Childhood books on gender, sexuality and diversity are inexhaustible and fertile sources for studies. From 2006 to 2013 they constituted sources of three researches under my supervision, developed from the theoretical framework of cultural studies, gender studies and Foucauldian presuppositions. The books were analyzed as pedagogical devices for children's education. They were discussed concerning the language adopted, their possibilities of producing subjectivities during childhood, as well as concerning what they produce and convey about body, gender and sexuality. Among the data that is worthy to be highlighted over the last decades is the great amount of books directed to children, particularly since the 1980s. Many of them were written by Brazilian authors and this seems to be a positive fact since in earlier decades there was a considerable amount of translated books, which obviously reflected other cultural realities. What has not been noticed, however, is the effective participation of children in these works, in addition to the silencing of some issues such as violence against children and homosexuality. This article seeks to propose a balance of those studies, trying to understand this production as a cultural artifact and as a pedagogical device to the education of children, besides emphasizing some features that express how they can be educational tools for children.
childhood books; pedagogical device; subjectivity; research with children