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  • Silent voices of homelessne...
    Kim, Jinhee; Wee, Su-Jeong

    Early child development and care, 02/2020, Volume: 190, Issue: 3
    Journal Article

    There are many students experiencing homelessness in the U.S. school systems. However, homelessness in children's literature has been studied little. This article discusses how homelessness is portrayed and illustrated in children's picture books published in the U.S. A total of 25 books, written in English and published in the U.S. from 1990 to 2016 for pre-k to 3rd grade readers, were selected for analysis. Drawing on the perspectives of post-structural lens of discourse and critical literacy, the analysis revealed that homelessness has been addressed in stereotypical ways, centering on mainly male adults living in public spaces. People experiencing homelessness were described as passive recipients of help from others with pathological view and subjects with no voices for their situations. The solution for homelessness was limited, temporary, and seasonal in the books. Homelessness was also portrayed as an individual matter rather than being caused by structural social inequities.