Little bugs and wicked viruses : communicating the COVID-19 pandemic through picturebooks for children

Caldwell, Elizabeth and Falcus, Sarah (2021) Little bugs and wicked viruses : communicating the COVID-19 pandemic through picturebooks for children. Journal of Science and Popular Culture, 4 (1). pp. 3-19. ISSN 2059-9072

[thumbnail of Little_bugs_and_wicked_viruses_J_of_Science_and_Popular_Culture]
Text (Little_bugs_and_wicked_viruses_J_of_Science_and_Popular_Culture)
Little_bugs_and_wicked_viruses_J_of_Science_and_Popular_Culture.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (300kB)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the production of large numbers of books to educate children about the novel coronavirus and the measures to control its spread. The books have been produced by a wide variety of different individuals and organisations, from health professionals and educators to national public health organisations and the United Nations. This study provides a detailed analysis of 73 picturebooks about coronavirus / COVID-19 available in English and produced between March and June 2020. The analysis reveals that the books combine early scientific knowledge about the novel coronavirus with pre-existing connotations of germs to produce a specific, comprehensible cause for the social disruption produced by the pandemic. This portrayal is frequently used to mobilise children to be heroes and fight the virus through a number of behavioural measures, principally frequent hand washing and staying at home. The books also reveal adult anxieties about the nature of childhood and the uncertainty of the nature and timing of a post-pandemic future.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Science and Popular Culture
Additional Information:
© Elizabeth f. Caldwell and Sarah Falcus, 2021. The definitive, peer reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Journal of Science and Popular Culture, 4, 1, 3-19, 2021 [name of journal, volume, issue, pages, year, https://doi.org/10.1386/jspc_00022_1.
Subjects:
?? covid-19coronaviruspciturebookshealth educationhalth communicationchildren's books ??
ID Code:
157508
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
21 Jul 2021 15:35
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
16 Mar 2024 00:59