Elderly characters in children's literature: scenes of intergenerational coexistence and social isolation

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.28998/2175-6600.2026v18n40.21196

Keywords:

Cultural Studies in Education, Children's Literature, representations of old age

Abstract

Based on a series of previous studies on the theme of old age in contemporary children's literature, this work aims to analyze, from the theoretical perspective of Cultural Studies in Education, how a set of recent children's literature works positions elderly characters in the narrative. Three main representational trends were identified regarding elderly characters and the space in which their actions unfold: the first trend brings together narratives in which elderly characters are inserted in extended family contexts, living in the same residence with children and grandchildren, with old age represented in an integrated way in family life, marked by constant interactions and the sharing of intergenerational experiences. The second trend presents the elderly character in their own home, a space in which they receive visits from family members (especially grandchildren). The third trend, rarer, brings together stories of solitary elderly characters, detached from direct parental relationships.

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Author Biographies

Daniela Ripoll, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Sul - Campus Farroupilha (IFRS - Farroupilha)

Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), as well as a Master’s and PhD in Education from the same institution, including a doctoral exchange period at University of Plymouth. Worked for 18 years at the Graduate Program in Education of the Lutheran University of Brazil (ULBRA) (PPGEDU-ULBRA), supervising 33 Master’s dissertations and 7 Doctoral theses. Was a member of the Undergraduate Program Structuring Committee of the Biological Sciences Program at ULBRA, teaching courses related to Supervised Teaching Practice and Methodologies for Teaching Science and Biology. Also served as a member of the Research Ethics Committee for Human and Animal Subjects (CEP-ULBRA), Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Education (PPGEDU-ULBRA), and Associate Coordinator of the Biological Sciences Undergraduate Program at ULBRA.Currently serves as Visiting Professor in the Professional Master’s Program in Basic Education (MPEB) at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS) – Farroupilha Campus. She is also an associated researcher at the Center for Studies on Curriculum, Culture and Society (NECCSO) of UFRGS and at the International Network of Cultural Studies in Education (RIECEdu), developing research in the field of Cultural Studies in Education.

Iara Tatiana Bonin, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul

Holds a PhD in Education from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) (2007), a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Brasília (UnB) (1999), and a Bachelor’s degree in Pedagogy from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) (1989). She is a professor at the School of Humanities and at the Graduate Program in Education of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). She is affiliated with the research line “Training, Policies and Practices in Education,” focusing especially on education and ethnic-racial relations, Indigenous peoples and education, affirmative action policies, and pluriepistemic perspectives.

She is a member of the coordinating committee of the interinstitutional project “Baobá: inspirations for the rooting of affirmative policies in graduate programs,” which involves 11 universities from the five regions of Brazil. She leads the research group “Baobá: intersectional and anti-racist perspectives” and is currently conducting research on affirmative policies in graduate education with support from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). She is also a member of the Center for Studies on Curriculum, Culture and Society (NECCSO) at UFRGS. Internationally, she participates in the Red ESIAL and in the thematic cooperation network “Communication, Citizenship, Education and Integration” (Red AMLAT). She has also served on evaluation committees for literary and educational works within the National Textbook and Teaching Materials Program (PNLD).

Rosa Maria Hessel Silveira, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Letters from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) (1972 and 1980), a PhD in Education also from UFRGS (1995), and completed postdoctoral studies at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Lisbon (2007–2008) and at GRETEL, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (2015). She is a retired Full Professor from the Faculty of Education at UFRGS and served for twenty-five years as a permanent invited professor in the Graduate Program in Education (PPGEducação) at the same institution. Her research focuses mainly on the following areas: Cultural Studies, identity, difference, children’s and young adult literature, teacher representations, discourses, reading, and textual production. She has supervised 30 Master’s dissertations, 22 Doctoral theses, and three postdoctoral internships.

She organized the books Professoras que as histórias nos contam (DP&A Publishing, 2002), Cultura, poder e educação – um debate sobre Estudos Culturais em Educação (ULBRA Publishing, 2005; 2nd edition: 2011), Estudos Culturais para professor@s (ULBRA Publishing, 2008), and Contribuições para o trabalho e formação docente – temas contemporâneos (CRV Publishing, 2013). She is also co-author of A diferença na literatura infantil: narrativas e leituras (Moderna Publishing, 2012), selected by the PNBE-Professor 2013 program, in addition to numerous articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals.She was a Research Productivity Fellow of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for more than fifteen years, developing projects mainly related to discourses, reading, and children’s and young adult literature. She also served as coordinator of the Center for Studies on Curriculum, Culture and Society (NECCSO), a research group based in the Graduate Program in Education at UFRGS and founded in 1996, where she currently remains an associated researcher.

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Published

2026-08-20

How to Cite

RIPOLL, Daniela; BONIN, Iara Tatiana; SILVEIRA, Rosa Maria Hessel. Elderly characters in children’s literature: scenes of intergenerational coexistence and social isolation. Debates em Educação, [S. l.], v. 18, n. 40, p. 1–24, 2026. DOI: 10.28998/2175-6600.2026v18n40.21196. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufal.br/debateseducacao/article/view/21196. Acesso em: 7 oct. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 40 (2026)

Section

Dossiê: temas sensíveis na infância – diálogos interdisciplinares

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