Sagan om flyktingarna : En kvalitativ analys om hur flykt och flyktingar porträtteras i samtida barnböcker

The Story of the Refugees: A Qualitative Analysis of how Refugees and Refugeeism are Portrayed in Contemporary Picture Books The aim of this study is to examine how refugees and refugeeism is portrayed in contemporary picture books. The study takes an intersectional and a discursive perspective, investigating how power structures and categories such as gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and class interact to narrate the characters as well as the storyline and theme of the books. The purpose is to outline the systematic description of refugeeism and integration in picture books. The study is based on an analysis of twelve picture books for children between the age 3–6, published in the last four years, accessible in schools of Malmö City, and its Public Library. The results of this study indicate that the use of picture books can be viewed as a method of social work. They can be used to inform, explain and educate children about social problems and work to create dialog and initiate treatment of trauma or hardship connected to refugeeism. Moreover, through focusing on representativity and avoiding stereotyping minority groups within society, such as refugees, picture books has the potential to be an effective tool within social work practice against discrimination. By highlighting this, the present study provides important insights into the construction of refugeeism and refugee stories communicated to children