Paradise Restored: The significance of coincidence in some children's books

Pat Pinsent is a Principal Lecturer in English at the Roehampton Institute, London, where she teaches children's literature to undergraduates as well as courses on language and literacy for in-service teachers.     

Help! I'm selecting children's books

Publishing houses, like the “mill” in the old folk tale “Why the Sea is Salty”, churn out books unceasingly day after day. There are over 2,000 children's books published each year and these books are of varying quality.     

Representations of deaf characters in children's picture books

Picture books can influence how children perceive people of different backgrounds, including people with disabilities whose cultures differ from their own. Researchers have examined the portrayal of multicultural characters with disabilities in children's literature. However, few have specifically considered the portrayal of deaf characters, despite increased inclusion of deaf characters in children's literature over the past two decades. The present study analyzed the portrayal of deaf characters in picture books for children ages 4-8 years. A content analysis of 20 children's picture books was conducted in which the books were analyzed for messages linked to pathological and cultural categories. Results indicated that these books did not portray Deaf characters from a cultural perspective but, rather, highlighted aspects of deafness as a medical condition, one that requires fixing and that perpetuates stereotypes of deafness as a disability.     

Hyperactive children's underuse of learning time: correction by stimulant treatment

This study investigates the effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin) on hyperactive children's performance on a paired-associate learning task under 3 presentation rates (4, 8, and 12 sec per item). The total-time hypothesis states that a fixed amount of time is necessary to learn a fixed amount of material, regardless of the number of trials into which that time is divided. In a double-blind crossover design, the total-time hypothesis was supported by performance in a drug state, but not by performance in a placebo state, where slower presentation rates were not utilized effectively. These results are discussed in terms of inattention in the placebo state and improved attention and use of learning time in the drug state. The methodology presented is suggested as a means of assessing attentional deficits as well as providing a diagnostic procedure for objectively evaluating the appropriateness of stimulant treatment for children referred for symptoms of hyperactivity.     

A dialectical approach to the study of war in children's books

She has published several articles and has written two children's books, a preadolescent novel (forthcoming) and a picture book,Salt, Sea and Air (Macmillan, 1993).     

本土原创儿童科学绘本的发展策略研究

读图时代,儿童科学绘本降低了科学启蒙的门槛,使儿童在潜移默化中养成习惯性的求知欲。目前,我国大量引进国外儿童科学绘本,本土原创儿童科学绘本的种类较少。国外的科学绘本反映外国文化本位,大量引进国外作品妨碍本土原创儿童科学绘本的发展。本土原创儿童科学绘本要密切联系中国儿童的日常生活,及时反映中国先进的科技成果;从本土的视角看世界,弘扬中国的价值观;利用新媒体,注重互动性与趣味性;细分市场,针对不同年龄的受众。