63.087-8 - Reading as Transformative: The Power of Texts to Spark the Imagination of Young Readers

• In Event: 63.087 - Sheraton Roundtable Session 11 - Grand Centre

Session Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

Our working group roundtable will focus on the transformative power of texts to spark the imaginations of young readers. The four members of our roundtable are from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Each of us are doing qualitative work that seeks to understand young people’s engagement with children’s literature. Specifically, we are interested in how the reading process prompts readers to explore their identities, imaginations, and understandings of the world in complex, critical ways. While our papers have many complementary themes (such as race, language, memory, time, and space) our methodological designs are different, as are our diverse areas of expertise. Our projects will therefore benefit from being put into dialogue.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Writing and Literacies

Chair

• Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, University of Pennsylvania

Papers

• Reading and Remembering: Self-Reported Early Encounters With Race in Children's Literature - Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, University of Pennsylvania

• Weaving Connections Through Response to Canadian Children's Literature - Heather Ann Phipps, University of Regina

• Exploring the Transformative Effects of Nonfiction Picture Books Through a Study of Young People's Engagement With the Threshold Concept of Evolution - Erin Elizabeth Spring, University of Calgary; Eve Tandoi