The pleasure of reading against: Embedding lifelong critical literacy from picturebooks to social media

Alston, Ann; Carter, Jane

Abstract

In almost all children’s literature somebody lies. Harry Potter is told by the Dursleys that his parents died in a car accident, Lyra believes Lord Asriel to be her uncle, and countless narrators in picturebooks contradict, at some level, the images that accompany their words. This chapter showcases how literature can be used in the classroom to prepare all children to ask questions firstly of their texts and the characters within them, and secondly to transfer these critical literacy skills to critique both the media and social media. Raising children’s awareness of who is represented and how, is one way to build an inclusive pleading for pleasure classroom. A key component of children’s agency as readers is the ability to read critically. In an image-centred climate, awash with untrustworthy news sources and social media bubbles, it is essential that we teach the next generations of readers to ‘read against’. This chapter builds on Peter Hollindale’s (1988) observation that teachers must teach a child to read ‘so that she is not at the mercy of what she reads’. It gives examples of how to do this in the classroom drawing on case studies with three year 5/6 classes in two different primary schools and demonstrates how to develop critical literacy, as a component to reading for pleasure. With the analysis of the PISA 2018 report finding that only 1 in 10 students in OECD (2020) countries could distinguish between fact and opinion, this chapter is important and timely.

• Publication Date: Mar 26, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 26, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 27, 2025
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: Putting Social Justice and Equity at the Heart of Reading for Pleasure: Tools, Tips and Research to Support Professionals in Primary Classrooms
• Chapter Number: 9
• ISBN: 9781032530543
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13012134
• Publisher URL: https://www.routledge.com/Putting-Social-Justice-and-Equity-at-the-Heart-of-Reading-for-Pleasure-Tools-Tips-and-Research-to-Support-Professionals-in-Primary-Classrooms/Carter/p/book/9781032530529
• Contract Date: Jan 5, 2024