Raising Eco-Consciousness in Children through Picture Books

A Comparative Analysis of English and Pakistani Children's Fiction

Abstract

Children at an early age learn things from the multimodal way of learning. Whatever children learn or observe, they keep it with them throughout life. So, raising eco-friendly children through picture books is one of the best ways to create eco-consciousness. This study aims to investigate picture books' efficacy in conveying knowledge about ecosystems. The concept of David Orr's ecological literacy shows how far literature is playing a role in raising environmental awareness. For this purpose, picture books are selected from English and Pakistani children's fiction, i.e., 10 Things I can do to help my world, Penguins do not wear sweaters, Can we save tigers, Kaala Bhoot, and kho kho kho. After evaluating both fictions, it is evident that picture books are used to raise ecological literacy among children. Moreover, it is assessed that English fiction is a step forward from Pakistani fiction in raising awareness as it focuses on environmental concerns of modern-day life while Pakistani fiction is still in its very initial stages.