Depicting Dementia
Representations of Cognitive Health and Illness in Ten Picturebooks for Children
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21409161 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elizabeth Caldwell (0000-0002-9946-1661, Lancaster University, corresponding author), Sarah Falcu (0000-0001-8850-6935, University of Huddersfield), Katsura Sako (0000-0002-9783-7805, Keio University) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 106-131 |
| Publication date | 2021-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Children s Literature in Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0045-6713 • E-ISSN: 1573-1693 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10583-020-09405-w |
| OpenAlex | W3011164573 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 35 |
It is estimated that a third of children know someone living with dementia, and there are now many picturebooks for young children that help to explain the changes dementia can bring to family life. Despite their number, there has been little examination of what these books communicate about health and illness. To address this, the current study presents a close visual and textual analysis of 10 recent picturebooks in English that aim to teach children about dementia. Our analysis reveals that in these books dementia is exclusively framed in terms of ageing, and as an illness of older adults. Furthermore, the books rely heavily on mechanistic metaphors to explain the causes of dementia. However, at the same time the “still the same person” narrative is dominant. This narrative emphasises the importance of foregrounding the unique history and personality of the person living with dementia, and offers a way to help children to continue meaningful relationships with their relatives. These books employ often ageist tropes of decline in the depiction of dementia and yet at the same time support a narrative of ongoing personhood, reflecting the complexity of broader social discourses around dementia and selfhood
Art · Dementia · Depiction · Developmental psychology · Disease · Foregrounding · Literature · Narrative · Narrative inquiry · Personhood · Children's Rights and Participation · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Medicine · Psychology · Themes in Literature Analysis
‘I will not lie down and take this without a fight’
Ageing and Childhood
Portrayals of disabilities in Children’s fiction
Exploring Dementia in Children’s Literature
Core Themes and Emerging Trends in International Children’s Literature Research
I still hope it’s just a blip”
Artificial intelligence and visual discourse
Rumor Has it
Visualizing dementia and stigma
The Alzheimer Conundrum
How Picture Books Work
Dementia As a Cultural Metaphor
The woman in the body
The Biopolitics of Postmodern Bodies
Contemporary Narratives of Dementia
Alzheimer's Disease Metaphors as Mirror and Lens to the Stigma of Dementia
Gender, citizenship and dementia care
Dementia and the gender trouble
A Child's Eye View
A Literature of Questions
The living dead? The construction of people with Alzheimer's disease as zombies
The health-promoting family
Ageing, dementia and the social mind
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,25 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |