Beverley Brenna

Picture Book Characters with Disabilities: Patterns and Trends in a Context of Radical Change

This study, framed through a lens of Radical Change, examines selected Canadian and American picture books featuring characters with disabilities. While aspects of diversity such as cultural difference are consciously included in contemporary children’s books, differences related to disability are often absent. In this study, qualitative content analysis identifies patterns, trends, and themes related to characterizations that involve disabilities, proposing critical literacy as a framework through which children may interrogate messages in text and illustration.

Characters with Disabilities in Contemporary Novels for Children: A Portrait of Three Authors in a Framework of Canadian Texts

A study of 50 contemporary Canadian novels for children and young adults explores patterns and trends regarding the construction of characters with disabilities, becoming a frame for the portraits of three Canadian authors, including a self-portrait. An adaptation of the Bakhtinian notion of the chronotope, applied to literary theory, provides a lens within which aspects of time and space are identified in relation to the internal chronotope of these characterizations, as well as in relation to the external chronotope of particular authors’ iterations, within their work, of actual space and time. A conceptual framework of critical literacy is used to highlight implications for including as classroom resources, texts about characters with disabilities.

Patterns and Trends in Contemporary Canadian Verse-Novels for Young People

This qualitative content analysis identified patterns and trends in a contemporary set of Canadian verse-novels for young people. Twenty-two books were located in our search for titles published between 1995 and 2016, and many of these emerged as award-winners in various contexts including the Governor General’s Award for children’s literature (text). Dresang’s notion of Radical Change, adapted for this interrogation, illuminated particular elements of these societal artifacts worthy of notice. While studies have occurred regarding textual forms or formats and reader characteristics, specific work with the verse-novel and its use with struggling and reluctant readers is limited, with professional articles appearing in place of research-oriented discussions. Scrutiny of available verse-novels is important as it opens a door for explorations of these resources with participants in classroom settings.

A school curriculum for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: advice from a young adult with FASD

ABSTRACT While a significant number of individuals in Canada and globally are affected by prenatal fetal alcohol exposure, scant research exists that focuses specifically on the subjective experiences of this population. Based on a single case study exploring through Photovoice methodology the life experiences of a young adult with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), this research paper utilises Schwab’s curriculum commonplaces as a framework to present results pertinent to the field of Education. Four themes emerged that illuminate the participants’ resilience and self-awareness of issues related to independence versus support, strengths and challenges, attitude and adaptation strategies, and advice for others. Curriculum suggestions based on the findings are offered for educators working with young people with FASD in general education settings. Further implications for Education and suggestions for additional research are included.

Creating Characters with Diversity in Mind: Two Canadian Authors Discuss Social Constructs of Disability in Literature for Children

Children’s authors have not traditionally developed characters with disabilities to include a multiplicity of traits, crafting instead static, uni-dimensional portrayals. While books with depictions of characters with identified exceptionalities have appeared on bookstore shelves and awards’ lists, these characters have generally been relegated to subsidiary positions, assisting other main characters in their growth and development without demonstrating parallel learning. Two Canadian authors discuss their conceptualization of characters with special needs, exploring personal narratives which have informed their work and concluding that children require book collections which explore multi-levelled characters, encouraging readers to discover real life heroes within and among themselves.