Red in Tooth and Claw? Images of Nature in Modern Picture Books

This article questions whether the mediated experience provided by picture books contributes toward or hinders a realistic and appropriate appreciation of the natural world. Based on an examination of 1,074 books, it argues that picture book makers typically transform and domesticate animals and their habitats in ways that provide readers with highly misleading images and impressions. The article examines a few exceptional books that give an accurate and sensitive account of the animal kingdom and the natural environment, and argues that many more are needed.