Abstract
In 2022, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) awarded pastor Max Lucado’s social-emotional learning picturebook Where’d My Giggle Go? its highest award. The win occurred against the backdrop of conservative, evangelical groups advocating for banning similar secular titles. This study investigates how discourse from two reviewing sites constructs the social identities of readers to understand how they perform relationships with Max Lucado and the evangelical community. Findings reveal how the community’s ideological, social, political, and cultural commitments are (re)produced and (re)circulated through consumer reviews and highlight the mainstreaming of evangelical content in picturebooks.
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
The authors have no competing interests to declare.