This study analyses the representation of relationships between human beings and nature in contemporary children’s and young adult literature. The corpus consists of picture books that have won awards in 21st-century competitions organized by publishers that publish in Spanish and distribute their works in Spain. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach, specifically through a multiple case study. The analysis identified twenty-three picture books in which these relationships are significant, grouped into three categories: 1) harmony between humans and nature; 2) degradation of nature by human action; and 3) fascination with nature. In thirteen cases, oppression towards animals or ecosystems and denaturalization are evident. However, most works do not explicitly point to those responsible for environmental degradation, and only a small number encourage reflection on the potential of collective action. The study concludes that the predominant discourses are reformist in nature (Bradford, 2003), presenting damage as manageable without questioning underlying political-economic structures. Furthermore, a widespread absence of a sense of place (Filipova, 2022) is observed, which may limit understanding of inequalities and social injustice linked to ecological problems.
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Carballal-Miñán, P., Sobrino-Freire, I., & Larragueta, M. (2026). The relationship between nature and human beings in award-winning picture books of the 21st Century. Ocnos. Journal of reading research, 25(2). https://doi.org/10.18239/ocnos_2026.25.2.628
Carballal-Miñán, Sobrino-Freire, and Larragueta: The relationship between nature and human beings in award-winning picture books of
the 21st Century
Introduction
Children’s literature has linked childhood with nature since the 19th century, following
the Rousseauian idea that children “están mejor predispuestos para entender la naturaleza
y para entrar en contacto con ella” (). However, it has also reflected historical tensions between humanity and the natural
environment. With the 20th century environmental movement, nature came to be considered
not only a privileged space but also a victim of human beings (; ; ).
Within the field of literature for both adult and young audiences, the ecocritical
perspective has allowed scholars to examine how the degradation of nature threatened
by human presence is represented in literary works, while also exploring whether the
natural environment is once again conceived as a privileged and idealised space. Drawing
on this perspective, this article analyses the relationship between people and nature
in a corpus of ninety-seven illustrated picture books that were awarded prizes in
the 21st century in competitions run by publishers that regularly distribute their
works in Spain and with Spanish as one of their languages of publication. The article
also aims to identify which discourses are privileged in what is transmitted to young
readers, whether the relationship between human beings and other living creatures
is critically examined, whether care for the environment is encouraged, and whether
contemporary picture books propose responses that might mobilise citizens to act collectively
in response to the current climate crisis.
Human Beings and Nature in Children's Literature
In children's literature, nature has played a central role from a variety of perspectives.
Works have emerged that aim to show young readers the diversity of the natural world
(), while others explore the conflict between human beings and other forms of life
— such as Moby Dick — or focus on human domination over the environment — such as Robinson Crusoe () —. However, romanticised visions of nature have also been transmitted — present
in the works of A. A. Milne () — and stories have been written in which the world constitutes a source of fascination
and exploration — cites the works of Jules Verne, and those of Mark Twain. Other classic works of fiction, such as those of Jack London,
denounce the mistreatment of animals (). In numerous works, animals are portrayed with human traits, as in the stories of
Beatrix Potter, who was committed to environmental preservation and sought to offer
a harmonious image of nature (). In recent years, however, the anthropomorphisation of animals has been questioned
due to the complexity of its semiotic implications (), and several scholars — , and — argue that attributing human traits to animal characters could imply a form of
symbolic domination.
Children's Literature, Ecology and Ecocriticism
Since the last third of the twentieth century, children's literature has incorporated
themes that echo environmental concerns, informed by ecological principles. The 1970s
brought changes that consolidated the modern concept of ecology, the expansion of
children's publishing, and the emergence of its academic study; this convergence opened
the way for environmental considerations and, subsequently, for a critical discourse
().
From that point on, works for young audiences incorporated new themes related to nature.
The ecocritical lens revived critical reflection on human action upon the environment
and the exploitative relationship between human beings and other species (), in line with the environmental turn in the humanities and social sciences. The
critique of the Anthropocene, considered as the period in which human beings became
“una fuerza a escala planetaria [que] tal vez sea ya el principal agente de cambio
en la Tierra” (De-Cózar-Escalante, 2019, p. 14), has prompted theoretical and political
approaches and challenges, as well as alternative ways of relating to the natural
world. Environmental justice movements have reinforced the premise of Cheryll Glotfelty
— founder in 1992 of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) — that “human culture is connected to the physical world, affecting it and
affected by it” (). Moving beyond the opposition between nature and culture, a range of inter- and
transdisciplinary fields have emerged, including science and technology studies, environmental
history, hybrid geographies, materialist and relational ontologies, animal studies,
posthumanist thought, literary ecocriticism, biosemiotics, political ecology, multispecies
anthropology, and more recently, environmental humanities as a transversal and inclusive
platform (), alongside ecofeminism, which denounces the oppression of nature by men within the
capitalist system ().
Within literary studies, ecocriticism emerged in the United States in the late 1970s
(; ). Glotfelty defines ecocriticism as the study of the relationship between literature
and the physical environment; as a critical stance, it situates itself between literature
and the earth, and as a theoretical discourse, it mediates between the human and the
non-human ().
Picture Books and Ecocriticism
If the starting point of ecocriticism was the founding of ASLE in 1992 — followed
by the organisation's journal, Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment (ISLE) —, three years later studies on children's and young adult literary works
would begin. In 1995, a special issue of the journal The Lion and the Unicorn titled “Green Worlds: Nature and Ecology” (1995) was published, alongside another
on “Ecology and the Child” in Children's Literature Association Quarterly (winter of 1994–1995). In 1996, ISLE published a collection of essays on Dr. Seuss's
The Lorax (). From these years onwards, the ecocritical perspective on children's literature
began to attract the interest of the international research community ().
Thanks to these studies, it is possible to observe the evolution of the representation
of nature in children's literature. In the Hispanic context, describes how environmental problems began to emerge in the 1970s and how the works
of the following years depicted specific and localised natural disasters and accidents,
while also denouncing those responsible. Towards the final decade of the twentieth
century, however, children's literature spread awareness on global ecological problems
and adopted “un discurso basado en recomendaciones para fomentar pautas de conducta
responsables” (), urging children to follow it. In addition to looking back at classic works, ecocritical
studies of literary texts aimed at children have examined how specific natural elements
are reflected in children's literature (; ; ; ). Furthermore, several analyses, such as those of , , and , have examined themes related to nature in picture books, which are increasingly
prominent in the current publishing landscape.
Most of the studies cited above on illustrated children's literature have focused
on two of the lines of inquiry that Flys et al. (2010) consider central: the place
occupied by nature in literary works and the recovery of the tradition of those writers
who have paid particular attention to the natural environment. However, the focus
of the present study is on a third line (also explicit in the aforementioned article):
the relationship between nature and human beings. In this regard, in a 2003 study,
Clare Bradford (drawing on the theories put forward by ) classified responses to environmental problems in several picture books according
to whether they aligned with reformist discourses, which considered ecological problems
manageable within the political economy of industrial society, or radical discourses,
which advocated for the reform of political and economic structures. Building on this
distinction, the present study aims to examine which environmental discourses underlie
picture books, what kinds of responses are offered to ecological problems, and whether
collective action and citizen participation are encouraged.
The issues raised by have also been taken into consideration. Gaard raised the following questions: “Does
the narrative conclusion offer an appropriate strategy for responding to the problem
posed in the story, rejecting hierarchy in favour of community and participatory democracy?
Are children left alone to solve ecojustice problems originally created by adults?”
(p. 328).
Sources and Methodology
Given the prominence of the picture book within the field of children's literature
in recent years, this article focuses on the corpus of the research project “Literatura Infantil y Juvenil Actual, Cultura y Educación- Ilustraciones del álbum” funded by Universidad Camilo José Cela, comprising award-winning picture books,
in order to address the research questions. The study draws on the premises of and , who focus on literary prizes as shapers of the canon due to their potential to legitimise
literary quality and their capacity to reach young audiences through mediators. The
results are therefore expected to be, if not representative, at least valuable for
addressing the research questions posed.
To this end, a qualitative study is conducted, specifically a multiple case study
(). The aim is to describe how the research questions are addressed within the aforementioned
corpus, which consists of ninety-seven award-winning picture books from seventeen
prizes established in the 21st century by publishers with wide distribution in Spain,
and in which one of the languages of publication is Spanish:
- Premio Internacional Compostela para álbumes ilustrados (Kalandraka).
- Concurso Internacional de Álbum Infantil Ilustrado “Biblioteca Insular. Cabildo
de Gran Canaria” (Edelvives).
- Concurso Internacional de Álbum Ilustrado Biblioteca Insular de Gran Canaria (A
Buen Paso).
- Premio Internacional de Ilustración (SM).
- Premio Apila Primera Impresión (Apila).
- Premio Internacional Ciudad de Fuengirola (OQO).
- Certamen Internacional de Álbum Infantil Ilustrado "Ciudad de Alicante" (Anaya).
- Premio Destino Infantil - Apel·les Mestres de álbum ilustrado (Destino).
- Etxepare Saria para la creación de álbumes infantiles (Pamiela).
- Premio Literario Internacional Ciudad de Benicarló - Modalidad álbum infantil ilustrado
(Onada).
- Premio álbum ilustrado (Sargantana).
- Certamen Princesa de Éboli (Anaya).
- Premio Algar de Literatura Infantil - Modalidad cuento (álbum) (Algar).
- Premio Internacional Enric Solbes d'Àlbum Il·lustrat (Bromera).
- Premio de Álbum Ilustrado Miguel Calatayud. Villa de Aspe (Degomagom).
- Concurso de Álbum Ilustrado A la orilla del viento (Fondo de Cultura Económica).
- Premio Internacional de Álbum Ilustrado Edelvives (Edelvives).
The work carried out in this study was developed in several stages. First, a thorough
compilation of data was undertaken relating to the winners of all editions of the
awards under study, covering the period from 2000 to 2023. Subsequently, the information
gathered was recorded and systematised, facilitating the digitisation of the award-winning
works. This step was fundamental in ensuring access to and processing of the texts
in digital format, enabling the researchers to carry out a collaborative analysis
of the works.
Research Questions and Considerations
The analysis was guided by the research questions outlined above:
- Which discourses are privileged in the picture books in the corpus?
- Do they critically examine the relationship between human beings and other living
beings on the planet?
- Do they encourage care for the environment?
- Do they propose responses that might mobilise citizens to act collectively in response
to the current climate crisis?
In this regard, we consider it necessary to include some observations about the corpus.
On the one hand, all award-winning picture books have been included, meaning the sample
includes both picture books with literary text and wordless picture books. On the
other hand, since the study is limited to award-winning picture books, the age range
of the intended readership has not been considered.
We have also drawn on contributions such as those of , who analyse animal anthropomorphisation from a complex perspective. In this context,
we specify whether animals are presented as wild, whether humanisations function as
metaphors for the human condition, and the implications of these characterisations.
We have likewise incorporated the reflections of , and , who critically examine representations of humanised animals as strategies of domestication
or affirmation of the centrality of the human species, and which reduce the anti-speciesist
potential of children's fiction.
Analysis
Of the ninety-seven titles examined, twenty-three feature significant relationships
between human beings and nature, representing 22.31% of the sample (the list of the
twenty-three picture books is provided in Appendix I). Given that the relationships between human beings and the natural environment vary
considerably, three thematic categories have been established, which are described
and analysed below:
1. Harmony between human beings and nature.
2. Degradation of nature by human beings
3. Human fascination with nature.
Harmony between human beings and nature
The first category comprises eight titles in which harmony between human beings and
other living creatures on the planet is given priority. Representations of traditional
societies dominate, presented as respectful of the environment. Farms, where animals
coexist peacefully, are the settings for Nilo y Zanzíbar, by Javier García Sobrino and Cristina Müller-Karger, and Un loro en mi granja, by Pep Bruno and Lucie Müllerová. The animal characters are humanised and domestication
appears to be assumed as the natural state of agricultural settings. The events of
Una última carta, by Antonis Papatheodoulou and Iris Samartzi, take place in the idyllic community
of what appears to be a Greek island, where its inhabitants live in harmony, and in
Jacinto y María José, by Dipacho, two children spend their childhood in a village among mangroves and
wild animals. De cómo nació la memoria de El Bosque, by Rocío Martínez, tells the story of a table which, after being made by a woodcutter,
takes on new lives and functions before returning to the forest. In Mamá, by Mariana Ruiz Johnson, through parallels between a woman who has become a mother
and several wild animals with their babies, 'la idea abstracta de madre se concreta
y se expande al mismo tiempo, ya que transciende lo humano y se extiende a la naturaleza
en su conjunto' (). This biologistic and idealised vision of motherhood, set within an idyllic natural
environment, represents an example of non-constructivist feminism () and stands in opposition to the city, with its factories and pollution, where the
protagonist's son goes when he separates from his mother.
In two of the picture books in this category, La huerta de Simón, by Rocío Alejandro, and La sopa de Tomás, by Joan Subirana Subí, farmland is a space in which the community comes together
to carry out agricultural tasks. These books have a more utilitarian focus, highlighting
concepts such as the importance of mutual aid and collaboration, perhaps because they
are aimed at very young readers. Animals are anthropomorphised: in the first case,
they are the only actants in the story and may therefore be interpreted as metaphors
for human beings, while in the second, anthropomorphised animals live alongside a
farmer and his granddaughter. Following the argument proposed by , the harmonious coexistence depicted in these books appears to be subordinated to
a hierarchy between humans and animals.
Degradation of nature by human beings
The second category comprises eleven picture books in which the relationship is not
ideal and where human beings and their practices rather constitute forms of oppression,
harm or threat towards other living creatures and the natural environment. At times,
the human intervention that destabilises other systems is resisted, although individual
responses predominate, initiated by non-human characters. In El ladrón de sombreros, by Susana Sutherland de la Cruz and Rafa Vivas, an unnamed agent reveals the characters'
heads and the hats come to occupy the branches of trees burnt in a fire, serving as
nests for birds returning from migration. Animals confront human oppression in two
titles. In La fuga, by Cristina Oleby and Pablo Pino, it is the elephant protagonist, tired of working
in the circus, who escapes on his own from the exploitation to which he is subjected
in search of freedom (although the humanisation of the character reduces the strength
of his wild nature). And in La sombra del rey, by Elena Hormiga, once again talking animals face the monarch, who intends to cut
down a tree in order to enjoy its shade. In Ahab y la ballena blanca, by Manuel Marsol, an adaptation of Moby Dick (a non-humanised whale) manages to
throw the captain off course and causes him to abandon his obsession.
However, in El último safari, by Hadi Baghdadi, a hunter, after being saved from falling off a cliff by a flock
of birds, redeems himself by giving up hunting. In four cases it is the child protagonists
who attempt to repair the damage. In El perro de Milu, by Mariann Máray, a girl single-handedly advocates for anti-speciesism, freeing
a bear (notably, a non-humanised one) from the zoo. This picture book highlights the
importance of empathy towards animals and critiques human practices that harm them,
encouraging reflection on the ethical treatment of other species. Again, another girl,
the protagonist of Tan especial como quieras ser, by Raquel Díaz Reguera, opposes the felling of a tree at her school, and her protest
is joined by her mother and a group of firefighters. This example, which is the only
one in the category in which the threat targets only a plant species, shows how individual
action can trigger a collective response, highlighting the importance of peaceful
resistance and civic action in protecting the natural environment. The story underlines
that even the youngest can lead movements for change and that community solidarity
is crucial in facing ecological challenges. Similarly, in Laura y la tortuga, by Laia M. Ledesma and Carme Ledesma, and in Monstruo verde, by Canizales, the child protagonists act to resolve the problem, first on their
own and then by mobilising collective action. However, the overly explicit message
of both works undermines any potential literary value, reducing the picture books
to mere models of behaviour rather than artistic works (note also the humanisation
of the tortoise character in the first of the two works). Indeed, both books seem
destined for educational practices in which, as argues, precedence is given to “el objetivo de captar adeptos a una causa ideológica
al de educar lectores” (p. 89).
Other times, the damage caused by human activity goes unanswered within the literary
narrative. In Bandada, by David Daniel Álvarez and María Julia Díaz, the decline of the civilisation of
humanised birds, which has even subordinated other species represented without humanisation
(the circus once again appears as a metaphor for speciesism, in which a saddened tiger
performs), has affected every individual. The story ends without a clear resolution,
but with a glimmer of hope in the younger generation. This picture book critiques
structures of power and exploitation, suggesting that new generations have the potential
to do things differently. By offering no easy resolution, it invites readers to reflect
on the root causes of environmental problems and the need for systemic change. In
Esperando el amanecer, by Fabiola Anchorena, the animals of the jungle, who are the narrative voice and
have witnessed a devastating fire, must learn to survive after the catastrophe without
any assistance (we understand this applies equally to the trees and plant species
destroyed). However, in one of the double-page spreads, the animals appear to look
directly at young readers, urging them to help. This picture book stands out as an
exception among those discussed, for two reasons. The first is that, in the final
paratext, the author herself recounts how the story is based on the fires that devastated
the Amazon in 2019, while others were also occurring in Australia and several European
countries. Furthermore, the author also distances herself from the other examples
described by pointing to those truly responsible for the disaster: “las personas poderosas
que ven a la Amazonía, a nuestro planeta como un negocio más”. At the same time, she
frames her own book as an act of protest: “este proyecto es mi pequeña contribución,
y desde aquí alzo mi voz de protesta” (), and introduces young readers to those cohesive groups that confront environmental
disasters and show a path of civic struggle that readers can follow:
Agradezco enormemente que en Perú existan comunidades nativas de pueblos indígenas
(…) que se preocupan por la conservación y vigilancia de los bosques de la Amazonía.
En todo el mundo existen organizaciones a las cuales apoyar y también contribuir con
ellas difundiendo el gran trabajo que hacen al proteger nuestros bosques, los pulmones
de la tierra ().
It is worth noting that in this second category, harm inflicted on animals predominates
as an example of the violation of nature. In the case of plant species, the felling
of trees is only critically examined in La sombra del rey and Tan especial como quieras ser. In Esperando el amanecer, the fire has also affected plant species, but the focus remains on the jungle animals.
In Monstruo verde and Laura y la tortuga, the contamination of habitats appears, but the emphasis is not placed on the plant
kingdom. Therefore, harm to animals is represented more prominently than harm to plants
in this category.
Human Fascination with Nature
Finally, the third category includes four picture books centred on a lack of contact
with nature, which the child protagonists resolve. This is the case of Selva, by Marina Gibert; El bosque dentro de mí, by Adolfo Serra; ¡Qué niño más lento!, by Lucía Serrano Guerrero; and Un árbol, by Rodrigo Mattioli.
The first two titles share several similarities. Both are wordless picture books,
both feature children fascinated by natural environments in a kind of romantic reinterpretation,
and both end with the protagonists bringing nature back to the cities to which they
return. In Selva, a child explores a lush natural environment, reflecting a romantic vision of nature
as a space of discovery, wonder and play. In El bosque dentro de mí, the young protagonist discovers at the edge of a lake a being who reveals to him
the secrets of the forest, the birds and the starry sky. Both works present an idyllic
vision of nature and childhood, as notes, and portray children as agents of change and the rewilding of cities (). However, these are individual responses, there is no collective action or civic
collaboration, nor do any ecological problems appear, only the distance between the
city and the forest or jungle. These are titles that stimulate the imagination and
foster a connection with the environment, continuing the trend in children's literature
of the 1990s (). The jungle and the forest serve as spaces of subjectivity and discovery, of imagination,
adventure and self-exploration for the young characters, with whom readers are invited
to identify in order to reconnect them with nature (), in the spirit of wonder proposed by . Both Selva and El bosque dentro de mí share features with other works examined by : “finales felices” and “el hecho de partir de la dicotomía entre espacio natural
y espacio urbano, valorando el primero sobre el segundo y proponiendo un mayor equilibrio
entre ambos” (p. 43). In this regard, and midway between literature and didacticism,
sits Un árbol by Rodrigo Mattioli, in which the child protagonist creates an entire ecosystem by
planting a single tree, but does not rewild a city as in the previous cases.
Finally, ¡Qué niño más lento! evokes the Horatian topos of the beatus ille. Overwhelmed by the pace of life of the characters around him (his mother, father,
teacher and classmates), the child protagonist discovers peace and tranquillity on
the outskirts of the city, in a rural environment populated by characters who enjoy
the unhurried rhythm of nature, and in which the rediscovery or discovery of the natural
environment becomes the happy ending of the character's narrative journey.
It is worth noting in this final section that animals are always portrayed in a non-humanised
way, perhaps reflecting a gradual anti-speciesist outlook in children's literature
that has become increasingly established in recent years () and which seeks to be more respectful of non-human animals by refraining from attributing
human characteristics to them that might prove domesticating ().
Results and Conclusions
After analysing and classifying the data, here are the results of the research questions.
First of all, the relationship between human beings and other living creatures on
the planet appears significant in twenty-three books. Of these, thirteen reflect a
lack of contact with nature, as well as harm or threat towards animals or ecosystems,
which highlights the relevance of this issue in the analysed corpus.
Eleven of the thirteen belong to category 2, degradation of nature by human beings,
and two to category 3, fascination of human beings with nature. This indicates that
more than half of the corpus presents scenarios of environmental damage, revealing
a significant tendency towards the critical analysis of the nature-humanity relationship.
However, and as already noted, some caveats must be made regarding this explicit critical
analysis. The first is that there are six picture books in which harm, oppression
or deprivation towards the natural world is referenced but those responsible do not
appear: La Fuga, El perro de Milu, Laura y la Tortuga and El ladrón de sombreros, Selva and El bosque dentro de mí.
In seven instances there are identifiable aggressors, although the tendency is for
the perpetrators of the harm to be individual characters: the monarch in La sombra del rey, the hunter in El último safari, or Ahab in Ahab y la ballena blanca. The school headteacher in Tan especial como quieras ser also appears as the culprit for wanting to cut down the tree in the playground, although
he seems to represent a collective "we" (the school management or staff, who are never
named).
Only in three works — El monstruo verde, Esperando el amanecer and Bandada — culpability is conceived as collective. In the first case, the child protagonists
are responsible, although it is acknowledged that pollution and rubbish are collective
problems. In the other two books, the culprits are identified (the powerful people
who see the Amazon as a business — as indicated by Anchorena's paratext — and the
civilisation of birds, respectively). Therefore, in these thirteen analysed books,
an attenuation of human responsibility is observed alongside the attribution of harm
to individual actions, which contributes to diluting the notion of collective responsibility.
Secondly, we examine who assumes responsibility for repairing the damage and resolving
conflicts between human beings and the natural world in the stories. Within the thirteen
books that present oppressions or threats towards nature, eleven titles are analysed
in this section, because they include explicit repair strategies on the part of the
actants of the plots themselves (Bandada and Esperando el amanecer are therefore excluded). Of this subset, in two cases (El último safari and El monstruo verde), it is the human perpetrators themselves who repair the infraction committed. In
El ladrón de sombreros, resolution is present but its agency remains unknown. In three works, human help
is omitted, as are the animals who manage to escape the threat (Ahab y la ballena blanca), solve the problems caused by people (the elephant in La fuga), or help other endangered species (the lion in La sombra del rey, who protects the tree). In the remaining three books, children repair the damage
inflicted by adults, as occurs in El perro de Milu, or renaturalise their cities individually (Selva and El bosque dentro de mí). had already noted that one of the tendencies in children's and young adult literature
was to strengthen the identification between child characters and young readers in
order to reconnect them with nature. However, it could also be interpreted as a tendency
to leave children alone to resolve the ecojustice problems originally created by adults
().
Even so, the fact remains that only in the books with more explicit and less nuanced
messages (Monstruo verde and Laura y la tortuga) does environmental commitment extend to more characters, including adults. However,
following , this type of illustrative work tends to present child protagonists with an almost
hagiographic quality, which could distance readers rather than encourage them to explore
possible solutions to environmental problems.
Overall, the eleven books analysed (those that include repair strategies, whether
by human perpetrators, animals or children) present reformist discourses, as the damage
is shown as manageable and does not imply modifying political-economic structures,
which are not identified as responsible.
Nor is the system held responsible in the only examples of collective repair (Tan especial como quieras ser and Laura y la tortuga). These books promote a critical citizenship that is in solidarity with nature through
strategies such as peaceful resistance and civic action, although their effectiveness
in encouraging reflection is limited. Furthermore, the approach is utilitarian and
moralising, more oriented towards educating in environmental care than towards offering
a literary work that allows young readers to draw their own conclusions (). This reinforces the idea that, even in cases of collective repair, the approach
remains utilitarian and more pedagogical than literary.
By contrast, only the discourses inherent to two works could be considered radical
(): Bandada and Esperando el amanecer, as they identify those responsible for the damage, which is exposed and left unresolved
in order to encourage young readers to question the political-economic structures
that have allowed it and to exercise agency in the face of these problems, while preserving
the artistic quality of the books. The first book calls into question an entire civilisation
of birds that has fallen into decline and suggests that perhaps childhood can do things
differently and not repeat the mistakes of adults (once again, responsibility is shifted
onto the younger generation). In the case of Esperando el amanecer, Fabiola Anchorena identifies those responsible for the fires in the Amazon — the
powerful people who profit from nature — and who are sheltered by the political systems
that sustain predatory capitalism towards the environment. She also charts a course
for young readers to confront environmental injustice collectively and through organised,
ecologist collective action that is taking place in various parts of the world, although
it is important to note that this explicit discourse appears in a paratext, and not
in the literary work itself. We believe that this is what distinguishes this book
from those that are more overtly didactic.
Consequently, radical discourses are exceptional and are concentrated in works that
foster critical thinking about the system and the potential of collective action.
However, in addition to the primacy of reformist discourses in the studied corpus,
another characteristic of the books is worth highlighting. With the exception of Esperando el amanecer, all the stories lack a sense of place (); that is, they are narrated from locations without distinguishing features or without
geographical identification. While it is true that this delocalisation of the stories
can lead to the idea that all ecological problems are global, it also poses a risk
for readers, who may fail to understand that, in terms of environmental justice, it
is the most socially and economically deprived places and social groups that are most
vulnerable to environmental degradation, extractivism and the climate crisis (; ). believed that ecocriticism "will become a multi-ethnic movement when stronger connections
are made between the environment and issues of social justice, and when a diversity
of voices are encouraged to contribute to the discussion" (p. xxiv) and, with the
exception of Anchorena's work, the books in the corpus do not allow for this, which
hinders readers' perception of the inequalities and social injustice that underlie
ecological problems. The absence of concrete localisation therefore limits the understanding
of environmental inequalities and reduces the connection between ecology and social
justice.
Nevertheless, this analysis has shown that the relationship between human beings and
nature and, more particularly, the concern towards the environmental crisis is gaining
presence in award-winning children's literature in recent years, or that a growing
tendency towards the incorporation of ecological themes in children's and young adult
literature is becoming evident. Indeed, nine of the thirteen books that thematise
damage to nature have been awarded prizes and published in the last five years. Even
so, the studied corpus is highly heterogeneous from an ideological point of view,
as it spans a range that moves between indoctrination and well-meaning simplicity
— aligned with a protectionist conception of childhood — and openly critical and potentially
transformative positions — which link childhood with the notions of agency and citizenship.
Likewise, the fact that the Bologna Ragazzi Awards have incorporated a special category
dedicated to sustainability suggests that children's ecoliterature may not be a passing
trend, but rather an important tendency in the current literary landscape. Only time
will tell what role the new discourses on ecology and global justice will play in
children's literature.
Authors’ contributions
Patricia Carballal-Miñán: Formal analysis; Conceptualisation; Data curation; Writing - original draft; Writing
- review and editing; Investigation; Methodology; Resources; Validation; Visualisation.
Iria Sobrino-Freire: Formal analysis; Conceptualisation; Data curation; Writing - review and editing;
Investigation; Methodology; Resources; Validation; Visualisation.
This work is part of the AICEC project, funded by the XII Research Call of the Universidad
Camilo José Cela.
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Appendix
Appendix I. Picture books examined, listed chronologically by award
Premio Internacional Compostela para álbumes ilustrados Kalandraka
Díaz-Garrido, M. J., & Álvarez-Hernández, D. D. (2012). Bandada. Kalandraka.
Ruiz-Johnson, M. (2013). Mamá. Kalandraka.
Samartzi, I., & Papatheodoulou, A. (2016). Una última carta. Kalandraka.
Alejandro, R. (2017). La huerta de Simón. Kalandraka.
Máray, M. (2019). El perro de Milu. Kalandraka.
Gibert, M. (2021). Selva. Kalandraka.
. Esperando el amanecer. Kalandraka.
Concurso Internacional de Álbum Infantil Ilustrado “Biblioteca Insular. Cabildo de
Gran Canaria” (Edelvives)
García-Sobrino, J., & Müller, C. (2007). Nilo y Zanzíbar. Edelvives.
Sutherland-de-la-Cruz, S., & Vivas, R. (2008). El ladrón de sombreros. Edelvives.
Bruno, P., & Müllerová, L. (2009). Un loro en mi granja. Edelvives
Premio Apila primera impresión (Apila)
Mattioli, R. (2019). Un árbol. Apila Ediciones.
Baghdadi, H. (2023). El último safari. Apila Ediciones.
Premio Destino Infantil - Apel·les Mestres de álbum ilustrado (Destino)
Díaz-Reguera, R. (2022). Tan especial como quieras. Destino Infantil & Juvenil.
Hormiga, E. (2024). La sombra del rey. Destino.
Premio álbum ilustrado (Sargantana)
Ledesma, L. M., & Ledesma, C. (2024). Laura y la tortuga Editorial Sargantana.
Premio Internacional Enric Solbes d'Àlbum Il·lustrat (Bromera)
Canizales (2020). Monstruo verde. Algar.
Subirana-Subí, J. (2021). La sopa de Tomás. Algar.
. La fuga. Bromera.
Concurso de Álbum Ilustrado A la orilla del viento (Fondo de Cultura Económica)
Martínez, R. (2008). De cómo nació la memoria de El Bosque. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Dipacho (2009). Jacinto y María José. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Serrano-Guerrero, L. (2010) ¡Qué niño más lento! Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Serra, A. (2016). El bosque dentro de mí. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Premio Internacional de Álbum Ilustrado Edelvives (Edelvives)
Marsol, M. (2014). Ahab y la ballena blanca. Edelvives.
