Criminalizing childhood? Migration, labeling, and critical literacy in children’s books

Abstract

This study investigates how migrant children are discursively linked to crime in contemporary children’s literature. Using critical content analysis within a labeling-theory framework, the analysis identifies four thematic axes: visibility and labeling, the types and justifications of crime, the role of space and position, and post-crime confrontation. Findings reveal that children are often coded as “potential offenders” not because of their actions but due to linguistic difference, visibility, or association with survival-driven rule-breaking. Such portrayals highlight double standards, where the same acts are criminalized for migrant children but tolerated for others, and show how space functions as an ideological arena of criminalization. While these narratives risk reinforcing stigma, they also provide opportunities for counter-labeling and resistance. Beyond literary representation, the study considers how these depictions may influence children’s self-perceptions and readers’ engagement, as well as how fiction both reflects and shapes real-world patterns of exclusion. The analysis further underscores the educational significance of these portrayals. Implications include the importance of critical literacy practices in classrooms, the role of teacher education in addressing deficit perspectives, and the potential of children’s literature as a tool for fostering inclusive values in contexts such as the Asia-Pacific, where migration and multilingualism are prominent.