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Dissertation Information for Hope Shastri

NAME:
- Hope Shastri

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- Texas Woman's University (USA) (1993)

ADVISORS:
- Keith Swigger

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- James Thomas
- Adeline Wood Wilkes

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: The picture book dragon

Abstract: Dragons come from a rich heritage of imagery and symbolism. In the twentieth century they emerge in children's literature where, some critics say, they lose much of their mythic power and become stereotyped, denatured and domesticated. Others feel the changes are necessary to make dragons safe for children. The purpose of this study is to determine if the portrayal of dragons in children's picture books published in the United States between 1950 and 1992 corresponds to the critics' perceptions of dragons in children's literature.

Content analysis was used to study 151 picture books for characteristics which would support the critics' perceptions. The study reveals that, with the exception of fire breathing, most dragons do not follow the conventions of dragon lore. Oriental dragons follow conventions more closely than Western dragons. Most genial dragons do not fly. Dragons seldom pick fights and even less seldom are killed. The friendlier the dragons become, the more likely they will be in a subservient position. Few stories are about heroic conquest and one in two dragons is denatured. More than forty percent deal with problems and sometimes cry. The dragon is closely tied to the main character either as a problem to be overcome or as a creation of the imagination.

The picture book dragon is no longer the evil, pillaging creature of the Middle Ages, nor the earth-encircling world-creating dragon of the ancients. Change has brought it very close to the perceptions of its critics in the latter half of the twentieth century.

MPACT Scores for Hope Shastri

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:12:42

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