Cartographica The International Journal for Geographic Information and Geovisualization · 1995 · 24 citations · 0 references
EducationEarly Childhood EducationGeographyEarly LiteracyNarrative StudiesNarratologyNarrative SkillsNarrative SpaceSpatial CognitionSpatial NarrativeSpatial RepresentationSpatial StorytellingChildren's GeographiesGeo-storytellingGeographic StorytellingGeovisual Narrative StructuresSpatial NarrationSpatial Narrative StructureSpatial NarratologySpatial Reasoning Skills
The purpose of this study is to assess the geographical content of a sample of popular children's storybooks. We surveyed twenty-five children's story-books, ranging in reading level from pre-school to grade four, for the kinds of locatives (spatial concepts) used to communicate, and the kinds of spaces used to illustrate, each locative. Results suggest that story-books for children reflect Bracken's developmental progression as to locative terms in story-books for children of different ages. Results also suggest prototype locatives (which are a basic subset of locatives that can be used communicate spatial relationships) in the development of spatial image schemata. Lastly, results indicate an absence of references to geographic spaces. Recommendations are made that encourage the creation of children's story-books strong in geographical content.