Bishop’s Categories 40 Years on: Reclaiming and Sustaining Story and Culture Authors

Abstract Bishop’s foundational framework for analysing multicultural children’s literature has provided essential tools for understanding cultural representation for almost 40 years. However, the evolution of First Nations children’s literature and the increased Indigenous control over publishing and storytelling suggest Bishop’s original three categories may not fully capture the complexity of contemporary Indigenous storytelling. This study reports on a comprehensive analysis of 750 books by and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, employing yarning methodology and Indigenous research approaches to examine patterns of cultural representation across historical periods. Whilst Bishop’s categories remain relevant, two additional categories emerged: Culturally Sustaining and Cultural Storytellers. Culturally Sustaining stories encompass literature that actively explores cultural continuity, intergenerational knowledge transmission, and connection to Country. The Cultural Storytellers category captures works by First Nations authors reclaiming narrative authority to tell universal stories naturally infused with cultural knowledge. These categories were particularly pronounced in literature published since the Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017). International verification with colleagues in New Zealand, Norway, and the United States confirmed the framework’s cross-cultural applicability. This expanded framework provides educators, librarians, and researchers with more nuanced tools for selecting culturally responsive literature whilst supporting the decolonisation of children’s literature and celebrating Indigenous storytelling traditions.