Censorship and Awards
When childrenÕs books make news, it is usually because they have either won an award or because they have been challenged or banned in a library or bookstore. Awards are often given to books that reinforce specific cultural values; books that are challenged are often the ones that challenge societal norms. Often the books that are challenged are also award winners. In both cases, adult concerns, interests and expectations are the driving factors behind these choices. The purpose of this class is to make students aware of the ideologies behind awards and censorship. The readings have been divided into 12 weeks (instead of the usual length of a semester) because you may choose to have them give presentations on their papers, which is quite time consuming; or you may choose to assign a few additional readings of entire texts, such as a recent award winner or a book frequently or recently challenged in your area.
HELPFUL RESOURCES
Berman, Ruth. The Kerlan Awards in Children's Literature, 1975-2001. St. Paul, MN: Pogo Press, 2001.
Bostrom, Kathleen Long. Winning Authors: Profiles of the Newbery Medallists. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003.
Helbig, Alethea and Agnes Perkins. The Phoenix Award of the Children's Literature Association, 1985-1989. Metuchen, N.J: Scarecrow Press, 1993.
Karolides, Nicholas J. Censored Books II: Critical Viewpoints, 1985-2000. Ed. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2002.
Lacy, Lyn Ellen. Art and Design in Children's Picture Books: An Analysis of Caldecott Award-Winning Illustrations. Chicago: American Library Association, 1986.
Smith, Henrietta M. The Coretta Scott King Awards, 1970-2004. Chicago : American Library Association, 2004.
Woolman, Bertha and Patricia Litsey. The Caldecott Award : The Winners and the Honor Books. Minneapolis: T.S. Denison, 1988.
Zarnowski, Myra, Richard M. Kerper and Julie M. Jensen. The Best in Children's Nonfiction: Reading, Writing, and Teaching Orbis Pictus Award Books. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2001.
ASSIGNMENTS
The Newberry Award. Each student will read one Newberry Award winner (the list is available online). The students will then find three essays or articles discussing the issues in the book, and write a paper synthesizing the articles that he or she found.
The Caldecott Award. Each student will choose one Caldecott Award Winner (The List is available online), and will do a reading focusing on how the text interacts with the pictures. Perry NodelmanÕs ÒThe Relationship of Pictures and Words.Ó
Other Award Paper. There are many other awards given to chidrenÕs books for many different things. Examples include The Coretta Scott King Award, The Phoenix Award, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for ChildrenÕs Literature.
The students will begin by choosing an award that sounds interesting to them, and researching it. The first part of the paper will explain what the award is given for, who gives the award, how long it has been in existence and anything else that is interesting or important about it. Then the students will read one book that has received that award, and discuss it in light of the issues that have been brought up in class.
The Challenged Book. Each student will choose one childrenÕs book that has been challenged or banned somewhere in America. They will research the nature of the challenge, and then, using specific examples from the book as well as other sources, they will explain their own analysis of the text.
READING
Week 1: Introduction
Preface and Introduction to Part 1
ÒOn Three Ways of Writing for ChildrenÓ C. S. Lewis
ÒPrecepts, Pleasures and Portents: Changing Emphases in ChildrenÕs LiteratureÓ Sheila Egoff
Week 2: Historic ideas of Childhood
ÒOn the Care Which is Requisite in the Choice of Books for ChildrenÓ Sarah Trimmer
ÒOf the Danger of PleasureÓ John Huddlestone Wynne
ÒOde: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early ChildhoodÓ William Wordsworth
ÒThe Purple Jar,Ó ÒThe Birthday PresentÓ Maria Edgeworth
Week 3: Recent ideas of childhood
ÒLittle Angels, Little Monsters: Keeping Childhood InnocentÓ Marina Warner
ÒDidacticism in Modern DressÓ John Rowe Townsend
ÒA ChildÕs Garden of SubversionÓ Alison Lurie
From The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 Christopher Paul Curtis
Week 4: Picture Books
ÒThe Relationship of Pictures and WordsÓ Perry Nodelman
ÒShould We Burn Babar?Ó Herbert R. Kohl
Week 6: Fantasy
ÒWhy Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?Ó Ursula K. Le Guin
ÒLiking and Not Liking FantasyÓ Perry Nodelman
From The Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum
From TomÕs Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce
Week 5: History
ÒRealism and ChildrenÕs Literature: Notes From a Historical PerspectiveÓ Elizabeth Segal
From Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain
ÒHuck, ContinuedÓ E. L. Doctrow and David Bradley
ÒReview of The Adventures of Tom SawyerÓ William Dean Howells
From The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Chapter 12, ÒTom Shows His GenerosityÓ Mark Twain
Week 7: History part 2
ÒIs that Book Politically Correct? Truth and Trends in Historical Literature for Young PeopleÓ Hazel Rochman, Masha Kabakow, Diane Stanley
From Little House on the Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder
ÒTrusting the WordsÓ Michael Dorris
Week 8: History part 3
ÒInsiders, Outsiders, and the Question of Authenticity: Who Shall Write for African American Children?Ó Nina Mikkelsen
New Boy in School May Justus
From NobodyÕs Family is Going to Change Louise Fitzhugh
Week 9: Gender, part 1
Introduction to Part 5: ÒBoysÕ Books and GirlsÕ Books: Gender IssuesÓ
ÒÕAs The Twig is BentÉÕ Gender and Childhood ReadingÓ Elizabeth Segal
Fairy Tales ÒCinderella: Saturday Afternoon at the MoviesÓ Louise Bernaikow
ÒCinderella, or the Little Glass SlipperÓ Charles Perrault
ÒAshputtleÓ Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Week 10: Gender, part 2
ÒBoys Will be Boys: Six Myths of our TimeÓ Marina Warner
From Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson
From The Story of a Bad Boy Thomas Bailey Aldich
Week 11: Sexuality
From ForeverÉ A Novel Judy Blume
From Weetzie Bat Francesca Lia Block
ÒAm I Blue?Ó Bruce Coville
From The Man Without a Face Isabelle Holland
Week 12: Censorship in the Classroom
ÒTeaching Banned ChildrenÕs BooksÓ Mark West
From A Wrinkle in Time Madeline LÕEngle
Week 13: Awarded and Banned: A Case Study
ÒHope and Happy EndingsÓ
From The Great Gilly Hopkins Katherine Paterson
From Jacob Have I Loved Katherine Paterson