What is children’s literature

What is children’s literature?    Books, stories, folklore, riddles, poems, etc From birth through age 18? Are there books for different age groups? Discuss  “a significant truth expressed in appropriate elements and memorable language” (Lukens, pp 9, 2007)  Literature is more than a piece of writing that clarifies or explains It delights and reveals (Anderson, 2006) What differentiates between children and adult literature Children  Simpler expression of ideas  Simple vocabulary  Attention span  Stories are told more directly with r/ship among characters shown clearly  Children more open to experimenting with more forms of literature than adults  Children find spontaneous pleasure in rhymes & jokes, cartoons, comics, etc  Adults tend to stick to one type of literature “Read, read, read Read everything”- william Faulkner Different genres of children’s literature  A genre is a kind or type of literature that has a common set of characteristics  A genre is a grouping of books with similar style, form, or content The same term is used for movies, music, plays, TV shows, artwork, etc  They often overlap, especially those of Early childhood Genres of children’s literature (according to Anderson, 2006) Children’s Literature  Concept books  Alphabet books  Counting books  Pattern picture books  Wordless picture books Fiction  Fantasy  Animal fantasy  Contemporary fiction  Historical fiction  Science fiction Traditional Literature  Myths  Fables  Folk songs  Legends  Tall tales  Fairy tales  Traditional rhymes Biography & autobiography Informational books Poetry & verse Book format- another form of classification  Book format refers to the way a book is put         together or looks Wordless picture books, Easy-to-read books Illustrated books Chapter books Hardcover books Paperback books Grocery store books Series books History of Children’s literature  Up until the 19th century books written for children were entirely religious, instructional, or for the improvement of their morals and manners  What you know about how children were viewed prior to the inception of child development as a discipline? The views about children then influenced nature of lit History (cont’d)  In 1865 Alice in Wonderland” was written, the first book that was written for mere enjoyment & that marked the beginning of children’s literature Differences between children’s books now and then  More experimentations with genres- from teaching       values to fantasy, fiction, etc Blurring age boundaries- picture bks for everyone Changing topics, eg., technology, terrorism Technology & commercialization, bks on audio and videotapes.: eg Harry Potter Increasing diversity melting pot vs salad bowl International literature Building on the past, looking into the future Question: should we change the style of books to meet needs of American audience?  Students to go to lib & categorize bks  Students to work in gps to talk about what bks for which children