The Brightest Part of the Forest: A Grit Analysis of an Ontario Children’s Book Award

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29473

Abstract

This study explores how grit manifests in the nominees of Ontario’s Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award children’s literature competition from 2013-2018. Performing a document analysis (Bowen, 2009), we used a modified version of Duckworth’s (2018) grit scale to gauge the grittiness of the nominees’ protagonists. We found that 28 of the 60 titles portrayed grit with 19 of those titles scoring four or higher on the modified grit scale indicating that protagonists had consistently high scores for the various aspects of grit. Our paper concludes with a discussion about implications to educators seeking to use these books to engage students in discussions about grit and resilience.

Author Biographies

Jen McConnel, Queen's University

Jen McConnel is a teacher, a researcher, and an author. Currently, she is working on her PhD at Queen’s University of Kingston, Ontario, and her research interests include liminality, literacy, and pedagogy.

Clarissa de Leon, Queen's University

Clarissa de Leon is a teacher, researcher, and writer. She is currently completing her PhD at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario where she researches curriculum theory, literary experiences, cultural identity, and Filipino/a/x-Canadians.

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Published

2020-07-15

How to Cite

McConnel, J., & de Leon, C. (2020). The Brightest Part of the Forest: A Grit Analysis of an Ontario Children’s Book Award. Language and Literacy, 22(2), 64–79. https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29473

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 2 (2020): Regular Issue

Section

Articles

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