La mosaïque culturelle du Canada dans la littérature de jeunesse de langue française: une analyse des albums, de 2003 à 2012

Abstract

Children’s multicultural literature contributes to the development of the child who is culturally different from the majority. It also enables all children, regardless of their cultural background, to develop their beliefs and attitudes towards the other. However, it is important to consider the ideologies conveyed in the books that they encounter. This article presents an analysis of 1,132 picture books published by French Canadian publishers from 2003 to 2012. The first part of the research consisted of an assessment of the number of picture books in which we found visible minority characters. We also took into account the cultural origins of authors and illustrators. In the second part, we conducted some analysis in order to identify ideologies promoted in multicultural picture books. The results show that there are important gaps between the representation of visible minorities in children’s literature and the Canadian reality. They also suggest discrepancies between ideologies conveyed in picture books and Canadian values in regards to multiculturalism.