Core values in Mahmut Tunaboylu's children's books

Mahmut Tunaboylu is one of the journalists and writers known for his award-winning works in children's literature, distinguished by his humorous style and social awareness. This study, which aims to reveal the core values in Mahmut Tunaboylu's children's books, examines the author's books Ormandaki Tehlike, Birkaç İyi Çocuk Bir de At, Bir Çift Mavi Kanat, Karadeniz Kaptanı, Keloğlan Yanlışlıklar Güldürüsü and his unpublished theatre script Ermiş Memiş. Document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The examined works were evaluated through content analysis in line with the core values (justice, friendship, honesty, self-control, patience, respect, love, responsibility, patriotism, benevolence) determined by Republic of Türkiye Ministry of National Education. The first section of the study presents the theoretical foundations of children's literature, while the second section addresses values and focuses on their place in educational programmes. The third section attempts to identify core values by focusing on Mahmut Tunaboylu's life, writing and children's books. According to the findings of the study, it was determined that Mahmut Tunaboylu's children's books directly or indirectly address these core values. In particular, it was observed that the values of friendship, responsibility, love, and benevolence are intensively addressed, while the values of justice, self-control, and patience are conveyed indirectly through the plot and the characters' behaviour. In conclusion, it has been determined that Mahmut Tunaboylu's works possess important qualities for conveying values to children and can be used by teachers as supplementary teaching materials in the values education process. Keywords: Children's literature, values, values education, core values, Mahmut Tunaboylu.