential.</p> <p>Recognizing the importance of resetting and redefining mothers' identity, freeing the role of mothers from the constraints of traditional stereotypes allows for gender equality (De Sarlo et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref46">16</reflink>]). In [<reflink idref="bib95" id="ref47">95</reflink>], Madeleine L'Engle first broke the stereotype, by including a mother as an erudite scientist in <emph>A Wrinkle in Time</emph>. In 2010, the Russian author Sedov also departed from traditional portrayals of mothers and instead placed mothers playing multiple roles at the center of his work. According to Sedov ([<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref48">67</reflink>]), the mother was not only an individual professional, but also someone who valued her loved ones and offspring.</p> <p>Likewise, in <emph>The Myth of Motherhood: How Culture Reinvents the Good Mother</emph> ([<reflink idref="bib75" id="ref49">75</reflink>]), Shari Thurer argued that the sentimental image of the perfect mother casts a long and guilt-inducing shadow over the lives of actual mothers. Discussions about the portrayals of mothers are an enduring topic across both old and new media in China. The emergence of Chinese buzzwords on social media such as "old mother," "intensive motherhood," "full-time mother," "widowed parenting," and "no marriage, no childbearing to keep the peace" are seen as a sign of gender inequality alongside the denunciation of motherhood by young urban women in China. With increasing attention paid to women's issues, more and more images of mothers who differ from traditional portrayals are appearing in media, particularly film. Since the 21st century, portrayals of mothers in media have been multifaceted, diverse, and oriented towards new images of mothers. These portrayals focus on the needs and care of mothers, in juxtaposition to portrayals of mothers as sacrificing, dedicated, and in need of glorification. The question is, do traditional stereotypes persist? (Tao, [<reflink idref="bib72" id="ref50">72</reflink>]). Therefore, this study analyzed the representation of mothers in picturebooks for young children in China.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-5">The Current Study of the Mother Role in Picturebooks</hd> <p>Previous analyses of picturebooks have overlooked the depiction of mothers and their roles. However, it is possible to examine and document various aspects, such as occupational and domestic labor roles, parenting behaviors, emotional states, and the placement of scenes within the pages of bestselling children's picturebooks.</p> <p>Gooden and Gooden's ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref51">24</reflink>]) gender study found that male adults occupied nearly twice as many occupational roles compared to women. However, the portrayals of females were predominantly traditional, with doctors and cooks being the most common. Hamilton et al. ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref52">27</reflink>]) analyzed characters in picturebooks and discovered that gender stereotypes existed in the occupational jobs portrayed. They found that among the limited number of jobs held by female characters, only two were non-stereotypical. Notably, female characters were portrayed in a narrower range of professions, rather than the reality of a wide variety of careers for women.</p> <p>In their research, Oskamp et al. ([<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref53">56</reflink>]) found that female characters were more likely to exhibit parenting behaviors than male characters. Anderson and Hamilton ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref54">3</reflink>]) conducted a study on 200 highly acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling picturebooks between the years 1995 and 2001. Their findings revealed that mothers appeared to be engaging in parenting activities 50% more often than fathers. Additionally, mothers were twice as likely to be portrayed as parenting a toddler and 10 times more likely to be parenting an infant compared to any other character. Hamilton et al. ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref55">27</reflink>]) documented that mothers executed the majority of parenting tasks in picturebooks.</p> <p>In many cases, research found stereotypical portrayals of emotions based on gender. For instance, Turner-Bowker ([<reflink idref="bib78" id="ref56">78</reflink>]) discovered that in 30 Caldecott Medal Honor books from 1984 to 1994, female characters were commonly depicted as exhibiting emotions such as fear, shyness, and love, while male characters were more prone to displaying emotions such as bravery, anger, and fear. More recently, according to Kok and Findlay ([<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref57">35</reflink>]), male and female characters are often stereotypically portrayed in terms of gender being emotionally based, with mothers portrayed as more sentimental than fathers. Since the early 21st century, no statistically significant differences have been reported in the portrayal of male and female characters (Kok & Findlay, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref58">35</reflink>]). Anderson and Hamilton ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref59">3</reflink>]) also analyzed the display of parents' emotions in picturebooks, finding that mothers more frequently than fathers, were often portrayed as expressing negative emotions, including yelling at their children. In previous studies, researchers observed that children often view mothers who work as tired, busy, and guilty (Bolton, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref60">9</reflink>]; Eyer, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref61">21</reflink>]).</p> <p>Male characters were more frequently depicted in outdoor scenes than female characters in picturebooks, according to Allan et al. ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref62">1</reflink>]). According to Hamilton et al. ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref63">27</reflink>]), females tended to be portrayed more often in interior scenes than males. Weitzman and colleagues ([<reflink idref="bib80" id="ref64">80</reflink>]) analyzed popular U.S. children's books, including <emph>Little Golden Books</emph>, Caldecott award, and Newbery award winners. In 1972, Weitzman's research team found that the representation of mothers in children's books was unrealistic and inaccurate. They observed that mothers were often shown as being responsible for household chores, cooking, and childcare, while fathers were depicted only as breadwinners outside the home.</p> <p>The stereotypical portrayal of the mothers in picturebooks seems to be perpetuated into the 21st century. Ellefsen ([<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref65">20</reflink>]) examined the archetypal roles of female characters in young children's picturebooks. Their findings indicated that gender stereotypes are still present, displaying gender biases from 10 to 20 years ago. And. Koss ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref66">36</reflink>]) discovered that the text and illustrations featured a higher representation of female characters. However, the representation of female protagonists remained lacking, continuing to portray them as stereotypical characters (Shachar, [<reflink idref="bib69" id="ref67">69</reflink>]). This finding is supported by Kirkscey ([<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref68">33</reflink>]), who discovered that female characters in award-winning children's literature perpetuated traditional societal expectations, rather than offering diverse portrayals. This research explores how mothers are depicted in bestselling picturebooks, because stereotypical misconceptions of gender can limit children's future ambitions and contribute to negative attitudes towards expanding and balancing gender roles.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-6">Methods</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0187863959-7">Selection of Target Population</hd> <p>This study analyzed the illustration and the textual portrayals of the mothers in bestselling picturebooks as indicated on popular Chinese websites. Many research studies focus exclusively on award-winning books, which may not necessarily be the most widely circulated or widely read books (Hamilton et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref69">27</reflink>]; Tepper & Cassidy, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref70">74</reflink>]). As parents, grandparents, schools, and libraries trust the medal displayed on book covers, winning an award does contribute to a book's popularity, but a narrow focus on award winners may not lead to a full understanding of mothers' role portrayal in widely read books (Hamilton et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref71">27</reflink>]). For this reason, this study selected picturebooks in China from the bestseller lists between 2019 and 2022 to perform a detailed and systematic analysis of how illustrations and text depict mothers. Some popular books from other countries were also published in Chinese as translations to become bestselling in China. The original publication dates in China roughly ranged from 1942 to 2022. Yet, determining what each book's original publication date and/or its country of origin proved difficult, and perhaps even unreliable.</p> <p>Also, in light of parents' purchasing trends of children's picturebooks (Zhao, [<reflink idref="bib85" id="ref72">85</reflink>]), we utilized online book sites targeting individual rather than commercial sales for the years 2019–2022 were selected to procure the bestselling picturebooks and analyze portrayals of mothers. To ensure that the sample was representative, the researcher analyzed the bestseller lists of picturebooks accessible within the current timeframe published on each website: Dangdang Picturebook Bestseller List for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 (Dangdang, [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref73">15</reflink>]), Jingdong Children's Bestseller List for 2021 and 2022 (Jingdong, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref74">29</reflink>]), and the authoritative release of Amazon Beloved Reading Book Bestseller List for 2022 (Amazon, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref75">2</reflink>]). These seven annual lists of bestselling picturebooks, reavealing the top 100 bestsellers, were reviewed to identify the presence of mothers, with a focus on fiction. Lists from <emph>Taobao.com</emph> were excluded because of its overreliance on retailers rather than individuals, possibly inflating the notion of bestsellers.</p> <p>After removing duplicate picturebooks from the seven lists to ensure accuracy, three outstanding preschool teachers were chosen to review the picturebooks featuring mothers. They carefully evaluated a total of 656 remaining picturebooks. Each picturebook was read first to familiarize with the content of the picturebook and to initially eliminate books not centered on mothers. Next, books were read again to include books with words synonymous with mother which confirmed their inclusion. Then, the three raters observed the illustrations of the picturebooks. Even if words synonymous with mother did not appear in books, such as <emph>Someday</emph> (McGhee, [<reflink idref="bib100" id="ref76">100</reflink>]), if the books had illustrations of a mother, the book was included in our study. After discussion and determination, the research team confirmed the consensus among the experts. The final target group consisted of 53 eligible picturebooks, as shown in Table 1.</p> <p>Table 1 Bestselling Picturebooks included in the study</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left" /><th align="left"><p>Title (country</p></th><th align="left" /><th align="left"><p>Title (country)</p></th><th align="left" /><th align="left"><p>Title (country)</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>1</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>I Hate Mom</italic> (JPN)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>19</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>The Lost Kitten</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>37</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>The Loud Mom</italic> (GER)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>2</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Me and Mommy's Treasures</italic> (JPN)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>20</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Come Away from the Water</italic>,<italic> Shirley</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>38</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Hurry up</italic>,<italic> Mom. Wait for Me</italic>,<italic> Dad</italic> (GER)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>3</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>How's Mom?</italic> (JPN)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>21</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Take a Kiss to School</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>39</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mom</italic>,<italic> Play with Me</italic> (AT)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>4</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Me and My Mom</italic> (JPN)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>22</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mean Soup</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>40</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>The Wish Tree</italic> (AT)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>5</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Love You Forever and Always</italic> (JPN)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>23</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Someday</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>41</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mommy's Wrong</italic> (AT)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>6</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>A Mother for Choco</italic> (JPN)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>24</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mom is Going to Work</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>42</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Love You Forever</italic> (CAN)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>7</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Thank You</italic>,<italic> Mom</italic> (JPN)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>25</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Five Minutes Peace</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>43</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>What Would Have Happened to a Different Mom?</italic> (FRA)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>8</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Piggy Book</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>26</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Alfie Runs Away</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>44</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mom</italic>,<italic> I'm Not a Kid Anymore</italic> (FRA)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>9</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>My Mum</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>27</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>A Chair for My Mother</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>45</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Don't Jump Rope with Frogs</italic> (CHN)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>The Zoo</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>28</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mama's Perfect Present</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>46</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mom — There's a Monster</italic> (CHN)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>11</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Hug My Mom</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>29</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Where's Our Mama?</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>47</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mom's Not My Maid</italic> (CHN)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>12</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Kiss My Little Sister</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>30</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Just Like My Mum</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>48</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mom</italic>,<italic> You're So Nice</italic> (CHN)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>13</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Guess How Much I Love You?</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>31</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>The Runaway Bunny</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>49</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Taste of Mom</italic> (CHN)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>14</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Time to Sleep</italic>,<italic> Alfie Bear!</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>32</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>No</italic>,<italic> David!</italic> (USA)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>50</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>A Gift for Mother's Day</italic> (CHN)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>15</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Just Like You</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>33</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>You are My Miracle</italic> (KOR)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>51</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mom Buys Green Beans</italic> (CHN)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>16</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Hug</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>34</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mom's Mad</italic> (KOR)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>52</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mother Cat in a Bag</italic> (CHN)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>17</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>The Bear Hatches the Egg</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>35</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>I Want to Be My Mom</italic> (KOR)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>53</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Mom's Grapes</italic> (CHN)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>18</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>The Trouble with Mum</italic> (UK)</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>36</p></td><td align="left"><p><italic>Did You Know</italic>,<italic> Mom?</italic> (KOR)</p></td><td align="left" /><td align="left" /></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0187863959-8">Content Analysis and Coding</hd> <p>Drawing on Matulka's ([<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref77">50</reflink>]) categorization of character image design in <emph>A Picture Book Primer</emph>, focusing on both the external stylistic content portrayed in images and the internal characteristics exhibited in the text is critical. This study examined the text and images of mothers in bestselling picturebooks, to deconstruct and analyze the illustrations and the text revealing the current and perhaps complex portrayals of mothers in these picturebooks.</p> <p>The researchers analyzed 53 bestselling picturebooks in China to examine the portrayal of the roles of mothers in bestsellers in China over four years, from 2019 to 2022. To capture and analyze the first type of data, illustrations, a coding protocol was developed (see Appendix). The definition of images, based on prior research, was kept simple and straightforward for deconstruction (Ma, [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref78">45</reflink>]). Researchers utilized content analysis to summarize, classify, and document the portrayals of mothers captured within the illustrations. The coding protocol directed researchers to note details regarding the clothing worn by mothers, the accessories or artifacts present around her (briefcase, apron, tie, etc.), as well as the scene or setting in which mothers were depicted.</p> <p>Second, because this content analysis also targeted the text within these bestselling picturebooks for portrayals of mother, this content analysis leveraged both software and researchers to analyze plot, characters' language, and themes. The study used NVivo 11.0, a qualitative analysis software, to analyze the text within these 53 books to uncover the portrayal of mothers. This study identified key characteristics of different mother role types and emotional feelings from the provided texts. For the content analysis of text, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs were the focus. In coding, the principles of mutual exclusivity and exhaustiveness were utilized to ensure that all text was coded thoroughly and that nodes were all organized at the same logical levels.</p> <p>To analyze the text, this study utilized the two commonly used coding paths: bottom-up and top-down approaches. Bottom-up grounded theory was used to code the types of mothers' roles from picturebook text in this study, where themes are gradually generated and constructed during the process of analyzing the texts. The second approach involved setting up coding nodes based on the research theme in a top-down manner. This forms a research framework, and then delving into the nodes to create more detailed coding. This method was utilized to code the emotions from picturebook texts in this study (Chen, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref79">13</reflink>]). Emotional valence distinguishes between positive, neutral, or negative, by assessing properties and essential characteristics (Liu, [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref80">42</reflink>]). The study categorized three emotions: positive emotions (e.g., happy, love, sweet, comfortable, cheerful, joy, excitement), neutral emotions (e.g., disregard, casual, indifferent, calm, dull, yearning), and negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, impatience, antipathy).</p> <p>Three researchers were deeply immersed in the text of picturebooks and independently coded manually with Nvivo. Controversial coding nodes were centrally deliberated to reach a final consensus. Once the free nodes were formed, the first researcher conducted axial coding and selection coding of the mothers' behaviors in the 53 picture books. Mutual exclusivity and exhaustiveness principles were always followed during the coding process and ensured that the nodes were above the same logical level.</p> <p>The researchers repeatedly read and analyzed the textual content of the picturebooks, from which they extracted the relevant characteristics of the mother's role types through bottom-up rooting theory, and reduced, transformed, and abstracted the texts into concepts. Then the subordination between the various types of genera is generalized and deduced. As shown in Table 2.</p> <p>Table 2 Example of the role type node construction process</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Text Content</p></th><th align="left"><p>Open Coding</p></th><th align="left"><p>Axial Coding</p></th><th align="left"><p>Selective Coding</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>She tenderly stroked the found egg as if it were her own baby. "Be born early, be healthy, be born soon."</p><p><italic>Love You Forever and Always</italic> (Miyanishi, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr101">2008</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Tender Touch</p></td><td align="left" rowspan="3"><p>Concerned Behavior</p></td><td align="left" rowspan="6"><p>The Caring Mother</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>"My baby, I'll never leave you behind again." Mom tenderly hugged her baby and went home.</p><p><italic>Love You Forever and Always</italic> (Miyanishi, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr101">2008</xref>)</p><p>--Mommy hugged him hard. Ryota wept and sniffled, "Mommy, am......Am I a Tyrannosaurus Rex? Am I not your child?"</p><p>--Mom wrapped her arms around Ryota and said, "You're my baby, my precious Ryota!"</p><p><italic>Love You Forever and Always</italic> (Miyanishi, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr101">2008</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Mother's Hug</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Mom loved both babies equally, and gave them names that held her heart's desires</p><p><italic>Love You Forever and Always</italic> (Miyanishi, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr101">2008</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Mother's Love</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Mom went into Ken's room, turned off the vacuum cleaner, and said, "Ken, come and organize the toy box, there are so many things that can be thrown away.</p><p><italic>Me and Mommy's Treasures</italic> (Saitoh, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr104">2010</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Tidying House</p></td><td align="left" rowspan="3"><p>Caregiving Behavior</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Beddy played by himself for a while, then peeked out the window into the house. He saw his mom making pancakes and his brother helping out.</p><p><italic>The Wish Tree</italic> (Landa, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr96">2006</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Cooking</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Mom smiled slightly and tucked both babies in.</p><p><italic>The Wish Tree</italic> (Landa, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr96">2006</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Covering Up the Quilt</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Eventually, by coding the textual content of the 53 picturebooks at three levels, the resulting nodes for each level of the "Types of Mothers' Roles" are as shown in Table 3.</p> <p>Table 3 Types of mothers' roles in picturebooks</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Core nodes</p></th><th align="left"><p>Tree nodes</p></th><th align="left"><p>Free nodes</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left" rowspan="2"><p>The Caring Mother</p></td><td align="left"><p>Concerned Behavior</p></td><td align="left"><p>Behavioral manifestations of care and concern that demonstrate motherly love</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Caregiving Behavior</p></td><td align="left"><p>Behavioral manifestations of taking care of daily life</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" rowspan="2"><p>The Intelligent Mother</p></td><td align="left"><p>Educational Behavior</p></td><td align="left"><p>Behavioral manifestations of direct education</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Guiding Behavior</p></td><td align="left"><p>Behavioral manifestations of indirectly guided education</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" rowspan="2"><p>The Defective Mother</p></td><td align="left"><p>Negative Behavior</p></td><td align="left"><p>Behavior that is the opposite of positive behavior</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Egoistic Behavior</p></td><td align="left"><p>Behavior that focuses on self-experience and self-feelings</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>The All-powerful Supermom</p></td><td align="left"><p>Omnipotent Behavior</p></td><td align="left"><p>Behavior that is able to manage a variety of tasks at the same time</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>The first researcher established a pre-established framework of positive-neutral-negative emotions, thus identifying the core node of "Emotions of Mothers' Roles". Through repeated reading and analysis of the texts in the picturebooks, open coding and axial coding of the textual content was carried out in conjunction with the pre-established framework. As shown in Table 4.</p> <p>Table 4 Example of the role emotion node construction process</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Text Content</p></th><th align="left"><p>Open Coding</p></th><th align="left"><p>Axial Coding</p></th><th align="left"><p>Selective Coding</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>--"Alright, open your eyes!" I told mom.</p><p>--"Wow, babe!" Mommy smiles, "Can I come in?"</p><p><italic>Hug My Mom</italic> (Clark, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr90">2009</xref>a)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Gratified</p></td><td align="left" rowspan="3"><p>Positive Verbal Expression</p></td><td align="left" rowspan="6"><p>Positive Emotions</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>--Bear: So, Mommy loves my little hands?</p><p>--Mama Bear: Yes, your little hands, your little feet, your little nose, your little mouth, Mama loves them all.</p><p><italic>Me and My Mom</italic> (Palmoto, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr103">2011</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Love</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Stupid mommy bear says: "Is this really the strawberry bread you made? Wow, and such beautiful roses, I like it very much, thank you!"</p><p>Daddy Clumsy Bear also brought out new clothes for Mommy Clumsy Bear, and Mommy Clumsy Bear was so happy to look at them.</p><p><italic>A Gift for Mother's Day (</italic>Liu, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr98">2010</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Happy</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>"Is it just like this?" Mrs. Bear asked. She held Autumn tightly in her arms.</p><p><italic>A mother for Choco (</italic>Kasza, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr94">1996</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Mother's Hugs</p></td><td align="left" rowspan="3"><p>Positive Nonverbal Expression</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>"Is it just like that?" Mrs. Bear asked. She lifted Autumn up and kissed her loudly.</p><p><italic>A mother for Choco (</italic>Kasza, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr94">1996</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Mother's Kisses</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>"Just like that?" Mrs. Bear asked. So they sang and danced together.</p><p><italic>A mother for Choco (</italic>Kasza, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr94">1996</xref>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Singing and Dancing</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Eventually, through the free coding and axial coding of the textual content in the 53 picturebooks under the pre-established framework, the nodes at each level of "Emotions of Mothers' Roles" obtained are shown in Table 5:</p> <p>Table 5 Emotions of mothers' roles in Picturebooks</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Core nodes</p></th><th align="left"><p>Tree nodes</p></th><th align="left"><p>Free nodes</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left" rowspan="2"><p>Positive Emotions</p></td><td align="left"><p>Positive Verbal Expression</p></td><td align="left"><p>Expressing inner positive emotional feelings through words</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Positive Nonverbal Expression</p></td><td align="left"><p>Positive internal emotional feelings expressed through body movements or facial expressions</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" rowspan="2"><p>Neutral Emotions</p></td><td align="left"><p>Neutral Verbal Expression</p></td><td align="left"><p>Neutral emotional feelings expressed through speech</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Neutral Nonverbal Expression</p></td><td align="left"><p>Neutral emotional feelings expressed through body movements or facial expressions</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" rowspan="2"><p>Negative Emotions</p></td><td align="left"><p>Negative Verbal Expression</p></td><td align="left"><p>Inner negative emotional feelings through speech</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Negative Nonverbal</p></td><td align="left"><p>Inner negative emotional feelings expressed through body movements or facial expressions</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0187863959-9">Reliability of Coding</hd> <p>To ensure the reliability of the coding, the research team reviewed the a priori codes for the illustrations and for the texts, and then, conducted reliability tests on self-internal consistency as well as interrater reliability (Liu & Li, [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref81">43</reflink>]). To begin, the first author coded the illustrations and text material twice at an interval of 30 days, and then compared the results of the two codings. The internal consistency was calculated as 96.5% agreement, indicating the coding credibility is sound. As an additional measure to ensure the accuracy of the coding, the second author conducted a re-coding process on 20 random picturebooks. This involved analyzing the illustrations and text materials in each picturebook against the coding protocol. The interrater reliability between the second author's coding and the first author's two original codings respectively, were calculated to be 94.31% and 95.1%. The results indicated that the coding reliability is adequate for the purposes of this study. Further, an ECE graduate student coded the illustrations and text of the 53 books. The percentage of agreement across each individual indicator, such as scene placements or types of mothers, was calculated to be above 90% in all comparisons with original codings.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-10">Content Analysis Findings and Discussion</hd> <p>Per the two research questions, the findings and related discussion of our content analysis of the illustrations within the 53 bestselling picturebooks in China will be followed by the findings and discussion concerning the roles of mother based on our analysis of the text.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-11">Illustrations Portraying the Roles of Mother</hd> <p>Picturebooks are a symbolic-linguistic-discursive system wherein readers first perceive mothers, which establish a specific "conceptual iconography" (Hall, [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref82">26</reflink>]). By definition, the visual representations in picturebooks are critical for social cultural communication. First, many picturebooks included portrayals of families as animals; these anthromorphistic mothers are outlined in the findings and discussion here. Specifically, our study analyzed the artifacts, such as clothing and accessories, as well as the scenes or settings in which mothers were portrayed in Chinese picturebooks.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-12">Anthromorphism and Human Mothers</hd> <p>Our analysis of illustrations included maternal roles that encompassed anthropomorphic animal characters, not just humans. Out of the 53 picturebooks, 28 depicted human mothers, while 25 feature anthropomorphic mothers as various animals. Widely used to provide emotional distance for intense topics and for universality (Andrianova, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref83">4</reflink>]; Burke & Copenhaver, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref84">11</reflink>]), anthropomorphism assigns human traits to animals to allow children to identify with the characters, despite race or gender. Instead of portraying animals as dangerous, animals in children's literature often evoke a sense of wonder and fascination, as noted by Selly ([<reflink idref="bib68" id="ref85">68</reflink>]). By incorporating anthromorphism (Markowsky, [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref86">47</reflink>]), book creators help young readers relate to and engage with imagined discourse (Lu & Wang, [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref87">44</reflink>]). Beyond this, Burke and Copenhaver ([<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref88">11</reflink>]) animal characters offer children vicarious spaces to explore and reflect critically. Therefore, anthropomorphic mothers were included in our study, because of their intensely metaphorical applications, even over those of human mothers, thus making them more valuable for analysis (Burke & Copenhaver, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref89">11</reflink>]).</p> <p>Almost half of the target population of 53 bestselling picturebooks contained characters who were personified animals (<emph>n</emph> = 25). Figure 1 shows a breakdown of the various animals, with bears as mothers the most common. For example, in <emph>Me and My Mom</emph> (Palmoto, [<reflink idref="bib103" id="ref90">103</reflink>]), <emph>A Mother for Choco</emph> (Kasza, [<reflink idref="bib94" id="ref91">94</reflink>]), and <emph>Time to Sleep</emph>,<emph> Alfie Bear!</emph> (Walters, [<reflink idref="bib106" id="ref92">106</reflink>]), mama bears are the anthropomorphic mother character in these picturebooks. In discussing <emph>Seeds of Happiness</emph>, the father of Japanese picturebooks, Matsui ([<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref93">49</reflink>]) thought that bears are the best representations. Their short, plump, rounded bodies with simple, slow movements greet readers with a spiritual strength and softness (Matsui, [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref94">49</reflink>]). Bears' warmth and love best exemplify mothers, both traditionally and contemporarily (Matsui, [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref95">49</reflink>]).</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 1 Anthromorphism and human mothers in picturebooks</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-13">Clothing and Accessories of Appearance Images</hd> <p>Additionally, we coded for clothing and accessories which act as tools for social interaction, indicate identity, etiquette, and symbolize relationships across individuals and their environment (Miao & Wang, [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref96">51</reflink>]). Therefore, representational artifacts can reflect the social roles of mothers within the sociocultural context. Table 6 provides information from 40 picturebooks which contained clothing and/or accessories (excluding some anthropomorphic mothers without human clothing). Clothing and accessories were classified into four categories with definitions below: household wear, casual wear, work/business wear, and other types. Out of the 40 items, casual wear accounted for 24, followed by household wear at 22. Work /business wear and other types coded at relatively lower proportions.</p> <p>Table 6 Clothing of mothers in picturebooks</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Clothing type</p></th><th align="left"><p>Clarification</p></th><th align="left"><p>Proportion</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>Casual wear</p></td><td align="left"><p>With no apparent purpose, such as headdress/hijab or handbag, etc.</p></td><td align="left"><p>24/40</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Household wear</p></td><td align="left"><p>With distinctive home features, such as apron or vegetable basket, etc.</p></td><td align="left"><p>22/40</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Work/business wear</p></td><td align="left"><p>Work-appropriate dress, such as suits, briefcases, jewelry, scarf, tie, etc.</p></td><td align="left"><p>4/40</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Other types</p></td><td align="left"><p>Dance costumes, superhero costume, space suit, etc.</p></td><td align="left"><p>2/40</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Figure 2 presented the analysis of accessories. Per our analysis, household accessories with their symbolic meanings, were the most common in portraying mothers. Aprons accounted for a whopping 36.8% of the total accessories in the picturebook analysis of illustrations.</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 2 Accessories of mothers</p> <p>Notably, individuals and groups often use clothing and accessories to express identity, occupation, status, power, preferences, attitudes, and values through style, color, and specific markings (Yu, [<reflink idref="bib84" id="ref97">84</reflink>]). In this study, illustrations showed readers the reliance on artifacts only with females, such as aprons, vegetable baskets, and home clothes, to portray mothers who are also hardworking, straightforward, and dedicated to home and their families. In <emph>Piggy Book</emph> (Browne, [<reflink idref="bib88" id="ref98">88</reflink>]), a mother is shown wearing an apron while cooking, and in <emph>Mom Buys Green Beans</emph> (Zeng, [<reflink idref="bib108" id="ref99">108</reflink>]), the mother returns home carrying a basket of vegetables over her shoulder. Adhering to traditional role stereotypes due to historical and cultural influences, picturebooks are slowly changing and breaking the traditional stereotype of a mother solely as a homemaker.</p> <p>While we expected that the portrayal of mothers would no longer be limited to domesticity and might include personal preferences, related professions, and lifestyle (Tian, [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref100">76</reflink>]), we were surprised. Our study did not show artifacts playing a strong role in breaking the stereotype of moms as domestic entities only. The use of artifacts such as casual clothes, handbag, and scarf or headdress often represented the mother's individuality and independence separate from family. The mother depicted in <emph>Where's Our Mama?</emph> (Goode, [<reflink idref="bib93" id="ref101">93</reflink>]) is portrayed as a modern woman, walking with a child, wearing a bowler hat, carrying a delicate satchel, and sporting professional high heels. These portrayals allowed the mother to be seen as a self-reliant individual, rather than someone whose only identity is attached to her family.</p> <p>Also, the bestselling picturebooks in China also depicted mothers in differing roles awith different attributes. <emph>My Mum</emph> (Browne, ([<reflink idref="bib87" id="ref102">87</reflink>]) contained a rich variety of illustrations showing mothers in varying roles, whether in overalls, scarves/ties, and/or carrying briefcases, while other illustrations show mothers dressed in superhero or dance costumes, adding to diverse and vibrant portrayals of contemporary mothers. Nonetheless, the lack of artifacts that expand mothers' roles beyond domesticity to professional roles provides a rationale to enhance and augment children's books to include representations matching the reality of mothers in our world.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-14">Scene Placements of the Mother Role</hd> <p>Further, this study examined mothers' interactions with settings in bestselling picturebooks from 2019 to 2022. We note that the scenes within the pages of these picturebooks reflect the varying roles of mothers. After analyzing the content of 53 picturebooks, we observed that mothers in 43 (63.2%) of the books were placed in domestic settings, such as homes or physical houses. In 11 picturebooks, anthromorphic mothers were portrayed as living in forest homes resembling human homes. Only three picturebooks depicted mothers in business or workplace settings. Furthermore, eight picturebooks depicted mothers engaging in outdoor activities, such as visiting school (two books), a zoo (two books), a food market (two books), a train station (one book), and the coast or beach (one book). Ambiuously, three picturebooks placed mothers in the illustration's background rather than the foreground; therefore, no particular scene was recorded (Fig. 3).</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 3 Mothers' placement in scenes in picturebook illustrations</p> <p>Curious, we wondered how portrayals of mothers had changed since Tuchman's ([<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref103">77</reflink>]) seminal study. Tuchman ([<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref104">77</reflink>]) noted that women are most often portrayed in the media solely as mothers or housewives confined to the home, with little representation of accomplishments and lives outside of domesticity. Our results indicated that home remained the primary setting in 63.2% of these 2019–2022 bestselling books in China. During the current study, the researchers discovered that concepts of home for mothers showed a qualitative shift from prior studies showing only domestic portrayals of women. In the past, mothers were not only labelled as babysitters, but were also portrayed as endlessly working at home, with no chance of relaxation. Analyzing these recent bestselling picturebooks, our research noted that household chores, including clothing maintenance, house cleaning, and cooking were not as prominent. Concepts of family for mothers and fathers seemed to be converging, creating a shared world of domesticity. In these current bestsellers, mothers were portrayed as having choices in domesticity settings, being more efficient, sharing, or even ignoring chores. In <emph>Five Minutes' Peace</emph> (Murphy, [<reflink idref="bib102" id="ref105">102</reflink>]), the mother makes tea and relaxes in the family's large bathtub, savoring the moment. In <emph>Kiss My Little Sister</emph> (Clark, [<reflink idref="bib91" id="ref106">91</reflink>]), after the mother was hospitalized for the little sister's, the father took responsibility for chores and childcare at home. Modern concepts of domesticity and home reflected in these picturebooks were no longer portrayed as solely maternal or as restrictive as it once was. The mothers in these picturebook illustration were sometimes, although rarely, portrayed as working or socializing outside the home in offices, schools, zoos, and other locations.</p> <p>Notably, illustrations of outdoor scenes depicted both nurturing mothers and children were usually anachronistic, from another time, place, or fantasy. However, in <emph>Did You Know</emph>,<emph> Mom?</emph> (Li, [<reflink idref="bib97" id="ref107">97</reflink>]), a mother drives her child to the zoo. In <emph>Come Away from the Water</emph>,<emph> Shirley</emph> (Burningham, [<reflink idref="bib89" id="ref108">89</reflink>]), Shirley's mother and father lounge on the beach, keeping an eye on Lisa while enjoying the beauty of camping. These examples reflect the diverse nature of the mother's role in picturebooks.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-15">Examining the Text Regarding Mothers</hd> <p>As noted, our findings noted that illustrations tended to follow specific sociocultural contexts, likely impacting readers' cognitive development of concepts of mothers; likewise, we examined the portrayals of mothers in picturebooks within the text. Authors use text as a critical tool to portray mothers in various roles and emotions, often contributing to a rich and multifaceted representation of mothers. Thus, analyzing how mothers were portrayed within the content of these books was key.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-16">Types of Roles</hd> <p>First, Nvivo explored the portrayals of mothers, noting common properties and specific characteristics to provide four role types. Table 7 shows the core codes to gain insights into how these roles are impacted by social values and cultural significance within families and society.</p> <p>Table 7 Codes of mother role types</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Code name</p></th><th align="left"><p>Material sources</p></th><th align="left"><p>Reference points</p></th><th align="left"><p>Core nodes</p></th><th align="left"><p>Material sources</p></th><th align="left"><p>Reference points</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left" rowspan="4"><p>Types of Mother Role</p></td><td char="." align="char" rowspan="4"><p>53</p></td><td char="." align="char" rowspan="4"><p>282</p></td><td align="left"><p>The Caring Mother</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>28</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>143</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>The Intelligent Mother</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>13</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>57</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>The Defective Mother</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>11</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>53</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>The All-powerful Supermom</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>9</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>29</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>In our analysis of current bestsellers, the portrayals of mothers expanded and futher clarified the findings gained from our analysis of illustrations. The coding of text was able to capture the gradual shift towards more nuanced and positive representations of mothers, differing from earlier studies (Weitzman et al., [<reflink idref="bib80" id="ref109">80</reflink>]; Hamilton et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref110">27</reflink>]). We were also curious whether our study of bestsellers might reveal picturebooks that reflect the complex roles of today's mothers; findings in regard to the bestsellers' texts show steps approaching reality, inclusivity, and broader visions. Our analysis confirmed the following roles of the Caring Mother, Intelligent Mother, All-powerful Supermom, and Defective Mother.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-17">The Caring Mother</hd> <p>Historically, picturebooks often portrayed mothers as grand, selfless figures who unconditionally love their families and children (Diekman & Murnen, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref111">18</reflink>]; Dougherty & Engel, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref112">19</reflink>]). Current bestsellers also showed mothers as dedicated and caring parents. Slightly more than half of these bestsellers highlighted this predominant portrayal of caring mothers, with text showing mothers who interact in warm, loving, and nurturing ways. In <emph>Someday</emph> (McGhee, [<reflink idref="bib100" id="ref113">100</reflink>]), a mother sharing her hopes and dreams for her daughter's future. These maternal images likely reflect real life and are pervasive while conforming to societal expectations and norms.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-18">The Intelligent Mother</hd> <p>On one hand, the historical roles of mothers are expanding due to cultural impacts, ideological values, and economic considerations. Mothers in recent generations were privileged to obtain a modern education, contributing to females' overall increases in cultural capital. Alternately, under the guidance of national policies in China, low fertility rates coupled with needed family resources have become the main characteristics of modern families (Jin, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref114">28</reflink>]). These societal shifts impact concepts of mothering and childrearing within Chinese families. Parents are starting to realize that both "teaching" and "raising" are important childrearing priorities for all parents, regardless of gender, with "teaching" even better than "raising" (Jin, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref115">28</reflink>]). Perhaps adjusting to these societal shifts and expectations, picturebooks in the current study contained portrayals of mothers that highlighted their ability to go beyond nurturance, to problem solve, resolve conflicts, and exhibit unique charisma and wisdom. Thus, the Intelligent Mother is seen in <emph>Take a Kiss to School</emph> (McAllister, [<reflink idref="bib99" id="ref116">99</reflink>]), where a mother creatively helps her child overcome the fear of starting school by filling pockets with kisses.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-19">The All-Powerful Supermom</hd> <p>Certainly, one of the most intriguing portrayals in this cadre of picturebooks in China was that of the Supermom, which was not necessarily anticipated. By showing mothers juggling multiple social roles at home and work and managing the pressures of life, mothers' roles are seen as complex, complicated, and expansive.</p> <p>However, empirical research in Spain based on the Risk Theory of Social Policy (Moreno & Taylor, [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref117">53</reflink>]) suggested that portraying mothers as Supermoms is an alternative mechanism by the larger society which emphasizes the societal benefits of mothering, particularly mothers who can do it all or Supermoms. By reconfiguring everyday mothers into all-powerful Supermoms, unrealistically putting them on pedestals, society overcompensates, keeping women in impossible and conflicting roles in order to maintain the social benefits of super-mothering. Likely due to burgeoning female consciousness and feminism awakening, mothers were portrayed in these Chinese bestsellers as seeking recognition from the business world as well as the homefront. While only nine books showed mothers as establishing an identity outside the home as well as within the home, these were also the only books that assimilated domestic and business roles. While Browne's ([<reflink idref="bib87" id="ref118">87</reflink>]) <emph>My Mum</emph> seemed complimentary by lauding the multiplicity of ways a child saw their mother as a chef, makeup artist, boss, astronaut, and dancer, this kind of Supermom portrayal often ignores the real-life burdens that mothers face in this unattainable role of all-powerful Supermom.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-20">The Defective Mother</hd> <p>Certainly, as society and picturebooks are experiencing the trend of expanding the roles of mothers, the current study showed a somewhat unexpected theme we describe as the Defective Mother. In <emph>I Hate Mom</emph> ([<reflink idref="bib105" id="ref119">105</reflink>]), Sakai introduces a bunny who complains about her mother being slow, angry, sleepy, having a bad memory, and loving to watch TV. Perhaps, this innovative Defective Mother pushes back against and deconstructs traditional images of perfection and motherhood from a realistic and introspective perspective. This attempt to confront and dismantle the inherent gendered order of mothers being expected to be perfect was seen in 11 of the 53 books, perhaps because of the popularity of the postmodern genre (Wang et al., [<reflink idref="bib79" id="ref120">79</reflink>]). By placing mothers on a pedestal of perfection, mothers must wrestle within this impossible position, perhaps feeling deficit in all roles rather than like superheroes (Margolis, [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref121">46</reflink>]). Within this subtle shift in picturebooks highlighting mothers' imperfections, mothers are portrayed as human with faults, removing the worship and stress that comes with the pedestal of perfection. Through these current bestsellers, young children in China can experience a greater range of the portrayal of mothers, modelling characters who are complicated, acculturated, or even rebellious.</p> <p>Overall, this content analysis examining illustrations and text within Chinese bestselling picturebooks emphasizes the expanding portrayals and the complexity of maternal roles, while also showing how the status quo remains in terms of limited portrayals of women. Thus, these current, bestselling Chinese picturebooks, 2019–2022, contained increasingly diverse portrayals of mothers, slowly dismantling the traditional gendered constructs of mothers and families.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-21">Exploring Emotions Surrounding the Role of Mother</hd> <p>This study also explored the role of mothers in picturebooks through the emotions displayed. The essence of a medium, such as picturebooks, is in its ability to deliver relatable and aspirational characters. Using words and illustrations as primary tools (Sipe, [<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref122">71</reflink>]), authors build characters by evoking emotions and assigning values with which the readers identify. The picturebooks in the current study provided children with rich portrayals of mothers by depicting different emotional states. The coding results are seen in Table 8. Out of the 53 picturebooks analyzed, 46 contained textual expressions related to mothers' emotional states, with a total of 231 reference nodes, based on the three core nodes, which were categorized into positive, neutral, and negative emotions. Among the three, positive emotions made up the largest proportion at 48.5%, while neutral emotions accounted for 30.7%, and negative emotions made up only 17.3%.</p> <p>Table 8 Core codes of mother emotions</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Code name</p></th><th align="left"><p>Material sources</p></th><th align="left"><p>Reference points</p></th><th align="left"><p>Core nodes</p></th><th align="left"><p>Material sources</p></th><th align="left"><p>Reference points</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left" rowspan="3"><p>Emotions of Mothers</p></td><td char="." align="char" rowspan="3"><p>46</p></td><td char="." align="char" rowspan="3"><p>231</p></td><td align="left"><p>Positive emotions</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>29</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>112</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Neutral emotions</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>22</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>71</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Negative emotions</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>13</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>40</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Across all literature, the portrayal of humans, and in particular mothers, as diverse characters with complex personalities and multifaceted roles is an essential and inevitable objective to reflect truth. With more vibrant and nuanced portrayals of mothers, a wider range of emotions are enabled. The aesthetic value of picturebooks often aims to guide children toward goodness, truth, kindness, and beauty; therefore, positive emotions likely prevail. By definition (Pape, [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref123">58</reflink>]; Rudin, [<reflink idref="bib64" id="ref124">64</reflink>]), children's literature is defined by its positive and hopeful messages, despite overcoming negativity or even evil.</p> <p>However, when it comes to expressing mothers' positive emotions, children's books often reflect and conform with society's expectations of good mothers. The traditional mindset portrayed mothers as consistently happy, fulfilled, and always displaying maternal warmth. In the picturebook, <emph>Me and My Mom</emph> (Palmoto, [<reflink idref="bib103" id="ref125">103</reflink>]), a mother expressed her love for her child's hands, feet, nose, and mouth, exemplifying a typical, but heartfelt and natural expression of emotion. Now, mothers, as ordinary characters, navigate family and society with authentic aesthetics. Individual characters aim to resolve the problems that arise due to their conflicting identities and their pursuit of self-esteem. Within the pages analyzed as part of this study, picturebooks attempted to show more practical and honest roles with books starting to highlight the reality of a mother's life, as well as her sincere and tender emotions.</p> <p>Through the picturebooks in this study, mothers' authentic selves seem to reflect both neutral and negative emotions. For example, in <emph>Mommy's Wrong</emph> (Weninger, [<reflink idref="bib107" id="ref126">107</reflink>]), the mother acknowledged her mistake and regretfully apologizes to her son. Similarly, in <emph>Time to Sleep</emph>,<emph> Alfie Bear!</emph> (Walters, [<reflink idref="bib106" id="ref127">106</reflink>]), the mother bear was depicted as being so angry that she almost growls. These bestselling picturebooks showcased a range of non-stereotypical emotions, including regret, anger, worry, and sadness, which was a significant shift from traditional, exclusively positive portrayals of mothers' emotions. The portrayal of emotions within these influential picturebooks seems emblematic of a significant breakthrough that can help young readers understand exhibiting a range of emotions is okay.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-22">Considerations of the Findings within the Sociocultural Context of China</hd> <p>Because this content analysis examines how mothers are depicted in current bestselling picturebooks in China, one must consider the context of Chinese society. After China's reform with free markets opening up in the 1990s, the public childcare system, which shared maternal responsibilities, gradually lost state and governmental support and fell apart. As a result, the burden of childcare for working women shifted primarily to the family with the free market providing better private childcare for a cost. The rise of post-industrial society led to a decrease in shared familial childcare, restricting it to immediate family members (Zheng, [<reflink idref="bib86" id="ref128">86</reflink>]).</p> <p>Unlike modern Western countries, China's social transformation has occurred in just a few decades, without sufficient time for social adjustment and adaptation. Wang et al. ([<reflink idref="bib79" id="ref129">79</reflink>]) notes that these shifts have produced conflicting ideas about the role of mothers in modern China. Therefore, focusing on how mothers are portrayed may serve as a cultural mirror as well as a window for Chinese values (Sims, [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref130">70</reflink>]). This study would suggest that limiting mothers to strictly domestic roles in picturebooks is becoming less prominent. Simultaneously, picturebooks portray mothers as warm, loving figures. Even as mothers were shown in these picturebooks, often depicted in comfortable household attire within home settings, they also emphasized positive emotions. Mothers are portrayed as playing an essential role in the home, reflecting traditional Chinese values. Pan ([<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref131">57</reflink>]) argues that Chinese culture is a family-oriented culture, with the lives of the Chinese people revolving around families, with mothers in a central role.</p> <p>However, as women's independence and autonomy are increasingly valued in Chinese society, the role of mothers as the Intelligent, All-Powerful Supermoms, and even Defective Mothers allows for an expansion of their portrayals in current bestsellers. These emerging scenes and roles show mothers in broader spaces for self-expression, such as showing mothers stepping out of the home, becoming an independent restaurant worker, or enjoying the beach. In the 21st century, China's free market economy and technological reforms have spurred an increasing focus on Chinese media regarding the status of women. Current bestselling picturebooks provide a window as well as a mirror (Sims, [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref132">70</reflink>]) into the sociocultural context of today's China, which is a result of old and new eras, no doubt.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-23">Conclusions and Recommendations for Practice</hd> <p>This content analysis explored the portrayal of mothers in bestselling picturebooks in China, examining both illustrations and text. The study highlights the influential role of picturebooks as a medium for shaping concepts, particularly for future generations' perspectives on gender roles. Picturebooks are a rich resource for teachers, parents, caregivers, and children to aid in developing a more expansive understanding of mothers. Additionally, bestselling picturebooks illustrate and prompt discussion and clarification of the current realities of gender, the labor force, parenting, as well as concepts of mothers and fathers, in China's current context.</p> <p>Certainly, authors, illustrators, and publishers should be mindful of how they portray mothers in their illustrations and text. Likewise, parents, teachers, caregivers, and early childhood professionals should intentionally consider illustrations, text, and engagement while avoiding gender stereotypes (Gordon & Roberts, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref133">25</reflink>]). However, even using a book laden with stereotypes, providing children with thought-provoking probes, such as "Who makes a good parent? Why? Who contributes to the household, and in what ways? Or, Who holds the power in this circumstance?, can elicit important and deep conversations. Actively engaging children in meaningful discussions about picturebooks, critically analyzing prior experiences, encouraging questions and interpretations, and reflecting upon illustrations and text (Qin et al., [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref134">60</reflink>]) will enhance and clarify understandings regarding mothers. Parents and teachers should make themselves very familiar with bestselling books in order to facilitate and support children in their journeys to understand the role of parents, mothers, and fathers through engaging books and critical discussions.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-24">Limitations and Future Research</hd> <p>Currently, changing economic systems, increasing awareness about gender and stereotypes, as well as women in the workforce seem to be influencing changes in publishing and family values (Li et al., [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref135">40</reflink>]). According to Kohlberg's ([<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref136">34</reflink>]) Cognitive Development Theory and Social Gender Theory (Rubin, [<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref137">63</reflink>]), the inputs provided and how children perceive gender roles in their early years is key to developing balanced gender concepts both in childhood and adulthood. Therefore, future research must continue studying the portrayal of mothers in both award-winning and popular children's literature, including anime, graphic novels, and chaptered novels, as an ongoing and long-term focus. Therefore, future research should explore influences from the West and from the entire China diaspora in terms of picturebook publication dates and origins, probing internal and external sociocultural influences on Chinese media, in particular children's literature and picturebooks. Seeing how picturebook publishers may influence and reflect changing social contexts may lead to an expansion of women's and mothers' roles in modern Chinese contexts.</p> <p>Tao ([<reflink idref="bib72" id="ref138">72</reflink>]) argues that media, in the broadest sense, are filled with enthusiastic praise for new, positive images in film, television, and social media of independent and autonomous women and mothers. However, China's reality is that the current situation of working mothers, who are straddling both domestic and workplace demands, is challenging. Future research should explore children's perceptions of the real-life situations of parents. Exploring the portrayals of fathers in picturebooks, as well as a comparison of parenting in terms of gender, are also fertile areas for future research. Knowing the impacts on children and families and the challenges that mothers face, delving into the core aspects of their roles and their influences is important. In conclusion, understanding how mothers are portrayed in bestselling picturebooks is a complex and multifaceted endeavor. The evolution of the roles of parents in China, as reflected in children's literature, will continue to be an important area of research, perhaps in terms of national ideology, sociocultural communications, media discourse, and evolving gender concepts in society. Certainly, the findings of the current study highlight a shift in the expansion of roles for mothers within the pages of bestselling picturebooks in China.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-25">Declarations</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0187863959-26">Competing Interest</hd> <p>The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work and have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-27">Appendix: Coding Protocols for Illustrations and Text</hd> <p>Graph</p> <p>Graph</p> <p>Graph</p> <hd id="AN0187863959-28">Publisher's Note</hd> <p>Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.</p> <ref id="AN0187863959-29"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref62" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Allen AM, Allen DM, Sigler G. Changes in sex-role stereotyping Caldecott Medal Award picture books, 1938–1988. 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  Data: An Analysis of the Portrayals of Mothers in Children's Picturebooks in China
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  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: Audience
  Label: Intended Audience
  Group: Audnce
  Data: Teachers; Parents
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Information Analyses<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Picture+Books%22">Picture Books</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mothers%22">Mothers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Illustrations%22">Illustrations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex+Stereotypes%22">Sex Stereotypes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+Issues%22">Gender Issues</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+Role%22">Parent Role</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Influences%22">Social Influences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+Influences%22">Cultural Influences</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22China%22">China</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1007/s10643-024-01725-6
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1082-3301<br />1573-1707
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Picturebooks are a unique and complex art form that combines both visual and textual elements. Based on Kohlberg's Cognitive Development Theory and Social Gender Theory, young children's perceptions are likely influenced by portrayals of mothers in picturebooks. Therefore, this content analysis examined both the text and the visual portrayals of mothers in 53 bestselling picturebooks from China between 2019 and 2022, related to the portrayals of mothers. The results revealed a wide and diverse range of representations of the mother's role through both illustrations and text in these popular picturebooks, contributing to the replacement of persistent gender stereotypes. Illustrations revealed patterns related to anthromorphic characters in about 66% of analyzed books as well as patterns related to gendered clothing, accessories, and scene placements, such as the aprons or the kitchen. Additionally, themes of the Caring Mother, Intelligent Mother, All-powerful Supermom, and Defective Mother emerged through our analysis based on the text. Finally, aligned within the Chinese sociocultural context and with Social Gender Theory, the paper provides authors, illustrators, educators, teachers, and parents with recommendations for creating, selecting, and leveraging picturebooks to serve as positive portrayals of mothers for young readers.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1483140
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1483140
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10643-024-01725-6
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 19
        StartPage: 2489
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Picture Books
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mothers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Illustrations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sex Stereotypes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gender Issues
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parent Role
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social Influences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cultural Influences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: China
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: An Analysis of the Portrayals of Mothers in Children's Picturebooks in China
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Yanqi Wang
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Bi Ying Hu
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Xiulan Cheng
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sherron Killingsworth Roberts
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 10
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 1082-3301
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1573-1707
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 53
            – Type: issue
              Value: 7
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Early Childhood Education Journal
              Type: main
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