Issues of ChildrenÕs Literature
ChildrenÕs literature is a complex field of study that can be approached through many different theories. Intriguingly, however, there are a handful of issues that have, for quite a while, remained in the center of the attention of parents, teachers, critics and scholars. The purpose of this class is to explore the issues that concern adults when they approach texts created for children.
HELPFUL RESOURCES
Clark, Beverly Lyon. Kiddie Lit: The Cultural Construction of Children's Literature in America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2003.
Fox, Dana and Kathy G. Short. Stories Matter: the Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children's Literature. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2003.
Hollindale, Peter. ÒIdeology and the ChildrenÕs Book.Ó Literature for Children: Contemporary Criticism. Peter Hunt. New York: Routledge, 1993. 19-40.
Lehr, Susan. Battling Dragons: Issues and Controversy in Children's Literature. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1995.
Lurie, Alison. DonÕt Tell the Grown-ups: Subversive ChildrenÕs Literature. Boston: Little Brown, 1990.
Maddy, Yulisa Amadu and Donnarae MacCann. African Images in Juvenile Literature: Commentaries on Neocolonialist Fiction. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1996.
Martin, Michelle H. Brown Gold: Milestones of African-American Children's Picture Books, 1845-2002. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Murray, Gail Schmunk. American Children's Literature and the Construction of Childhood. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1998.
Norton, Donna E. Multicultural Children's Literature: Through the Eyes of Many Children. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2005.
Seale, Doris and Beverly Slapin. A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children. Berkeley, CA: Oyate, 2005.
Trites, Roberta Seelinger. Waking Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Voices in ChildrenÕs Novels. Iowa city: University of Iowa Press, 1997.
ASSIGNMENTS
Critical Review Paper: This paper serves multiple purposes: first, to familiarize students with the journals that publish articles on childrenÕs literature; second, to get students to begin to think about topics they find interesting in childrenÕs literature; third, to have students begin thinking about their own assumptions regarding children and childrenÕs literature. First, students will pick an author, book or topic in childrenÕs literature that they would like to read about. It can be a book read for class; however, it does not have to be. At this point, explain to the students whatever library resources are available that can help the students with this project. In the paper, the students will do three things. First, they will explain how they found their articles, then they will write a quick summary of the article. The final part of the paper will focus on the studentsÕ response. Students can focus on what aspects of the article were difficult to understand, and show exactly what was unclear. Students can choose to explain why they feel that the article is either right or wrong. Students can also choose to write about what they would do next if they wanted to continue researching this particular topic.
Historical novel: Have each student read a different historical novel that presents a non-European culture. Then the students will give a presentation of that novel, first giving an outline that lasts no more than one minute, followed by an evaluation of that novel in light of the article ÒIs that Book Politically Correct? Truth and Trends in Historical Literature for Young PeopleÓ by Hazel Rochman, Masha Kabakow, and Diane Stanley.
Author Paper: The students will choose one author and read at least two of his or her works – students who choose picture books should choose at least five texts. The will then find one or more theme, image or motif that runs through all of this writersÕ work. The students will then write a paper doing a close reading that explores how this same theme works through multiple texts.
Book to Movie. For this paper, the students will read one book and watch one movie based on that book. For the first part of the project, the students will compare changes: what is different between the two? For the second part, they will look at the cultural implications of these adaptations: what does it mean that these things have been changed? Film theory could be helpful here, as well as cultural theory.
Fairy Tale Project: Students will choose one fairy tale, and find at least five versions of it. They will then write a paper with three parts: first, they will introduce the time and place in which each version was produced. Then they will write about changes that have occurred across time and culture. Finally, the students will spend time analyzing the cultural implications of the variations. The students donÕt need sources other than the five versions of the fairy tales, but if they want to use them, that is fine. This makes a good presentation project, as well: each student gets five to ten minutes to explain the results of their research.
READING
Week 1: Intro
ÒPrecepts, Pleasures and Portents: Changing Emphases in ChildrenÕs LiteratureÓ Sheila Egoff
Introduction to Part 8: Values and Censorship
Week 2: Adult Attitudes
ÒLittle Angels, Little Monsters: Keeping Childhood InnocentÓ Marina Warner
ÒOde: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early ChildhoodÓ William Wordsworth
From Ramona The Pest Beverly Cleary
From The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
From CharlotteÕs Web E. B. White
Week 3: Subversion
ÒA ChildÕs Garden of SubversionÓ Alison Lurie
From Pippi Longstocking Astrid Lindgren
From The Story of a Bad Boy Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Week 4: Values
ÒDidacticism in Modern DressÓ John Rowe Townsend
ÒOn The Care Which is Requisite in the Choice of Books for ChildrenÓ Sarah Trimmer
ÒOf the Danger of PleasureÓ John Huddlestone Wynne
ÒThe Purple Jar,Ó ÒThe Birthday PresentÓ Maria Edgeworth
From Little Women ÒJo Meets ApollyonÓ Louisa May Alcott
From Anne of Green Gables Chapter 10 ÒAnneÕs ApologyÓ Lucy Maude Montgomery
Week 5: Gender
ÒÕAs the Twig is BentÉÕ Gender and Childhood ReadingÓ Elizabeth Segal
ÒToy-Based Videos for Girls: My Little PonyÓ Ellen Seiter
Fairy Tales ÒCinderella: Saturday Afternoon at the MoviesÓ Louise Bernaikow
ÒCinderella, or the Little Glass SlipperÓ Charles Perrault
ÒAshputtleÓ Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
From Anne of Green Gables Chapter 10 ÒAnneÕs ApologyÓ Lucy Maude Montgomery
From The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
Week 6: Gender, part 2
ÒBoys Will be Boys: The Making of the MaleÓ Marina Warner
ÒReview of The Adventures of Tom SawyerÓ William Dean Howells
From The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Chapter 12, ÒTom Shows His GenerosityÓ Mark Twain
From Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson
From Tom BrownÕs School Days Thomas Hughes
Week 7: Fantasy
ÒReflections: The Uses of EnchantmentÓ Bruno Bettelheim
ÒWhy Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?Ó Ursula K. Le Guin
ÒLiking and Not Liking FantasyÓ Perry Nodelman
From AliceÕs Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Lewis Carroll
From The Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum
From TomÕs Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce
From A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine LÕEngle
Week 8: Parody
ÒÕWill the Real Dragon Please Stand Up?Õ Convention and Parody in ChildrenÕs StoriesÓ Jon Stott
ÒThe Last of the DragonsÓ E. Nesbit
From ÒThe Dragons are Singing TonightÓ Jack Prelutsky
ÒLittle Red Riding HoodÓ Roald Dahl
Week 9: Multiculturalism
ÒInsiders, Outsiders, and the Question of Authenticity: Who Shall Write for African American Children?Ó Nina Mikkelsen
From The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963 Christopher Paul Curtis
New Boy in School May Justus
From NobodyÕs Family is Going to Change Louise Fitzhugh
Week 10: History
ÒIs that Book Politically Correct? Truth and Trends in Historical Literature for
Young PeopleÓ Hazel Rochman, Masha Kabakow, Diane Stanley
ÒShould We Burn Babar?Ó Herbert R. Kohl
From Little House on the Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder
ÒTrusting the WordsÓ Michael Dorris
Week 11: Censorship
ÒTeaching Banned ChildrenÕs BooksÓ Mark West
From The Great Gilly Hopkins Katherine Paterson
From Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain
ÒHuck, ContinuedÓ E. L. Doctrow and David Bradley
Week 12: sexuality
From ForeverÉ A Novel Judy Blume
From Weetzie Bat Francesca Lia Block
ÒAm I Blue?Ó Bruce Coville
Week 13: Visual Literacy
Intro to Part 6: ÒWords and PicturesÓ
ÒThe Relationship of Pictures and WordsÓ Perry Nodelman
Week 14: Film adaptations
ÒThe Little MermaidÓ Hans Christian Andersen
ÒMoral Simplification in The Little MermaidÓ A. Walter Hastings
ÒAmerican Film Adaptations of The Secret Garden: Reflections of Historical and Social ChangeÓ Juliane Gillispie
From The Secret Garden Frances Hodson Burnett
Week 15: Presentations
Multiculturalism
As American culture becomes more diverse, and as technology brings the world ever closer, multiculturalism is becoming an increasingly more important issue in childrenÕs literature. The purpose of this unit is to familiarize students with different genres of multicultural childrenÕs literature, as well as some of the primary issues involving different cultures in American childrenÕs literature. Because there is a rich body of oral multicultural childrenÕs literature, this syllabus offers only 14 weeks of readings to allow time for oral projects. Also, some weeks have less reading than others to allow more flexibility for supplemental reading and presenting.
HELPFUL RESOURCES
Smith, Henrietta M. The Coretta Scott King Awards, 1970-2004. Chicago : American Library Association, 2004.
MacCann, Donnarae. White Supremacy in Children's Literature: Characterizations of African Americans, 1830-1900. New York: Garland Pub, 1998.
Martin, Michelle H. Brown Gold: Milestones of African-American Children's Picture Books, 1845-2002. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Norton, Donna E. Multicultural Children's Literature: Through the Eyes of Many Children. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2005.
Osa, Osayimwense. The All-white World of Children's Books and African American Children's Literature. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1995.
Seale, Doris and Beverly Slapin. A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children. Berkeley, CA: Oyate, 2005.
ASSIGNMENTS
Storytelling: Introduce the techniques of storytelling to the class, and then have each student find one folktale from a non-Western European culture. Usually a time limit of five minutes is helpful.
Historical novel: Have each student read a different historical novel that presents a non-European culture. Then the students will give a presentation of that novel, first giving an outline that lasts no more than one minute, followed by an evaluation of that novel in light of the article ÒIs that Book Politically Correct? Truth and Trends in Historical Literature for Young PeopleÓ by Hazel Rochman, Masha Kabakow, and Diane Stanley.
Visual paper: Have each student pick a picture book that presents African American characters or African American culture. Have the students discuss these images in light of Perry NodelmanÕs ÒThe Relationship of Pictures and Words.Ó
Folktale Project: Have each student choose one folktale that has been retold across multiple cultures. The students will choose between 3-5 different versions of the story (depending on the length of the assignment), and answer three questions: first, what elements do all of the stories have in common? Second, what differences exist between them, or what elements are specifically found in only one version of the story? Finally, what do these differences imply about the cultures that produced them?
The African American Experience: Each student will read one book that features an African American child as the main character. Write an analysis of the book: how is the child presented? Based on either primary or secondary research, is this an accurate portrayal of the child and his or her culture, or is it stereotyped? Point out any specific places that cause problems, or give examples demonstrating how well the portrayal was done.
Annotated Bibliography: Each student will create an annotated list of 10 picture books that deal with a specific issue: possibly a category of folktale, or a topic such as the Civil Rights Movement, Slavery, or the Holocaust. Each annotation should be about one paragraph long.
Short paper: Choose a novel from which you have read an excerpt for this class. Explain how having read the rest of the book either changes your view of the story, or reinforces the points that were made in class about this particular text.
READING
Week 1: Introduction
Preface
ÒPrecepts, Pleasures and Portents: Changing Emphasis in ChildrenÕs LiteratureÓ Sheila Egoff
Introduction to Part 8: Values and Censorship
ÒLittle Monsters, Little Angels: Keeping Childhood InnoccentÓ Marina Warner
Week 2: Oral Culture
Introduction to Part 3: Oral and Written Literarary Traditions
ÒHow Spider Obtained the Sky-GodÕs StoriesÓ Ashanti Tale
From The World of Storytelling Chapter 1: ÒHistory and Definition of StorytellingÓ Anne Pellowski
ÒAnancy and the Making of the Bro TitleÓ James Berry
Week 3: Oral culture, continued
From The World of Storytelling Chapter 4, ÒFolk StorytellingÓ and Chapter 15 ÒVisuality, Orality, LiteracyÓ
ÒOral Narration in Contemporary North AmericaÓ Kay F. Stone
ÒHow Tortoise Cracked His ShellÓ Chinua Achebe
Week 4: Cinderella, a Test Case
ÒCinderella: Saturday Afternoon at the MoviesÓ Charles Perrault
ÒCinderella, or the Little Glass SlipperÓ Charles Perrault
ÒAshputtleÓ Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
ÒThe Magic Orange TreeÓ Diane Wolkstein
ÒThe Indian CinderellaÓ Cyrus Macmillan
Week 5: Tales told in other Lands
ÒMother of the WatersÓ Diane Wolkstein
ÒThe PancakeÓ Peter Christen Asbjornsen
ÒVasilissa the FairÓ Angela Carter
ÒHachi-kazuki-hime: The Princess Who Wore a HachiÓ Rieko Okuhara
Week 6: Native America
From Navajo Visions and Voices Across the Mesa Shonto Begay
ÒThe Story of the Milky Way: A Cherokee TaleÓ Jospeh Bruchac and Gayle Ross
ÒDancing Drum: A Cherokee LegendÓ Terri Cohlene
Week 7: African American Folklore
ÒJohn HenryÓ African American Ballad
*consider supplemental readings here, such as Virginia HamiltonÕs The People Could Fly, or material available on the internet
Week 8: African American Poetry
Òknoxville, tennesseeÓ Nikki Giovanni
ÒI Love the Look of WordsÓ Maya Angelou
ÒComing HomeÓ From The Life of Langston Hughes Floyd Cooper
Langston Hughes ÒAunt SueÕs StoriesÓ
ÒMother to SonÓ
From A Wreath for Emmett Till Marilyn Nelson
Week 9: African American fiction, part 1
ÒInsiders, Outsiders and the Question of Authenticity: Who Shall Write for African American Children?Ó Nina Mikkelsen
From New Boy in School May Justus
From NobodyÕs Family is Going to Change Louise Fitzhugh
Week 10: African American Fiction, Part 2
From The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 Christopher Paul Curtis
From The Abduction and ÒOn Writing The AbductionÓ Mette Newth
ÒUp Taree WayÓ Libby Hathorn
Week 11: Historical Fiction
ÒIs that Book Politically Correct? Truth and Trends in Historical Literature for Young PeopleÓ Hazel Rochman, Masha Kabakow, Diane Stanley
From The Final Journey Gudrun Pausewang
From Parrot in the Oven: mi vida Victor Martinez
Week 12:Native America and Historical Fiction
From Little House on the Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder
ÒTrusting the WordsÓ Michael Dorris
From The Birchbark House Louise Erdrich
ÒDiscovery and Recovery in ChildrenÕs Novels by Native WritersÓ Jon Stott
Week 13: Visual Literacy
ÒThe Relationship of Pictures and WordsÓ Perry Nodelman
From Jambo Means Hello Tom Feelings
Week 14: A Vision for the future
ÒNight of PassageÓ Lee Harding
ÒHope and Happy EndingsÓ Katherine Paterson