AustLit

Kroll looks at several children's texts in an effort to investigate a number of questions pertinent to the issue of moving the representation of ethnic groups 'beyond the immigration experience in literature so that the ethnicity of non-Anglo characters is no longer the focus' (31). This includes clarifying the cultural norms against which such characters are pitted, investigating the significance of the landscape in defining nationality and finally, considering whether having more authors/illustrators of non-Anglo origin in the field would 'alter the representation of ethnic groups' (31). She concludes that 'the appearance of non-Anglo children or adults as picture book protagonists has not increased to a substantial degree in recent years' and while ethnic characters are 'visible', the lack of centrality given to migrant groups and individuals continues the process of marginalization, tokenism and stereotyping which continues to dominate representations of non-Anglo experiences in Australian picture books (38).