6 Yaş ve Üzeri Çocuk Kitapları için Sürdürülebilirlik Kavramı Çerçevesinde Bir Örnek Uygulama

Abstract

Sustainability is a topic that has come to the fore in the world and in our country recently. The idea of a sustainable life, which includes the borders of the world and future generations, has become increasingly important. Since the 1970s, studies on sustainability and environmental education have been carried out in the world and in Turkey. However, although this issue is tried to be carried out at the level of international cooperation and governments, it should turn into a common culture in the society. Considering the increasing population and consumption power of the world, human beings need to take a sensitive approach to the issue individually and base their way of life on these foundations. In this context, we cannot accept children as detached from the environment and society in which we live. In this study, it is aimed to design books that will enable children to be included in this process through illustrated children's books, both knowing their environment and accessing information that will raise awareness about environmental issues, based on the issues within the scope of sustainability. “The pleasure of reading; whether it is an adult or a child, socio-economic environment and cultural factors determine it. Children's mental, physical, environmental, etc. they tend to develop a reading culture in line with their needs” (Yavuzer, 2018, p.190). The concept of sustainability is one of the most important issues affecting societies in social, economic and environmental terms.

In the first part of the study, the development process, definition, importance and value of the concept of sustainability were investigated. Under the title of the importance and value of sustainability, the boundaries of the world and environmental problems, renewable energy, recycling and social inclusion were examined. Sustainability and Environmental education issues in the world and in Turkey are mentioned. The importance of environmental education to create a sustainable society, the relationship between children and the environment, are examined under the titles of ecological literacy.

In the second part, a target audience was determined in order to understand children's perspectives and to develop a healthier communication language with children while constructing stories, and the developmental characteristics of children in this age group were examined in detail. Under the title of storytelling in children's literature, research has been conducted on how the main elements such as subject, character creation, plot, language and expression; message (main idea) should be in picture children's books. Since children aged 4-6 are in pre-school period, certain elements such as character development, typography, colour and techniques used, page design are discussed, considering that storytelling in children's books is important in terms of illustration and creating a visual language as well as literary. In the next chapter, the subjects that can be considered within the scope of ecological footprint in children's books are researched. These can increase children's awareness of sustainability; it consists of topics related to carbon footprint, water footprint, food consumption, renewable energy, recycling and reuse of objects.

In the third part of the study, a research was conducted on the evaluation criteria in children's books and accordingly, the books published by different publishers on the concept of sustainability were examined. Selected books; The topics covered are discussed in terms of literary and visual expression language in line with the theoretical studies done in the previous chapters.

In the fourth and last part, choosing renewable energy created a story and recycling topics within the scope of sustainability and the book application "Ece's Balloon Journey" was designed. The stages of storytelling, illustration and the formation of the book as a whole are examined.