Paper farms. A content analysis of sixty children’s picturebooks on farming and the rural environment

This chapter presents a study of 60 children’s picturebooks on the topic of farming and the rural environment published over the last four decades. The books were analysed in relation to 12 indicators of content realism and assigned one of three realism ratings. We found that consciously faithful representations of real-life agricultural systems are rare. Nevertheless, if carefully mediated and related to real-world scenarios, this kind of picturebook may enhance children’s awareness of their ties with rural areas.