Through the Eyes of Caribbean Immigrants: Reimagining Our Future with Children’s Picture Books

• In Event: AER Roundtable Session Friday 1:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Inclusion, Transnationalism, and Pedagogical Innovation in Africa and the Caribbean

Abstract

This critical multimodal discourse analysis examines readily available picture book stories that depict Caribbean islands, the Caribbean experience, and/or the Caribbean immigrant life in the United States from 2013-2023. From the local library, 22 children's books were sourced and using a critical multicultural lens the themes of: (1) back matter, (2) community, (3) cultural food/artifacts, (4) family/home (5) home language, (6) immigration, and (7) nature were found throughout. These findings show that picture books have the potential to reaffirm past harms or to depict nuanced, embodied, and authentic realities moving forward; it's a critical time to support Caribbean children who have lived the immigrant experience in viewing and imagining their worlds with agency and equity.

Author

• Natakki Jones, University of Rhode Island