A PHYTO-ANALYTICAL APPROACH TO SELECTED CONTEMPORARY CHILDREN’S BOOKS: ECO-PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

Beyond its entertainment value, children’s literature contributes to cognitive, affective, and behavioral development through its content. Given the growing importance of sustainability and ecological issues in today’s world, children’s books play a critical role in shaping and reshaping children’s ecological perspectives and learning. This is simply because children’s literature lends itself to ecological and environmental issues, given its long-standing, close thematic relationship with nature. Despite this, the portrayal of plants in literary studies, including children’s books, remains understudied. Hence, this study investigates the representation of plants in contemporary children’s books through the Phyto-analytical approach, eco-pedagogy, and critical theory. Accordingly, 11 children’s books for ages 8 and 10 were analyzed using multiple close-reading procedures. Findings indicated problematic aspects in the portrayal of plants and revealed that, while plants are visible across the selected texts, they are not presented as agents or empowered beings. Plants are predominantly portrayed in anthropocentric ways, serving as metaphors, decorative elements, or sources of food and materials for human consumption without any critical-evaluative position attached to their being. The pedagogical implications are discussed to inform teachers and parents about the potential negative effects of such portrayals.