Examining Representations of Asian American Characters on the Covers of Award-Winning Picturebooks and Young Adult Novels

• In Event: Critical Theoretical Approaches in Children's and Young Adult Literature

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative multimodal content analysis study was to understand how Asian American characters and stories are represented on the covers of fifteen award-winning children’s and young adult literature published from 2017-2023. This study is rooted in Asian critical race theory and also draws from theories of multimodality and visual culture. Following systematic analyses of each cover’s visual and verbal aspects, the authors found that: (1) A wide range of Asian and Asian American identities were represented; (2) Many covers situated their story within a broader network of stories, experiences, and histories; (3) Picturebooks or children’s book covers challenged conceptions of Asian Americans as forever foreigners; and (4) YA covers tended not to represent characters’ Asian American identities.

Authors

• Stephanie F. Reid, University of Cincinnati

• Shuling Yang, University of Maryland - Baltimore County