Childhood needs and children's literature: A content analysis of award-winning books

Much recent research has focused on the issues of aliteracy and students' negativity toward reading. There are studies that focus on the motivational techniques that can be used to encourage students to read, yet few studies look at the text-based situational interest inherent in the books read by children in the middle elementary school grades. Therefore, this qualitative content analysis examines a selection of 30 award-winning children's books to determine their degree of situational interest as manifested by their reflection of Sutherland's seven needs of childhood. The research of Maslow (1943), Kohlberg (2008), Erikson (1959), and Piaget (1969) also support Sutherland's (1996) needs and provide a framework in psychology and learning theory from which these needs can be analyzed. In order to identify the needs in the selected books, a content analysis was conducted following a 5-step procedure. Then, book reviews and author statements were considered for the selected texts, and their notes of childhood needs were compared to those gathered in the content analysis. The findings from this study indicate that most award-winning books include several of Sutherland's (1996) needs. The need to love and be loved as well as the need to belong were reflected most often, and the need for change was reflected least often. This study provides relevant findings in the areas of literacy instruction and bibliotherapy. Teachers, parents, and librarians can use the findings from this study to stock their libraries and to guide their book recommendation criteria. They can also use the data from this study as a tool for reading comprehension and for helping children to better understand their own needs and feelings.