<![CDATA[Children’s magazine as a medium for building children’s characters may contribute to children’s behavior development through the content of the literary work. However, research examining children’s literature through children’s magazines as a medium for cross-country character building is minimal. Whereas Indonesia and Malaysia have cultural proximity, they differ in child literacy policies. This study analyzes and compares the pattern of child character building in children's magazines in both countries. With a descriptive qualitative approach and content analysis methods, this study collected data from 50 short story texts of the 2019 edition of the popular children’s magazine in Indonesia and Malaysia. Research Data are presented in words and sentences that describe children’s characters in children’s magazines published in Indonesia and Malaysia. Of a total of the 50 stories, eight stories contained indicators of character building. The analysis used the framework of Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, yielding the results that showed different and similar patterns. In common, both magazines are equally dominant on a conventional level with an emphasis on empathy and mutual forgiveness. However, Indonesian magazines emphasize the value of collectivity and mutual assistance, while Malaysian magazines emphasize adherence to family norms and respect for parents. The achievement of post-conventional level with the principle of universal justice remains limited. This finding contributes as a model of utilization of children’s stories based on simple moral dilemmas for strengthening character education in primary schools in both countries.]]>
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