Children’s Literature
Lite 357
Week (1)
Introduction to Children's Literature
Objectives of the Lecture:
This lecture introduces students of English literature to children's literature, a
domain that has been gaining remarkable interest in the last few decades.
The following topics will be covered:
• Definition
• A brief history
• Prominent works and writers
• Genres
• Standards of judgment and some renowned awards
Defining Literature for Children and
Adolescents
• "A basic definition of literature for children and adolescents (states) that
it encompasses books written for this particular audience (…) it can
also include books that children and adolescents enjoy and have made
their own" (Galda, 6)
• It is literature which consists of books that children and adolescents
read.
• The body of written works and accompanying illustrations produced in
order to entertain or instruct young people. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
The Age range for literature of children and
adolescence
Its intended audience begins at birth and ends at adulthood which is roughly at the age of eighteen.
The general age range for literature of children and adolescence is:
• Nursery (birth to age five)
• Intermediate (ages eight to twelve)
• Advanced (ages twelve to eighteen)
History of Children’s
literature
A Brief History
• It is very difficult to trace early children's literature before the invention of printing.
• Children's literature goes back to the oral tradition, when children listened to
stories told by the ancient storytellers.
• Before the 18th C. there were no separate categories of books for children.
• Up until the beginning of the 18th century, children were given crudely printed little
books sold by peddlers called chapbooks.
• Chapbooks often featured rhymes, fairy tales, or alphabet books along with crime
stories, and songs.
• It was during this time that fairy tales were collected by the Brothers Grimm as part
of their study of linguistics. They were oral stories shared among adults. Their work
was not necessarily intended for children.
• The notion of reading for pleasure or the production of texts specifically for
children’s amusement had still not materialized.
A Brief History Continued
• The 18th century was the time period in which “children’s literature” started to take shape.
• A cluster of London publishers began to produce new books designed to instruct and delight
young readers.
• An example of such writers is Mary Cooper, whose Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744)
is the first known nursery rhyme collection, featuring early versions of well-known classics
like ‘Bah, bah, a black sheep’, ‘Hickory dickory dock’, ‘London Bridge is falling down’ and ‘Sing
a song of sixpence’.
• The most celebrated of these pioneers is John Newbery who wrote A Little Pretty Pocket-
Book Intended for the Instruction and Amusement of Little Master Tommy and Pretty Miss Polly
(c.1744) It contained the alphabet, proverbs, and rules of behavior.
• Newbery was called “Father of Children’s Literature” because he initiated the idea of
publishing books for the enjoyment and entertainment of children.
A Brief History Continued
• Then came Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) which was written purely to give
pleasure to children. It is regarded as the first English masterpiece written for children.
• The late nineteenth and early twentieth century is known as the "Golden age of children's literature" as
this period witnessed the publication of many classical children's books which came with advances in
printing.
• The growing of the middle class population caused an increased interest in education and expanded
audience of children’s books.
• By the 1900’s, children’s literature was more widespread in homes, libraries, and schools. The global
importance of children’s literature is represented in books published in many languages all over the
world.
• More recently, children’s literature has taken a digital turn. In addition to ebooks, the field has come to
reflect diverse perspectives. It has come to reflect racial and ethnic diversity including literature from all
around the world (e.g. children's books in English representing the non-white people such as Arabs and
Africans)
Some Prominent works and writers
According to BBC Culture www.bbc.com/culture , some of the greatest children's books
published in English based on a critics survey include:
• Roald Dahl's Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (1964): A story of the Adventures of
Charlie inside the factory of Willy Wonka, "the most amazing, the most fantastic, the most
extraordinary chocolate maker the world has ever seen."
• A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh (1926): Milne named the characters in his classic children's
book after his own son Christopher Robin, his cuddly teddy bear, and his stuffed animals.
Christopher and Pooh wander through the Hundred acre Wood to experience adventures
intriguing to the young imagination.
• Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (1868): The Story of four March sisters as they pass
from childhood innocence to young adulthood.
• Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: To this day Alice's trip down the rabbit
hole and her encounters with the cat, the white Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, the Mad
Hatter are fuel for the literary imagination. Versions and variations of this story continue
to multiply.
Some Prominent works and writers
• J.k Rowling's Harry Potter series: "Words are, in my not-so-humble- opinion, our most
inexhaustible source of magic." Said Aldus Dumbledore.
• The words inside that series cast a spell on the world of children's literature.
• Harry Potter is considered to be a contemporary classic among critics.
• It has impacted young readers as well as the publishing industry.
• It has sold more than 500 million copies and has been translated into 73 languages.
• The series marks a comeback of fantasy stories after they had fallen out of favor in the
1990s.
Types and Genres in Children's and
Adolescent Literature
One basic distinction of type in children’s literature is between fictional narratives and
nonfiction.
Narratives tell a story and include the following literary elements:
• Setting: time and place of the story
• Characterization: establishes reliable characters. Main characters are multidimensional with
strengths and weaknesses. They are dynamic ; they grow and change over time.
• Plot: the sequence of story events
• Theme: the central unifying idea
• Style: how the story is written. It includes the vocabulary, the syntax and structure of the story.
Style reflects the setting and the characters.
A second basic distinction in children’s literature is based on GENRE.
Genre: is a category of composition that has defining characteristics such as type of
characters, setting, action, and form.
Genres in Children's and Young Adult Literature include:
1- Poetry and verse: condensed language, expression of imaginative thoughts, contains
rhythm, imagery, figurative language
2- Folklore: traditional stories, myths, legends, nursery rhymes
3- Fantasy: stories set in places that do not exist, about people and cultures that could
not exist or events that could not happen
Genres continued
4- Realistic fiction: stories could happen in the real world, characters seem real,
contemporary setting
5- Historical Fiction: Stories reconscruct life in the past, using realistic
characters, events and historical setting.
6- Biography: An account of a person's life by the person himself or someone
else.
7- Nonfiction: Information books using facts.
8- Picturebooks: A format in which art and text are interdependent. All genres
appear in picturebooks.
Standards of Judgment and Awards
As in any field, quality is rewarded with recognition and awards. But what exactly
do the experts look for and who gets the recognition?
• Different experts attend to the aspects of children’s literature that are most
relevant to them.
• Awards are given from the following groups: Librarians, Literary Scholars
Teachers, Content Experts, Writers & Illustrators, Publishers & Booksellers, and
The Fans.
Standards of Judgment and Awards: Some Examples
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC).
• The ALSC is the world's largest organization dedicated to the support and
enhancement of library service to children.
• The ALSC administers nine book awards for children’s literature. Of these
awards, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals are considered to be the most
prestigious.
• In particular, the book must demonstrate excellence across the following
criteria:
• • Interpretation of the theme or concept • Presentation of information
including accuracy, clarity, and organization • Development of a plot;
• Delineation of characters • Delineation of a setting •
Appropriateness of style.
Other examples of awards include:
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Award for Excellence in
Poetry for Children. It is to honor a living American poet for his or her work
for children ages 3–13.
International Literacy Association (ILA) Children’s and Young Adults’ Book
Award presented to newly published authors who show unusual promise in
the children’s and young adults’ book field.
Golden Kite Awards. In contrast to awards given by experts in children’s
literature, the Golden Kite Awards are the only children’s literary award
judged by a jury of author-and illustrator peers.
Schneider Family Book Award (American Library Association). The award
honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic
expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award. The award is given to children's books
that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world
community, and the equality of the sexes and all races as well as meeting
conventional standards for excellence.
Works and Websites Consulted
Galda, Lee et al. Literature and the Child. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning,
2010.
Schneider, Jenifer Jasinski. The Inside, Outside, and Upside Downs of Children's
Literature: From Poets and Pop-ups to Princesses and Porridge. Tampa:
University of South Florida, 2016. E-book.
The Harry Potter Effect. Abc.net.au
The 11 Greatest Children’s books. www.bbc.com/culture
To Bring Next Lecture on Nursery Rhymes
• Baa Baa Black Sheep
• Old Mac Donald
• Wheels on the Bus
• Itsy Bitsy Spider
• I am a Little Tea Pot
• Ants Go marching
