Key elements of children’s literature

Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Children%27s_literature/Selected_picture

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

  • Literature written, usually by adults, and widely read by children and adolescents.
  • Narrative voice designed to target an audience of children or young adults. Developmentally appropriate – reading level, vocabulary, maturity level and cognitive pitch.
  • Can include novels, poetry (lyrical style), drama, biographies, autobiographies, short stories and essays.
  • Can be read, performed or incorporate multimodal delivery.
  • Can be in different formats such as picture books, novels, bridging books, ebooks and digital books – using a wide variety of literary devices and technology tools.
  • Often written to explore a moral concept, cultural theme or introduce new ideas.
  • Themes are often fanciful – not confined by reality – inspiration for the imagination – empowerment
  • Often influenced by how childhood is perceived by society or the dominant culture – therefore it can depict the prevailing times and attitudes.
  • Holds a memory place in people’s minds – connect adults to their childhood and the books that helped to shape them or connect them to specific memories.
  • Allows children to explore different cultures, times and ideas.
  • Influenced by the stakeholders – the industry of children’s literature. Authors, illustrators, editors, publishers, reviewers, critics, teachers, parents… and the audience i.e. children
  • Is linked to how we view childhood – can provide insight into historical approaches to children.
  • Exposure should be diverse and high quality – not prescribed by adults.
  • No guarantees about engagement for particular children – one child may engage completely while another will not engage at all. e.g. Harry Potter obsession
  • Should never forget to aim for being read for pleasure and enjoyment by children.
  • Tool for learning about literary devices.
  • Means to explore identity – to learn from – to discover.
  • Children’s literature can often be seen to have to be approved by adults for children to be able to access it… until they decide to enter a library on their own.

 

Edit: December 6, 2015

After reflecting on these key elements, and trying to understand the impact of children’s books being written by adults, then the importance of the role of narrative and storytelling as ways for children to make sense of their world becomes clear. Attempting to understand the role of books, and other things, as cultural tools – reflecting the differences in ‘childhood’ for those growing up in the USA vs Afghanistan (an exaggerated view). It becomes so important to me to ensure that when we choose what stories to give our children access to, that we take into consideration the kind of childhood that is revealed in those stories so that the reader can relate to the stories (Smidt, 2012). How we then intertwine access to children’s literature that is deemed to be “important” for educational purposes does provide the Teacher Librarian some challenges when collaborating with teaching staff. There is much to consider here… with the other persistent challenge continuing – how does the Teacher Librarian get involved in these decisions regarding providing access to books across the curriculum outcomes?

References:

Smidt, S. (2012) Reading the world – what young children learn from literature Trentham Books Ltd : Stoke on Trent

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