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Humanizing the Journey Across the Mexico–U.S. Border: Multimodal Analysis of Children’s Picture Books and the Restorying of Latinx (Im)migration

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Abstract

In response to current anti-immigration rhetoric and policy coming from national leadership, the authors engage in multimodal analysis of picture books that humanize individuals who make the journey across the Mexico–U.S. border. Findings suggest that picture book narratives restory anti-immigrant sentiments by (1) placing the child at the center of the story, (2) demonstrating the way in which the (im)migration journey is a shared journey, and (3) featuring expressions of tenderness among the characters. The article emphasizes the importance of elevating young people’s perspectives on Latinx (im)migration through children’s literature.

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Notes

  1. See Appendix A for the Analytical Template we utilized for this project.

  2. The #ownstories movement calls for and centers texts written by authors who identify as a member of the racial, ethnic, gender, sexuality, and/or other groups represented in their texts.

  3. According to their website https://www.borderangels.org/, “Border Angels promotes a culture of love through advocacy, education, by creating a social consciousness, and engaging in direct action to defend the rights of migrants and refugees” and “prevents unnecessary deaths and harm reduction through desert water drops, border rescue stations and day laborer outreach.”.

  4. In drawing upon the work of Virginia Hamilton, Toliver (2018) describes the “hopescape” as “a space for authors to portray the community, culture, and tradition of Black people as parallel rather than beneath the larger American culture” (p. 15). We argue that a similar hopescape is necessary for stories related to Mexico–U.S. (im)migration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Teacher Education, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Katie Sciurba

  2. Department of Dual Language and English Learner Education, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Sera J. Hernandez

  3. Joint Doctoral Program, San Diego State University-Claremont Graduate University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Reka C. Barton

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  1. Katie Sciurba
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  2. Sera J. Hernandez
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  3. Reka C. Barton
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Correspondence to Katie Sciurba.

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Appendix A: Analytical template: humanizing the journey across the border

Appendix A: Analytical template: humanizing the journey across the border

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Sciurba, K., Hernandez, S.J. & Barton, R.C. Humanizing the Journey Across the Mexico–U.S. Border: Multimodal Analysis of Children’s Picture Books and the Restorying of Latinx (Im)migration. Child Lit Educ 52, 411–429 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-020-09420-x

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