Old Wine in New Bottles for Australian Readers: Captain Cook and Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey in Children’s Picture Books
Article
| Article Title | Old Wine in New Bottles for Australian Readers: Captain Cook and Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey in Children’s Picture Books |
|---|---|
| ERA Journal ID | 34876 |
| Article Category | Article |
| Authors | Kerby, Martin, Tualaulelei, Eseta, Ryan, Lisa, Baguley, Margaret and Bedford, Alison |
| Journal Title | Journal of Australian Studies |
| Number of Pages | 15 |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Place of Publication | Australia |
| ISSN | 0314-769X |
| 1444-3058 | |
| 1835-6419 | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/14443058.2025.2573628 |
| Web Address (URL) | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14443058.2025.2573628 |
| Abstract | This article explores a famous but controversial figure in the Australian imaginary, Captain James Cook, and his representation in children’s books over different periods. We examine three representative examples of children’s books that explore James Cook and his first voyage to the South Pacific: The Story of Captain Cook: An Adventure from History (Ladybird Books, 1958), Excuse Me, Captain Cook: Who Did Discover Australia? (Salmon, 1988) and Meet … Captain Cook (Murdie and Nixon, 2011). Each book was created by the respective authors and artists at different points in time, so we analyse the stories using Joseph Campbell’s three-stage metaphor of the “Hero’s Journey”, a canonical structure that he identified in mythological narratives or monomyths that resonate across cultures and epochs. Our analysis demonstrates that representations of Cook in children’s picture books are largely conservative, drawing the reader’s attention away from contentious alternative perspectives of his story. |
| Keywords | Joseph Campbell; children's picture books; Captain James Cook; hero's journey; monomyth |
| Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
| ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 390499. Specialist studies in education not elsewhere classified |
| 470506. Children's literature | |
| Byline Affiliations | School of Education |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/10039x/old-wine-in-new-bottles-for-australian-readers-captain-cook-and-joseph-campbell-s-hero-s-journey-in-children-s-picture-books
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| Old Wine in New Bottles PUBLISHED.pdf | ||
| License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | ||
| File access level: Anyone | ||
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