What stories are children being told about nature? An analysis of environmental storybooks in Malaysia
Dr Geetha Maniam is leading a new study on environmental narratives in Malaysian children’s storybooks.
The study examines how environmental topics are communicated to children through locally published storybooks in Malaysia. As environmental and climate change increasingly shapes children’s everyday lives, storybooks have become important tools for introducing environmental ideas, values and ways of relating to nature. However, little is known about how these narratives are constructed and what messages they convey.
The project analyses how environmental issues are represented, narrated and visualised in children’s storybooks, with a focus on how agency, responsibility and hope are framed for young readers. It also explores the extent to which these stories reflect local ecologies, cultural references and place-based or Indigenous perspectives.
Using a mixed-methods approach, the study maps a broad collection of Malaysian children’s environmental storybooks and conducts in-depth analysis of selected titles. By examining both textual and visual elements, it identifies dominant storytelling patterns, metaphors and visual strategies used to communicate environmental concepts.
The findings will contribute to environmental education and communication research by providing an evidence base on how environmental narratives shape children’s understanding of nature, while informing educators, policymakers and practitioners in designing more culturally relevant and engaging environmental learning materials.