Sizeism and Weight Diversity in Popular and Award-Winning/Recommended Picture Books for Children

Scholarly research has demonstrated that sizeism (also called fatphobia or weight stigma) negatively impacts fat people across a range of major life activities. Even young children exhibit sizeist beliefs, and fat children are negatively impacted in school and personal relationships. LIS scholars have recently begun to address sizeism, but serious gaps persist in the literature, particularly in the realm of children and information. However, both research and theory demonstrate the positive impact that diverse literature can have in regards to addressing other types of bias among children. Thus, this study employs a convergent mixed methods design to examine weight diversity in recent award-winning/recommended and popular children’s picture books in the United States. The findings suggest that diverse, positive weight representation is currently limited in both librarian-recommended/award-winning and popular picture books. The study includes recommendations for librarians, educators, and researchers interested in supporting diverse, inclusive information environments for children.