The United Nations’ announcements of a rise in the number of refugees have led to questions on how refugees are portrayed in children’s picturebooks. Works that introduce children, at a young age, to the concept that there are other societies and cultures besides the one in which they currently reside have the potential to broaden their worldview and provide them with new insights. To further understand this, the current study focused on analyzing picturebooks (n = 15) of children in Turkey, as the country hosts the largest number of refugees in the world The portrayal of refugees, the discourses regarding refugees, and the cycles pointing to refugees are discussed through inductive content analysis. The results showed that refugees were portrayed as victims, homeless and helpless, and as people struggling to survive. The most dominant discourse about refugees is that they are longing for a family. In the refugee cycle in books, the migration itself constitutes the broadest stage. The results are presented for discussion in terms of educational and political implications. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

DOI: 10.1007/s10643-023-01564-x
ISSN: 10823301