In our attempts to understand the world, wildlife films play a significant role. Wildlife films help us to see new places and learn about animals in remote locations, that we otherwise wouldn?t be able to do. Yet wildlife films have throughout history been criticized, mainly for the ambivalent relationship between science and storytelling. While the films give us a scientific impression and say something about the ?reality?, they clearly have the intension to amuse, capture and entertain their audience.

This thesis examines representations of animals in three editions of L?sebok f?r folkskolan, the state-distributed Swedish elementary school reader first published in 1868. The aim is to deepen the understanding of the educative and formative function of animal representations in normative teaching materials during the early development of the Swedish elementary school in the late 19th century. The study analyses the 1868, 1878 and 1899 editions, asking how animals are portrayed, to which recurring themes they are linked, and which constants and changes can be discerned across the editions.The study is conducted as a qualitative comparative text analysis, framed by John Berger?s notion of the animal as both kin and other to the human.