When most people think about popular children's books, they imagine kids running through fields of daisies or children speaking to small woodland creatures who need their help. However, a new study from researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found that in recent years,
natural play has all but vanished from children's literature.
The study, published in Sociological Inquiry, involved the winners of the American Library Association's well-known Caldecott Medal. The sociologists looked at the winners from 1938 (the first year the prize was given out) through 2008. In total they reviewed more than 8,000 pictures and illustrations.
The pictures were evaluated based on whether they showed a natural environment, a built environment (such as a house) or a modified environment (a cornfield or nicely kept lawn for example). Researchers also looked to see if pictures showed animals, and if they did, they were classified as either domestic, wild or anthropomorphized, meaning they took on human-like qualities.
From the results, sociologists found that modern books have less to do with wildlife and being outdoors than older stories.
"There have been significant declines in depictions of natural environments and animals, while built environments have become much more common," said lead author Allen Williams Jr.
Researchers noticed that illustrations of built and natural environments were "almost equally likely to be present" in books from the 1930s to the 1960s, however in the late 70s, the number of built environments increased while natural environments decreased.
Williams said that the gap grew significantly in every decade from the 70s on, while the presence of animals in stories also started to decline beginning in the '60s. Even the roles of cats and dogs started to diminish over time.
These results might be surprising to some, and researchers believe the lack of natural influence in kids books may hinder youngsters' ability or desire to engage in
outdoor play or take care of the environment as they age.
"These findings suggest that today's generation of children are not being socialized, at least through this source, toward an understanding and appreciation of the natural world and the place of humans within it," said Williams.
Parents who are concerned that their youngsters aren't getting enough information about nature from books can opt to have them experience the real thing by taking them outside. Kids can embrace the outdoors by taking their dogs for walks, going fishing or by using
commercial playground equipment.