Abstract
A REVIEW OF THE CRITICAL THINKING CHARACTERISTICS OF CHARACTERS IN FICTIONAL CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Having examined the critical thinking features of the characters in the literary children's books, this study used the document analysis design, one of the qualitative research designs. The study deployed eight books written by eight different authors. Eleven behavioral styles, including the characteristics that critical thinkers should have, were prepared and used as an evaluation form. Among these behavioral characteristics are the actions of individuals who constantly ask questions, who evaluate expressions, who are curious, who find new solutions to problems, who constantly seek evidence to support their views, and who refuse irrelevant and inaccurate information. The identified eight children's books were examined by the researchers through use of the evaluation form and the elicited data were examined by descriptive analysis. The study results revealed that the characters were described as individuals who were curious, who constantly ask questions, who give feedback and direct their thoughts depending on the problems they encountered, and who use certain criteria to make a judgment. Besides, characters that think critically were usually presented as children in the books, and the findings were discussed in line with the relevant literature.
Keywords
Children's literature, fictional text, critical thinking, character.