Literature and the Young Child: Engagement, Enactment, and Agency From a Sociocultural Perspective

Authors and illustrators of children’s literature bring to life characters and contexts that provide demonstrations of agency as well as resources upon which to build agency. Agency is considered here as making one’s identity and perceptions visible and actively acknowledged by others to enhance and empower the personal, cultural, and social aspects of one’s life. This study examines the responses of one child, age 3 ½ years, to picture books of various genres. Using a case study frame and ethnographic techniques, the data revealed that the child’s responses were embedded in his play and interactions with family and friends. The data were coded into three potential categories representing ways that literature nurtures agency in preschool literacy learners: (1) agency through the discovery of the familiar in stories; (2) agency in the actual engagement of reading—telling a story using the images and inquiring about concepts, events, and vocabulary with an experienced reader; and (3) agency through entering the story and/or becoming a character and extending the story. Further examination across the categories of data led to implications supported by sociocultural insights as to literature’s role in agency development.