ABSTRACT
Since 9/11 the constitution of a collective identity, including discourses of good citizenship, patriotism and belonging, loyalty and protection have come to intersect with the identities of heroism and ethnicity also discussed. In this chapter, two picture books and two young adult works of fi ction will be considered for how they form national identities. In many ways, the previous discussion of ethnic identities is a prologue to this one; the ways ethnic identities perform alongside national identities mean that they are often indistinguishable. However, where the texts in the last chapter were more ambiguous about national identities, these books appear blatant in their efforts to position or ‘shape’ readers’ attitudes toward self and country, pressing young readers to accept national responsibilities. However, loyalties are complex and not always straightforward, and relationships must be negotiated with home and country. These books cover the complicated and unstable terrain that constructs the category of ‘nation’.
