摘要：This study aimed at determining the emotional states in the illustrated storybooks about special needs and determining the emotional states in which empathy statements were addressed in these storybooks.This study was a qualitative study conducted with a document analysis model. Within the scope of this study, 41 illustrated storybooks, published for children with special needs in the 3-8 age group, were selected by using a criterion sampling method and were examined in detail. The most common types of special needs in the analyzed storybooks were chronic diseases, orthopedic deficiency, and visual impairment while the least common types of special needs were mental disability, language and speech difficulties, and developmental coordination disorders. Data were collected through Examining Emotional Situations and Empathy Statements in Texts Form developed by the researchers based on the literature review and expert opinions. As a result of the study, it was determined that the most reflected emotional states in the illustrated storybooks about special needs were distress, joy, being interested, sadness, irritated, love, anger, being excited, suprised, fear, being determined, enthusiastic, attentive, proud, guilty, ironic, and being embarrassed respectively. A total of 1107 emotional status statements were found in the analyzed books, and 50.1% of the emotions in the books consisted of positive emotions while 49.9% of them consisted of negative emotions. The most reflected empathy statements in the books were distress, being interested, joy, love, irritated, sadness, fear, ironic, enthusiastic, attentive, determined, proud, suprised, excited, guilty, and being embarrassed respectively. A total of 293 empathy statements were found in the analyzed books, and 45.4% of the empathy statements in these books consisted of positive emotions while 54.6% of them consisted of negative emotions. In this regard, it is recommended to include empathy statements in the illustrated storybooks more frequently. It is also recommended to design and implement interactive book reading activities to help children recognize their emotional states and improve their empathy skills.
其他关键词：Preschool, illustrated storybooks, empathy, emotional state, special needs
