A descriptive view of the portrayal of Jewish and Christian lifestyles in award-winning children's books from 1960 to 1990 using content analysis

The extent to which Jewish and Christian lifestyle actions were portrayed in 62 children's books of accepted literary worth was studied. The researcher read the Newbery award book and one Newbery honor book for each year in search of actions that Jewish and Christians active in their faiths deemed important. The sample consisted of the Newbery award book and one Newbery honor book for each year from 1960 to 1990. A content analysis of 13 action categories found that the five most common actions were (1) compassionate/ charitable deeds, (2) telling others about God, (3) prayer, (4) worship attendance and (5) reading the Bible. No significant change in the frequency of the 13 actions was found over time. However, the researcher found that Jewish and Christian lifestyles were portrayed only nominally in the Newbery books. The sample distribution shows that 65 percent of the sampled books contained fewer than the mean of 4.9 actions per 100 pages. Only six books contained strong Jewish or Christian characters - that is, main characters whose faith in God was portrayed as playing an important role in everyday life. Jewish characters of any kind (prominent or obscure) were found in only three books. Of the eight books that contained more than 10 actions per 100 pages, only one was about people in a contemporary setting: The Great Gillv Hopkins (1979). Actions were recorded regardless of which character committed them. In four books, characters' actions seemed inconsistent with the rest of the character's portrayed lifestyle. Some books contained a large number of actions contrary to Judeo-Christian lifestyles, with portrayals of hate and cruelty far outweighing portrayals of Jewish or Christian lifestyle actions. The most extreme of these wereThe Tombs of Atuan (1972) and The Witches of Worm (1973). Other studies have asserted that multicultural literature should be preferred because children need positive exposure to all cultures. This study concludes that portrayal of the cultures of committed Jews and Christians has not been common of the Newbery books since at least 1960.Department of JournalismThesis (M.A.