Co-sleeping and the Importation of Picture Books About Bedtime

Abstract

In mainstream Western cultures where bedtime means isolation and separation from adults, picture books about bedtime are cultural artifacts created especially for this transitional process of separation. In a culture such as Taiwan where children often sleep with their parents, siblings, or other caregivers until elementary school, the need for picture books about bedtime is an imported concept. The large number of translated Western bedtime books found in Taiwan becomes a rich area in which to explore the impact of imported ideas of childhood on Taiwanese picture book creation. This article takes a close look at the books created by Taiwanese authors with a bedtime theme and notes their culturally hybrid qualities.