Arizona State University Lantix Immigration Experiences Discussion

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A RT I C L E S
Representation of Latinx
Immigrants and Immigration
in Children?s Literature:
A Critical Content Analysis
S A N J UA N A C . RO DR IG U E Z & E LIZ A G A B R I E LLE B R A DE N
Using Latina/o critical race theory (LatCrit),
the authors examine 13 children?s picturebooks
published from 2010 to 2016 that depict Latinx
immigration experiences to the United States.
I dreamt that Mam? had the right papers and we
crossed the border together. Above our house, the
sky filled with fireworks and I knew that all the
other children would see their parents soon, too. I
was ready to eat Mam?s warm tortillas, to listen to
her bedtime stories, and to hear her beautiful voice
saying every single night, ?Buenas noches, mi Jos?.?
From North to South / Del Norte al Sur
(La?nez, 2010a, p. 32)
THE 2016 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL election put the
country?s immigration policies at the center of discussion in communities throughout the country, including in educational settings. The outcome of the election
sent many immigrant communities into panic due to
the anti-immigration and xenophobic rhetoric that was
pervasive before, during, and after the election (Galvan
& Taxin, 2016; Holpuch, 2016; Sacchetti & Wangsness,
2016). Since the election, the anti-immigration stance of
the current U.S. leadership has permeated classrooms
and after-school programs. Policies currently being
implemented and under continued discussion directly?and
negatively?impact the lives of children in U.S. schools.
Journal of Children?s Literature, 44(2), pp. 46?61, 2018.
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimated that
in the period from 2009 to 2013, there were approximately
5.1 million children under the age of 18 with at least one
undocumented immigrant parent (Capps, Fix, & Zong,
2016). Families in which one parent is undocumented
experience heightened levels of emotional distress, economic
instability, and unpredictability in their daily routines
(Dreby, 2012). These risk factors, plus generally lower
incomes and lower English proficiencies, put children in
these families at a disadvantage when compared to families
without citizenship or resident status concerns (Capps et
al., 2016). Moreover, families with undocumented loved ones
live with the fear and stress of facing deportation and the
resulting separation (G?ndara, 2017).
The steady increase in hate crimes toward
immigrants (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2017) has
heightened the focus on children?s literature with immigration themes as a means for opening dialogue with students
in school settings (Allen, 2013). In the wake of hate
crimes, anti-immigrant policies, and the 2016 election of
Donald Trump as president of the United States, it has
become increasingly vital for teachers to consider the
traumas immigrant children experience and to reflect on
what schools can do to mitigate some students? fears and
?Children?s Literature Assembly ISSN 1521-7779
Sanjuana C. Rodriguez & Eliza Gabrielle Braden Representation of Latinx Immigrants and Immigration
other students? misconceptions. Children?s picturebooks
are important because they are ?artifacts that convey
cultural messages and values about society and help
children learn about their world? (Koss, 2015, p. 32). Such
books are important educational tools that can be used
to affirm students? experiences and identities. Indeed,
research indicates that picturebooks have the potential to
help students understand issues around stereotyping and
othering by individuals who are unfamiliar with immigration experiences (Crawley, 2017; Thein, Beach, & Parks,
2007). Accurate and authentic picturebook stories focused
on immigration can help children who are dealing with the
emotional toll exacted by xenophobic policies (Allen, 2013)
and the public expression of anti-immigration sentiments
(Quintero, 2017) by accurately representing the realities of
their experiences.
Since the 2016 presidential election, the urgency to
provide humanizing stories about immigrant communities
in classrooms has grown. Xenophobic rhetoric dehumanizes children of immigrants and their families, particularly
when descriptors such as animals or criminals are used
repeatedly by the U.S. president (Davis, 2018; Neuman,
2018) and others. Such language also encourages others
to deny immigrants empathy. Because of these repeated
portrayals of immigrant families with undocumented
members as transgressors of boundaries, real or imagined,
it is critical for educators to respond to their students?
concerns through stories that offer multidimensional views
of immigrants and their lives.
As teacher educators at two different universities
in the U.S. South, we are not always sure how to respond
when practicing teachers tell us, ?My students are scared,?
?I do not know what to say back,? or ?I cannot believe they
wrote ?Trump hates Mexicans.?? However, we contend
that meaningful stories that reflect children?s immigration experiences?and surrounding issues the children are
dealing with in the current sociopolitical climate?must be
central to literacy curricula.
The New Latinx Diaspora, a concept that originated
in the 1990s, refers to the movement of Latinx peoples to
regions of the United States where they previously had not
been represented in large numbers (Clonan-Roy, Wortham, &
Nichols, 2016), such as Georgia and South Carolina. In this
New Latinx Diaspora, many people have come to hear the
urgent cries of children and families in immigrant communities who have been villainized by politicians, media, and the
public (Wortham, Murillo, & Hamann, 2002).
Working within such diasporic communities in the
South, we find it necessary to respond to the outcries of
teachers, families, and children by examining how recently
published books by Latinx authors about Latinx immigration might serve as windows and mirrors (Bishop, 1990)
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47
in our schools. As teachers and teacher educators, we
know well that children enter schools with a wide range of
personal and family immigration experiences. Texts may
serve as windows by helping teachers and children who do
not belong to the ethnic and cultural groups depicted, or
who do not have similar immigration experiences, to gain
new perspectives. By serving as mirrors, texts may offer
validating self-reflections. Both as mirrors and windows,
texts can create spaces for humanizing insights?showing
readers how their lives fit within a broader human experience (Bishop, 1992).
Bishop?s (1990) concept behind windows and mirrors
highlights the importance of exposing young readers to
multiple representations of identities and experiences in
order to develop their ability to participate compassionately
in a multicultural society and to provide authentic reflections so children recognize themselves as valued members
of society. Thus, the aim of this article is to examine the
immigration experiences of Latinx child characters in
picturebooks, analyzing the portrayals for their potential
impact as mirrors and windows for students in today?s
schools. This study builds on research that explores Latinx
representation in children?s literature by specifically
attending to how authors of picturebooks include complicated issues of Latinx immigration. Since Latinx children
and families are still underrepresented in children?s literature, analysis of how this topic is handled in the available
texts is essential.
The study focused on the following research
questions: (1) How is the immigration experience for
Latinx immigrant children and children of immigrants
represented in realistic fiction picturebooks with significant Latinx content? and (2) How are Latinx immigrant
children and children of immigrants themselves
represented within that text set?
Theoretical Framework
Our analysis was informed by critical race theory (CRT)
(Delgado & Stefancic, 2001; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995;
Sol?rzano & Yosso, 2002) and, specifically, Latina/o critical
race theory (LatCrit) (Delgado Bernal, 2002; P?rez Huber,
2010; Sol?rzano & Yosso, 2001). CRT is a conceptual tool
for interrogating the constructs of race and racism. Its core
assertion is that racism is institutional and systemic (Bell,
1987; Sol?rzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001). Sol?rzano (1998)
noted that key tenets of CRT include ?(1) the centrality
and intersectionality of race and racism, (2) the challenge
to dominant ideology, (3) the commitment to social justice,
(4) the centrality of experiential knowledge, and (5) the
interdisciplinary perspective? (p. 122).
We also used LatCrit (Delgado Bernal, 2002; P?rez
Huber, 2010; Sol?rzano & Yosso, 2001), which extends
JOURNAL OF CHILDREN?S LITERATURE
48
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CRT to focus on the experiences of the Latinx community.
LatCrit can be used to ?reveal the ways Latinas/os experience race, class, gender, and sexuality, while also acknowledging the Latina/o experience with issues of immigration
status, language, ethnicity and culture? (P?rez Huber,
2010, p. 79). Believing that history informs current realities
of people of color, LatCrit theorists have also used racist
nativism as a conceptual framework to help understand
how historical, racialized experiences shape contemporary
experiences of Latinx undocumented immigrants (P?rez
Huber, Benavides Lopez, Malag?n, Velez, & Sol?rzano,
2008). Specifically, racist nativism ?explains how perceived
racial differences construct false perceptions of People of
Color as ?nonnative? and as not belonging to the monolithic
?American? identity? (P?rez Huber, 2011, p. 382). This definition is particularly important for our study because we
specifically focus on the experiences of Latinx immigrant
children in children?s literature.
Literature Review
The history of Latinx children?s literature as a whole in
the United States has not been well documented due to the
diversity of experiences represented by this multifaceted
group of people (i.e., peoples with different nationalities,
languages, and histories) (Reimer, 1992) and because of
the multiplicity of terms that have been used (e.g., Latinos,
Hispanic) (Nilsson, 2005). As Nilsson noted, early research
on issues of representation in Latinx children?s literature
often focused on the amount and type of literature by
featuring specific subgroups, such as literature featuring Mexican or Puerto Rican people or literature written
by authors from those and other specific Latinx groups
(e.g., Nieto, 1982a, 1982b). This early research focused on
representations of specific groups in literature, while our
current study focuses on a specific issue. In this article, we
attend to representations of children?s immigration experiences within the particular subset of Latinx children?s
literature.
ANALYZING REPRESENTATION
Some more recent studies have documented ways in which
specific Latinx peoples, or concepts related to Latinx
peoples overall, are represented (Acevedo, 2017; Braden &
Rodriguez, 2016; Chappell & Faltis, 2007; D?vila, 2012;
Mart?nez-Rold?n, 2013). In her study of Puerto Rican
children?s literature, Acevedo (2017) found that the literature failed to problematize the economic issues the island
and its people face. Instead, such children?s literature has
often portrayed Puerto Rico as a magical place. Chappell
and Faltis (2007) studied language and cultural practices in
Latinx literature and found that Latinx children?s literature
portrayed children as ?largely unaware of their parents?
JOURNAL OF CHILDREN?S LITERATURE
home cultures and disconnected from extended family
members? (p. 259). Both of these studies are examples of
problematic representations of Latinx people in literature.
Although researchers have examined themes of
immigration and stories of border crossing in children?s
literature (L?pez-Robertson, 2010, 2011, 2012; Mart?nezRold?n & Newcomer, 2011), few studies have examined
immigration in children?s literature with a focus on the
analysis of the texts (e.g., Bousalis, 2016; Chappell & Faltis,
2007; Cummins, 2013; Sung, Fahrenbruck, & L?pez-Robertson, 2017). Cummins (2013) identified patterns among 11
young adult novels on the topic of border crossing between
Mexico and the United States. Central to Cummins?s
analysis was the use of ?empathetic outreach? and ?borderlands ethical stance? (Anzaldu?, 1987/2007). Cummins
(2013) used Gloria Anzald?a?s concept of ?empathetic
outreach? to describe how books have the potential to
foster empathy for those living in different situations. He
also used Pablo Ramirez?s concept of a borderlands ethical
stance to describe how ?individuals justifiably violate laws
due to a personal way of knowing? (p. 60). Thus, one is not
to be considered a criminal when the conditions surrounding migration are immediate and necessary for the migrant
to stay alive. Using these two frames, Cummins described
fundamental characteristics of selected border-crossing
texts and discussed how the literary works he examined
offered ways for all readers to have sympathetic connections
to undocumented children and families.
Sung et al. (2017) analyzed the representations of
female characters? immigration experiences to the United
States in four award-winning novels for middle-grade
readers (usually aged 8 to 12). Drawing on postcolonial and
colonial frameworks and using intertextuality as a tool for
critical analysis, the authors found that ?tensions, conflicts,
abuse, sadness, and despair were common characteristics?
displayed in texts about immigrant families (p. 56). They
revealed that the novels, published between 2000 and
2006, provided an awareness of immigrants? familial and
historical backgrounds but generally failed to provide a
postcolonial critique of stereotypes and biases imposed
on immigrants by the global community. This failure to
critique biases demonstrated a lack of effort to cast doubt
on the trustworthiness of accepted ideas held by the
majority or to provide what Delgado and Stefancic (2001)
referred to as a counter-narrative. Counter-narratives
are central to CRT and to literature that takes up critical
issues, providing alternative stories that serve to expose
and delegitimize historically privileged narratives.
Bousalis?s (2016) study of 98 trade books across two
peak immigration eras (1880?1930s and 1980?2010s)
revealed that little had changed in the portrayal of
immigrants. With the harshest stereotypical storylines
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Sanjuana C. Rodriguez & Eliza Gabrielle Braden Representation of Latinx Immigrants and Immigration
given to Mexicans, authors often portrayed Mexicans as
?migrant workers, living in run-down neighborhoods,
loitering in parks, participating as gang members, and
being undocumented? (p. 24). In a related study, Chappell
and Faltis (2007) examined the ways Latinx children?s
literature portrayed cultural models of being bilingual
in the United States. Their analyses of seven children?s
books with bilingual and cultural themes made a number
of assertions regarding immigration, including that the
texts made immigrant assimilation to American culture
the norm. Notably, Chappell and Faltis found that the
message portrayed in the stories suggested that in order
to become successful Americans, immigrants needed to
relinquish their languages and cultures. Altogether, these
studies demonstrate that a large body of Latinx children?s
literature has failed to represent complex tensions associated with identifying as Latinx today. These tensions
include the stresses of being falsely labeled as criminals,
having one?s home language vilified, and being considered
a burden to society rather than being viewed as an asset.
PROMOTING DISCUSSION
Immigration-themed texts can be used with young children
to open up spaces where young children can share their
knowledge and experiences (Allen, 2013; Mart?nez-Rold?n &
L?pez-Robertson, 1999/2000; Mart?nez-Rold?n & Newcomer,
2011; Osorio, 2016). In Osorio?s (2016) study, second-grade
students connected to immigration-themed texts selected
by their teacher, reflecting on their experiences of bordercrossing events and of being treated differently based on
race. Through discussion and digital writing activities in
response to reading literature grounded in Latinx immigration, Allen?s (2013) third-grade Latinx students in the U.S.
state of Georgia linked recent immigration policy shifts in
their state with the national rhetoric about immigration. The
children shared intimate knowledge about the sociopolitical
forces of policy and social attitudes around immigration that
were impacting their families. In a study about immigrant
students? interpretations of Shaun Tan?s The Arrival, a
wordless graphic novel that blends realistic and fantastical immigration motifs, Mart?nez-Rold?n and Newcomer
(2011) found that students drew on personal experiences to
make sense of the book and to co-construct meaning of the
text with other students. Overall, these studies demonstrate
the possibilities for young children?s engagement with the
complex topic of immigration in classrooms when they have
access to literature that is connected to their lives and
opportunities for discussion.
DUALITY OF LATINX CHILDREN?S LIVES
Critical multicultural texts are ?children?s literature that highlights diversity and social justice issues
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49
relevant to diverse learners? (Braden, 2017, p. 482).
Critical multicultural literature about immigration
has the potential to afford first- and second-generation
immigrant children the space to draw on their experiences as they make sense of text as part of an interpretive community (Allen, 2013; L?pez-Robertson, 2011;
Mart?nez-Rold?n & Newcomer, 2011; Osorio, 2016). Some
examples of texts used by Osorio (2016) include the books
Waiting for Pap? / Esperando a Mi Pap? by Rene Colato
La?nez (2004), Super Cilantro Girl / La Superni?a
del Cilantro by Juan Felipe Herrera (2003), and From
North to South / Del Norte al Sur by Rene Colato La?nez
(2010a). As a group, these texts address issues about
borders and immigration status and how these issues
impact children.
What appears to be missing from children?s literature are narratives that speak to the duality of students?
lives?that is, those that reflect the legality and process
of immigration and also recognize the burdens created for
children in the process. Additionally, although the United
States has seen an influx of unaccompanied minors, the
majority of Latinx students in U.S. classrooms were born
in the United States (Krogstad & Lopez, 2014). Finally,
recently under Trump?s ?zero-tolerance? immigration
policy, thousands of young Latinx immigrant children have
been separated forcibly from their families at the United
States / Mexico border and have been dispersed across the
nation to be placed in foster care (Dickerson, 2018). Thus,
researchers and teachers need to account for the ways
mixed-status families?that is, families of one or more
undocumented parents whose children were born in the
United States?are portrayed in stories. And, there must
also be an account of accompanied and unaccompanied
minors as well as of minors removed involuntarily from
their parents? care.
Importantly, although the reported studies discussed
earlier highlight children?s literature discussions with
peers and their teachers around this topic, the actual
literature described in the studies has not touched fully
and deeply on the multifaceted nature of being Latinx in
America during the turbulent debates around immigration and mixed-status origin that occurred leading up
to, during, and after the 2016 presidential election. For
example, the complex transnational identities of children
of immigrants are often unexplored. These youth may
maintain significant ties to two or more nations (Skerrett,
2015). This knowledge and perspective are often left out
of classrooms and children?s literature; however, ?these
repertoires provide a powerful potential resource for
literacy education? (p. 18). These repertories refer to
students? experiences and wealth of knowledge that they
acquire in living a transnational lifestyle (Skerrett, 2015).
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Methodology
This study is a critical content analysis (Johnson, Mathis,
& Short, 2016) of picturebooks that include Latinx
immigration content. The data sources included 13 picturebooks published between 2010 and 2016. We used a LatCrit
lens to analyze the picturebooks. The analysis methods,
including the data coding and analysis, and the questions
that guided our analysis are described below.
DATA SOURCES AND SAMPLING
This study developed from a larger project involving critical
content analysis of fiction picturebooks with significant
Latinx content (Braden & Rodriguez, 2016). That research
prompted us to think about immigration in picturebooks.
We began this study by revisiting the subset of those
books, all published in 2013, that pertained specifically
to immigration. By limiting this study to picturebooks,
we were able to focus our analysis on content in books
designed to be read by young children.
To expand our pool, we conducted searches for
books that included the content of Latinx immigration.
Because this study focused on books with Latinx content,
we reviewed the award-winning book lists for the Pura
Belpr? Award and Tom?s Rivera award and conducted an
online search of a community library online catalogue using
keywords such as immigration and Latino. We also searched
the Amazon website in order to find books that were widely
accessible and that included the topic of Latinx immigration. Additionally, conducting broad Google searches?using
terms such as immigration picture books, Latinx immigration picture books, and picture books about immigration?
helped us find books that were missed initially. We also
used worldcat.org and searched for the terms emigration
and immigration juvenile fiction and separation of persons
juvenile fiction to ensure that no books were overlooked.
We began the study with a focus on picturebooks
published in the last five years (2013?2017, at the time of
the study) because we wanted to examine books situated
in the current sociopolitical context. However, since that
search yielded only eight books, we expanded our time
frame to include picturebooks published after 2010. This
time period coincided with two statewide immigration
policies that impacted the nature of classrooms in the New
Latinx Diaspora. Alabama?s HB 56 (2011) and Georgia?s
HB 87 (2011), both of which were based on Arizona?s SB
1070 (2010), created some of the harshest immigration
policies in the United States. For example, police officers
were authorized to check the immigration status of anyone
with whom they came into contact, which created a fear
that permeated communities.
This extended publication time frame yielded 16
picturebooks. Of these 16, we chose not to include three.
TABLE 1
Book Titles, Storyline Summaries, and Additional Information
Summary
of the Book
Point
of View
Argueta, J. (2016).
Somos como las
nubes / We are
like the clouds. (A.
Ruano, Illus.)
This book, written in verse, details the journey and hardships
that young people embark on when they leave their home
country in search of a better life in the United States.
First person
(multiple
children)
Buitrago, J. (2015).
Two white rabbits.
(E. Amado, Trans.)
(R. Yockteng, Illus.)
This story details the experiences of a little girl and her
father as they embark on their journey to the United States.
Throughout their travels, the little girl counts everything
that she sees.
Danticat, E. (2015).
Mama?s nightingale: A
story of immigration
and separation. (L.
Staub, Illus.)
Dismondy, M. (2015).
Chocolate milk, por
favor! (D. Farrell,
Illus.)
Book
Immigration
Status of
Protagonist
Border
Crossings
Country
of Origin
Immigrant child
Multiple
border
crossings
(Guatemala
and Mexico)
El Salvador
First person
(child)
Immigrant child
Multiple
border
crossings
Unknown
(paratext
identifies
as Central
American
country)
A little girl?s mother is sent to an immigration detention
center. After Saya visits her mother in the detention center,
her mother begins to record bedtime stories for her to listen
to. After talking to her father about his frustration over not
receiving answers about his wife?s detention, Saya writes a
letter to the newspaper. This letter receives media attention,
which leads to her mother?s case being heard in court.
First person
(child)
Child of immigrants
None
Haiti
A little boy named Gabe begins his first day of school in the
United States. Johnny thinks that he is a crybaby for crying
on the first day of school. He does not like that Gabe does
not speak English. In the end, Gabe and Johnny find that
they have common ground in their love for soccer.
Third
person
Immigrant child
None
Unknown
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Sanjuana C. Rodriguez & Eliza Gabrielle Braden Representation of Latinx Immigrants and Immigration
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TABLE 1 CONT.
Book Titles, Storyline Summaries, and Additional Information
Summary
of the Book
Point
of View
Immigration Status
of Protagonist
Border
Crossings
Kingsley, L. (2015). Blue
skies for Lupe.
A little girl named Lupe is born with a disability in Mexico.
Her mother decides to immigrate to the United States
because she had heard there is better health care there than
in Mexico. The book details the experiences of Lupe as she
starts school and learns to speak English and move around
in her wheelchair.
First person
(child)
Immigrant child
Border crossing
detailed in illustrations and the text;
text discusses
how Lupe and her
mother crossed
the Mexican
desert
Mexico
La?nez, R. C. (2010a).
From North to South
/ Del norte al sur. (J.
Cepeda, Illus.)
Jose?s mother is deported: She was at work and did not
have ?papers.? Jose and his father travel to Tijuana to
see his mother. His mother is in a shelter for deported
mothers.
First person
(child)
Immigrant child
Crossing the
border from
United States to
Mexico to see the
mother
Mexico
(parents)
La?nez, R. C. (2010b).
My shoes and I. (F.
Vanden Broeck,
Illus.)
A mother sends a little boy a pair of shoes. He uses these
shoes as he travels from El Salvador to meet his mother
in the United States. The little boy details his treacherous
journey by detailing what has happened to his shoes.
First person
(child)
Immigrant child
Multiple border
crossings? text
discusses Mario and
his father crossing
the borders in
Guatemala and
Mexico
El
Salvador
La?nez, R. C. (2016).
Mam? the
alien / Mama la
extraterrestre. (L.
Laucamara, Illus.)
A little girl named Sofia finds her mother?s permanent
alien card and believes that her mother is an actual alien.
In the end, she finds out why her mother has the card
when she goes with her mom to her citizenship ceremony.
First person
(child)
Child of immigrant
None
Unknown
Mateo, J. (2014). Migrant:
The journey of a
Mexican worker. (J.
Mart?nez Pedro,
Illus.)
A young immigrant boy and his family make the dangerous
journey from Mexico to the United States. The illustrations in this book are presented in codex.
First person
(child)
Immigrant child
Medina, M. (2015).
Mango, abuela, and
me. (A. Dominguez,
Illus.)
Mia?s abuela comes to live with Mia and her parents in
the city. Mia is not able to speak Spanish. She soon
discovers that her abuela is not able to speak English.
Mia has an idea to buy a parrot. This helps them to have
something to talk about and to bond.
First person
(child)
Child of immigrants
None
Unknown
Mora, P., & Martinez,
L. (2014). I pledge
allegiance. (P.
Barton, Illus.)
Libby?s great-aunt Lobo passes her citizenship test and is
practicing the Pledge of Allegiance so she does not forget
it for her ceremony. Libby is also going to lead the class
saying the pledge. They practice together for the big day,
and Libby learns about her great-aunt?s story.
First person
(child)
Immigrant child
None
Unknown
Stewart, S. (2012).
The quiet place. (D.
Small, Illus.)
This book begins as a little girl named Isabel writes a letter
to her aunt as she crosses the border with her family.
Isabel arrives in the United States and continues to tell
about her adjustment to living in a new country by writing
letters. She details how she uses cardboard boxes that
she gets from homes when her mother cooks for parties.
These boxes become her quiet place as she adjusts to life
in the United States.
First person
(child)
through the
writing of
letters
Immigrant child
Border crossing
from Mexico to
United States
shown in illustrations and briefly
discussed in the
text
Mexico
Tonatiuh, D. (2013).
Pancho Rabbit
and the coyote: A
migrant?s tale.
This story is an allegory that details how Pancho Rabbit
goes north to look for his father, who does not return.
On his way, he meets a coyote who offers to help him in
exchange for his food. They travel together and then the
coyote decides that he will eat Pancho when he runs out
of food.
Third
person
Immigrant child
Border crossing is
main content of
the book
Mexico
(identified in
paratext)
Book
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Mexico
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I?m New Here (O?Brien, 2015) was excluded because it
included children from multiple countries outside Latin
America and our focus was on immigration from Latin
American countries. Although Good-bye Havana! Hola,
New York (Col?n, 2011) did deal with immigration from
a Latin American country, this book was set in 1959 and
our study was concerned with current immigration issues.
Let?s Go See Pap?! (Schimel, 2010) was excluded because
it dealt not with the immigration journey, but with a
child?s reflection on how she missed her father who had
already immigrated and what she would miss once she
has left to join him. Table 1 includes the book titles and
storyline summaries of the 13 books included.
DATA CODING AND ANALYSIS
We used critical content analysis (Beach et al., 2009;
Johnson et al., 2016) to analyze the data. Critical content
analysis entails
a close reading of small amounts of text that are
interpreted by the analyst and then contextualized
in new narratives?.What makes the study ?critical?
is not the methodology, but the framework used to
think within, through, and beyond the text. (Beach
et al., p. 130)
A LatCrit lens was overlaid as a theoretical
framework and an analytical guide in order to allow a
focused exploration of the ways Latinx immigration experiences were portrayed. This lens allowed us to place race at
the center of the analysis, thus focusing specifically on the
Latinx immigration experience, while still considering the
intersectionality of race and racism with gender, class, and
language (Sol?rzano & Yosso, 2002).
Central to CRT overall and to the more specific
LatCrit approach we took is the notion of counternarratives. Counter-narratives are ?a method of telling
a story that aims to cast doubt on the validity of
accepted premises, especially ones held by the majority?
(Delgado & Stefancic, 2001, p. 144). Our analysis
sought to understand the narratives and counternarratives that were presented by the texts about the
immigration experience. Our analysis also explored
issues of race and racism in the ways Latinx immigrant
protagonists were represented in the text. Finally, we
also decided to engage in emotion coding (Salda?a,
2012). Emotion coding allowed us to label the emotions
and feelings that the characters in picturebooks were
experiencing. We were particularly interested in the
range of emotions displayed by the child characters in
the picturebooks.
We began our analysis of the picturebooks by reading
several of the texts together, working to establish the
JOURNAL OF CHILDREN?S LITERATURE
framework based on LatCrit that we would use to code the
books. In particular, we developed the following questions
that guided our initial coding:
1. How are Latinx immigrants portrayed in picturebooks
that include immigration content?
2. How is the immigrant experience of Latinx characters
portrayed through the images and text? (Do the experiences
challenge the dominant ideologies about immigration?)
3. Are there any intersections between gender and
immigration?
4. How are children?s voices and experiences represented?
5. What emotional toll is described as related to the
children, and how is it represented?
6. What family structures are portrayed in the books?
7. What assumptions are made about the immigrants and
their reasons for immigrating?
We began