Reading Between the Lines: Content Analysis of Deaf Characters in Children’s Literature

This study explores how D/Deaf (While “Deaf” (capitalised) is commonly used to refer to individuals who identify with the Deaf community and its associated linguistic and cultural identity, “deaf” (lowercase) is often used to describe the audiological experience of hearing loss without implication around an individual’s cultural identity. The term “hard-of-hearing” (HoH) encompasses individuals with varying degrees of hearing loss; however, communication preferences and identity affiliations vary between individuals (Ladd, 2003; Smolen & Paul, 2023). Thus, representations of Deaf and hard-of-hearing characters should consider not only disability, but also linguistic, cultural, and identity-related factors (Golos & Moses, 2011). Given this variation, the term Deaf has been adopted in this study as an inclusive descriptor that acknowledges the diversity of Deaf and hard-of-hearing experiences while maintaining clarity.) characters are represented in contemporary children’s literature. Thirteen books published between 2014 and 2024 were analysed using a fixed, researcher-adapted rubric based on Crawford’s (2016) evaluation tool. The rubric incorporated 68 criteria across eight categories, grounded in social and affirmative models of disability, and included additional measures specific to Deaf representation. These criteria included assessments of characterisation, language use, cultural inclusion, and language accessibility. Findings revealed considerable variation in quality and depth; While a minority of books portrayed Deaf characters in affirming multidimensional ways, many relied on reductive tropes, tokenism, or positioned the character as responsible for educating hearing characters and readers. Books authored by individuals with lived or informed experience of deafness consistently scored higher, particularly in categories related to narrative perspective, cultural representation, and language accessibility. The results highlight promising developments and ongoing gaps in inclusive representation, offering a framework for improving future portrayals of Deaf perspectives in children’s literature.