ENTRE SILENCIAMENTOS E RESISTÊNCIAS

Abstract

This study, drawn from a master’s research project, aims to analyze the quality ofchildren's literature books addressing the theme of Blackness within the reading-roomcollections of public early childhood education. Children’s literature plays a central formativerole in shaping identity, imagination, and symbolic references, while also reflecting social,political, and cultural disputes. It therefore reveals processes of silencing and resistance,particularly regarding representations of the Black population. The qualitative investigation was conducted in two complementary stages. The first comprised a bibliographic review innational databases, focusing on studies about Afro-Brazilian children’s literature, Blackidentity, and representativity. The second, empirical stage involved examining the collectionof a municipal early childhood education unit through school visits, consultation of thePedagogical Project, dialogue with the management team, and direct analysis of the booksusing categories such as authorship, illustration, protagonism, and visual and narrativerepresentations. Preliminary results indicate a collection of 2,718 books, of which only 29titles (1.07%) address the theme of Blackness. Among these, there is a low presence of Blackauthors and illustrators, limited protagonism, and few positive representations. Weaknessespersist, including stereotypes, secondary roles assigned to Black characters, and apredominance of Eurocentric patterns. The study concludes that the qualified incorporationof Afro-Brazilian children’s literature is essential for antiracist educational practices and forstrengthening Black identity in early childhood.