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Pop Culture Bound: Children’s Non-Fiction Books, 1960-2000
Abstract
Despite vigorous debate over the implications of the perceived penetration of elementary
and secondary school curricula by popular culture, relatively few studies have examined the
actual empirical incidence of this penetration. Using children’s non-fiction books in print in the
United States as a window onto the world adults present to children, this study examines trends in
the representation of popular culture. Results suggest an increasingly frank engagement with—
but not an unconditional embrace of—popular culture. Particularly in the world of sport, subjects
relating to popular culture have grown more rapidly than the overall trend among children’s non-
fiction books; however, in most cases they have yet to eclipse traditional arts and pastimes.