EEN 5103 – Lecture 2

Brief History of Children’s Literature

Introduction

We shall be looking at the following sub-topics.

a) Early Beginnings;
b) The Middle Ages and the 17th century.
c) 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
d) Modern Trends in Children’s books.
Early Beginnings
 The Oral Tradition

Long before recorded history, family units and

tribes shared their group traditions and values
through stories told around the campfire.

This tradition has existed since the first oral

communication among human beings and goes
back to the very roots of every civilization on
earth.
 The Rise of Children’s Literature

The desire on the part of parents to

teach their children the tenets of religion
and to prepare their sons to enter the
professions meant that literacy became
very important.
 The earliest books written for children were entirely religious,
instructional, or for the improvement of their morals and manners. In
the latter half of the eighteenth century, however, an English
publisher named John Newbery published books for children to enjoy.
One such book, The History of Little Goody Two Shoes (Newbery,
1765), is considered the first novel written especially for children.
Newbery’s books were also highly moralistic, but at least someone had
recognized that children needed to be entertained as well as
indoctrinated. Young children read and enjoyed these books, of
course, because there was little else for them to read. However, those
early books would not entertain children today. They had“stodgy
writing, plots that are either too predictable or too illogical, and
socially conscious themes that outweigh the slender story that
supports them”
Important Notes

 Books weren’t always written for children.

 Changes in printing technology provided
affordable books.
 When childhood began to be viewed as a
special part of the human life cycle,
literature written specifically for children
became important.
Illustrations in children’s books reflect the
time period and the role of children and
the family in that time period.

 Early books for children were

instructional and usually written in Latin
by religious teachers.

 The books were meant to instruct and to

instill the principles of manners and
customs, morals and religious beliefs; they
were not meant to give delight.

 Stories of the 15th and 16th centuries were

mostly historical telling of King Arthur,
 Earliest Form of literature.

Earliestforms of children’s literature –

the chapbook and the hornbook –
Chap Books
 Chap books (15th century)

 Withthe invention of the printing press in the 15th

century, the Bible and other tracts became available
to a wider audience.

 Another popular form of Literature then was a Chap

book.

 The book was quite cheap and contains political and

religious tracts.
Horn Books
A Horn Book (16th – 18th century)

 Itwas developed between !6th and 18th

centuries.

 It was used to teach reading and numbers.

 The book is shaped like a paddle and the

instructions contained alphabets, numerals
and Lord’s prayer.
 The Puritan Influence/Approach

By the 1640s, Massachusetts laws required heads of

families to teach their children and apprentices to read.
The belief of the Puritans influenced literature of that
period.
They urged that children be provided with literature to
instruct them and reinforce their moral development.
The most influential piece of literature written at that
time was John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s progress from this
world, to that which is to come.
 The Advent of Imaginative literature

In Europe, however, a new trend of writing came to limelight.

Folktales was published to entertain young children.

In 1697, Charles Perrault published Contes de ma mère l’oye, or

Tales of Mother Goose, which was translated into English and
became very popular.
The 1740s are regarded as the time when the idea of children’s
books began in Europe and North America.
John Newberry, an advocate of a milder way of educating children,
began publishing a line of books for children in 1744 with “A Little
Pretty Pocket Book.
Newbery’s publications included: Nurse Trulove’s New Year’s Gift,
Mother Goose, Tome Thumb’s Folio, and old favorites, such as
Aesop’s Fables, Robinson Crusoe, and Gulliver’s Travels.
The coveted award given annually to the outstanding author of a
children’s literature selection bears Newbery’s name.
 18th Century

A notable award was given to Randolph Caldescott for his

books.

He published nursery toy books which were very funny to

children and adults.

Also, scary and fairy tales stories appeared in England

during this year for children’s entertainment.
The 19th Century.

By the 19th century, children’s literature began

to reflect the different social realities
experienced by girls and boys.

Boys’ texts focused on the vocations to which

young men might aspire.

Girls’ texts focused on domesticity and their

future roles as wives and mothers.
The artists and authors in this age made some fascinating
impact to children’s literature.

Effects such as good illustrations, picture books, richness

of colour, eloquence, humour and fantasy represent the
best work of art found in this era.

Alice Adventure in wonderland by Lewis Carrol is one of

such notable for absurd fantasy.

The 19th Century introduced many real life adventures in

Children’s literature.
 Notable Authors

The Grimms’ first edition of tales, published in 1812,

contained 85 stories, including “Cinderella,” “Hansel
and Gretel,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and “The Frog
Prince.”
Hans Christian Andersen, is generally credited with
being the first to create and publish an original fairy
tale.

“The Little Mermaid,” and “The Red Shoes” are among

The 20th Century

Due to mandatory education laws , most people in

America and Europe are now literate and could
voice their beliefs.

This contributed a great impact on books as well.

Early books in this era shows a softer version of

children playing and reading though still dressed
very proper and stilt.
There were huge increase in Children’s literature and most were
published.
A very notable one is Harry Potter
The Child and the family, History -
Present
Before the middle ages, children were not greatly valued and
infanticide was a regular practice.

Books written in the last few centuries have usually reflected

views of childhood and the family typical of their time.

Books during 1856 – 1903 stressed the importance of accepting

responsibility for one’s family or for self improvement.

Books have religious emphasis and respect for authority was

undermined.
The 1900’s brought much change to the lives of American
children:
Many states passed child labor laws. John Dewey’s influential
theories encouraged a more child-centered educational
philosophy, the quality and extent of public education
improved, and religious training placed less emphasis on
sinfulness and more emphasis on moral development and
responsibility toward others.
Many books characterized the social values, the stability of
family life, the types of personal relationships depicted in
children’s literature of this period.
Children’s Classics of the Nineteenth Century

1812 The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss

1843 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

1864 Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

1865 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson)

1865 Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge

1868 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

1869 Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne

1871 Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson)

1872 Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

1876 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

1877 Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

1883 Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

1883 The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (Carlo Lorenzini)

1884 Heidi by Johanna Spyri

1886 Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

1886 Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances H. Burnett

1894 The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

1900 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

*Books depicted family members who have happy and secure relationships with
one another, complemented by mutual respect, warmth, and humor.

*Religious values are suggested in some stories by Sunday School attendance,

preparation for the Sabbath, or prayers before meals.

*Dignity is stressed.

*Patriotism is strong in books, and the law is respected.

*Education is considered important; children enjoy reading, going to school with

the expectation that it will increase their understanding, and they should finish
their homework before playing.
*Adult characters in children’s books were becoming less authoritarian and critical
in their relationships with children, and children were becoming more outspoken,
independent, and critical of adults.

*In 1981, polls quoted by John E. Stacks showed that about 20 percent of Americans
still expressed belief in most of the traditional values of hard work, family loyalty,
and sacrifice.

*Many books still portray strong family ties and stress the importance of personal
responsibility and human dignity.

*Recent literature suggests that many acceptable family units do not conform to the
Present Day

Forces at work in Children’s literature’

1) Child’s needs
2) Adult’s idea about what a child needs
*Characters in the literature of this period expressed
concern about equal opportunities, respect for law,
education, and adult authority.
*Clearly children’s literature today presents a greater
range and more realistic representations of family
diversity.
For more reading:
https://thesismag.com/2014/02/18/modern-childrens-
literature-twentieth-century-and-beyond/
 Literary Genres of Children’s Literature
Early Childhood Books : Books written for children birth through age 6
Concept—picture books that present numerous examples of a particular concept, such as the
common colors
Alphabet—a concept book that presents letters of the alphabet
Counting—a concept book that presents the counting numbers
General—concept books that present other common concepts such as colors and opposites
Pattern books—predictable books that contain repetitive words, phrases, questions, or structure
Wordless books— books in which the story is revealed through a sequence of illustrations with
no—or very few—words Traditional Literature : Stories, songs, and rhymes with unknown
authorship that were passed down orally through generations
Category Genre in children’s literature
Picture Books Interdependence of art and text. Story or Concept presented through
combination of text and illustration. Classification based on format, not genre. All
genres appear in picture books.

Poetry & Verse Condensed language, imagery. Distilled, rhythmic expression of imaginative
thoughts and perceptions.

Folklore & fairytales Literary heritage of humankind. Traditional stories, myths, legends, nursery
rhymes, and songs from the past. Oral tradition; no known author.

Fantasy Imaginative worlds, make-believe. Stories set in places that do not exist, about
people and creatures that could not exist, or events that could not happen.

Science Fiction Based on extending physical laws and scientific principles to their logical
outcomes. Stories about what might occur in the future.

Realistic Fiction "What if" stories, illusion of reality. Events could happen in real world, characters
seem real; contemporary setting.

Historical Fiction Set in the past, could have happened. Story reconstructs events of past age,
things that could have or did occur.

Biography Plot and theme based on person's life. An account of a person's life, or part of a
life history; letters, memoirs, diaries, journals, autobiographies.

Non-fiction Facts about the real world. Informational books that explain a subject or concept.
 In Conclusion,

In a world where technology increasingly blurs the

boundaries between people and machines, there is
a postmodern shift in children’s literature.

 https://thesismag.com/2014/01/21/the-history-of-
childrens-literature/
 Today,

Today’s stories and literatures have been made

into films and animation.
 The End.

Reflections! Reflections!
What are some themes that characterised
children’s literature in the 21st Century?
What themes have not been addressed in
children’s books of this present century?
 EEN 5103:
Children’s Literature and Storytelling
Through the Eyes of a Child: An
Introduction to Children’s Literature
Donna E. Norton

Desiree De Florimonte, Ph.D

Facilitator
 Chapter 3
Evaluating and Selecting Literature for Children

Objectives
Teachers will:
Identify standards, Literary Elements and selection of
books for children.
Design strategic instruction with Literary Elements.
 Chapter 3
Outline

Standards, Literary Elements, and Book Selection

• Standards for Evaluating Books and Literary Criticism
• *Standards for Evaluating Multicultural Literature
• Literary Elements
• The Right Book for Each Child
• The Child as Critic
Standards, Literary Elements, and Book
Selection
A literature program should have five objectives.

First, a literature program should help students

realize that literature is for entertainment and
can be enjoyed throughout their lives.
Second, a literature program should acquaint children
with their literary heritage.
Third, a literature program should help students
understand the formal elements of literature and
lead them to prefer the best that our literature has
to offer.
Fourth, a literature program should help children
grow up understanding themselves and the rest of
humanity.
Fifth, a literature program should help children
evaluate what they read.
 valuation Criteria
Literary Criticism: Questions to
Ask Myself When I Judge a Book
1. Is this a good story?
2. Is the story about something I think could really happen? Is the plot believable?
3. Did the main character overcome the problem, but not too easily?
4. Did the climax seem natural?
5. Did the characters seem real? Did I understand the characters’ personalities and the reasons
for their actions?
6. Did the characters in the story grow?
7. Did I find out about more than one side of the characters? Did the characters have both
strengths and weaknesses?
8. Did the setting present what is actually known about the time or place.
9. Did the characters fit into the setting?
10. Did I feel that I was really in that time or place.
11. What did the author want to tell me in the story?
12. Was the theme worthwhile?
13. When I read the book aloud, did the characters sound like real people actually talking?
14. Did the rest of the language sound natural? (Norton, 1993)
• In addition,

Both children and adults need opportunities to evaluate

literature.
• Reviewers must have a sense of children and how they
will respond to the book as well as an evaluation that,
if the book is good, will make readers want to read the
book.
• The review should evaluate the literary capabilities of
the author and also be written in an enjoyable style.

Significant children’s books that shaped the 20th century (p.73)

Aspects of evaluation and literary criticism -
Phyllis K. Kennemer (1984) identified three categories of book
reviews and longer book analyses:
(1) descriptive
(2) analytical
(3) sociological
• Descriptive reviews report factual information about the story
and illustrations of a book.
• Analytical reviews discuss, compare and evaluate literary
elements.
• Sociological reviews emphasize the social context of a book,
concerning themselves with characterizations of particular social
groups, distinguishable ethnic characteristics, moral values,
possible controversy, and potential popularity.
Literary Elements
To effectively evaluate literature, readers must look at the ways in
which authors of children’s books use plot, characterization,
setting, theme, style, and point of view to create memorable
stories.
Plot
Plot is important in stories.
When asked to tell about a favorite story, children usually recount the plot, or
plan of action.
A good plot also allows children to become involved in the action, feel the
conflict developing, recognize the climax when it occurs, and respond to a
satisfactory ending.
Developing the Order of Events
Readers expect a story to have a good beginning, one
that introduces the action and characters in an enticing
way; a good middle section, one that develops the
conflict; a recognizable climax; and an appropriate
ending. If any element is missing, children consider a
book unsatisfactory and a waste of time.
Very strong and obvious chronological order is found in
cumulative folktales. Actions and characters are related
to each other in sequential order and each is
mentioned again when new action or a new character
is introduced. Children who enjoy the cumulative style
of the nursery rhyme “The House The Jack Built” also
enjoy a similar cumulative rhyme in Verna Aardems’s
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain: A Nandi Tale.
Cumulative, sequential action may also be developed in
reverse, from last event to first, as in Verna Aardema’s
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in Peoples’ Ears.
Developing Conflicts
Excitement in a story occurs when the main characters
experience a struggle or overcome conflict.
Conflict is the usual source of plots in literature. According to
Rebecca J. Lukens (1999), children’s literature contains four
kinds of conflict:
(1) person against person
(2) person against society
(3) person against nature
(4) person against self
Person Against Person
One person-against person conflict that young children enjoy is the tale of
that famous bunny, Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter. In this story, Peter’s
disobedience and greed quickly bring him into conflict with the owner of
the garden. Mr. McGregor, who has sworn to put peter into a pie.
Excitement and suspense develop as Peter and Mr. McGregor proceed
through a series of life-and-death encounters: Peter becomes tangled in a
gooseberry net, and Mr. McGregor tries to trap Peter inside a sieve.
Knowledge of Peter’s possible fate increases the suspense of these
adventures. The excitement intensifies each time Peter narrowly misses
been caught, and young readers’ relief is great when Peter escapes for
good. Children also sympathized with Peter when disobedience results in
a stomachache and a dose of chamomile tea.
Conflicts between animals and humans, or
animals and animals, or humans and humans are
common in children’s literature, including many
popular folktales. Both Little Red Riding Hood and
the three little pigs confront a wicked wolf,
Cinderella and Snow White are among the fairy
tale heroines mistreated by stepmothers, and
Hansel and Gretel are imprisoned by a witch.
Person Against Society
Conflicts also develop when the main character’s actions,
desires, or values differ from those of the surrounding society.
This society may consist of groups of children who cannot
tolerate children who are different from themselves. In Brock
Cole’s The Goats, a boy and a girl who are considered social
outcasts by their peers at camp are stripped of their clothing
and marooned on a deserted island. The author reveals the
social attitudes of this camp when girls are classified as queens,
princesses, dogs, and real dogs. Cole reveals the feelings of the
children through their ordeal when he uses terms such as they
and them to identify the society. When the girl wants the boy to
leave her, his actions, thoughts, and dialogue reveal the strength
of his dislike for the society that placed him in this isolation.
Children’s books often portray person-against-society
conflicts that result from being different from the
majority in terms of race, religion, or physical
characteristics. Gary Paulsen’s Nightjohn develops the
brutality of a society that mistreats slaves. Life for 12-
year-old Sarney becomes even more miserable when
Nightjohn secretly teachers her how to read and both of
them are punished for this action.
Judy Blume’s Blubber shows the cruelty to which a fat child is
subjected by her peers. For the conflict between person and
society in such books to be believable, the social setting and
its values must be presented in accurate detail.

Numerous survival stories set in wartime develop person-

against-society conflicts. In Uri Orlev’s The Island on Bird
Street, the conflict is between a Jewish boy and the society
that forces him to live in loneliness and starvation rather
than surrender. Throughout the story, Orlev descries the
boy’s fear and the society that causes him to feel and respond
in this way.
Person Against Self
Person-against-self conflict is a popular plot device in children’s literature.
Authors of contemporary realistic fiction often develop plots around children
who face and overcome problems related to family disturbances. i.e. In Ruth
White’s Belle Prater’s Boy, the characters struggle to understand the suicide
of the girl’s father and desertion of the boy’s mother.
Characterization
A believable, enjoyable story needs main characters who seem lifelike and
who develop throughout the story.
The credibility of a character depends on the writer’s ability to reveal that
character’s full nature, including strengths and weaknesses.
Setting
The setting of a story –its location in time and place-helps readers share
what the characters see, smell, hear, and touch, and also makes the
characters’ values, actions, and conflicts more understandable.
The setting is such an important part of the story that the
characters and plot cannot be developed without understanding
the time and place.
It can create a mood, provide an antagonist, establish historical
background, or supply symbolic meaning.
Setting as Mood
Authors of Children’s Literature use settings to create moods
that add credibility to characters and plot.
Setting as Antagonist
Setting can be an antagonist in plots based on person-against-
society or person-against-nature conflict.
Setting as Historical Background
Accuracy in setting is extremely important in historical fiction and in
biography.
Setting as Symbolism
Settings often have symbolic meanings that underscore what is happening in
the story.
Symbolism is common in traditional folktales where frightening adventures
and magical transformations occur in the deep dark woods, and splendid
castles are the sites of “happily ever after”.
Theme
The theme of story is the underlying idea that ties the plot characters, and
setting together into a meaningful whole.
Theme and the Nature of Conflict
Authors who set their stories in two time periods, such as in time travel tales,
frequently develop their themes by showing how characters respond to
conflicts and dangers during both periods.
For example, in Ted Bell’s “Nick of Time: An Adventure Through Time,” the
author introduces the themes of courage and bravery with quotes from Ralph
Waldo Emerson and Richard Trench. Trench’s quote is especially appropriate:
“A good ship is never tested in calm waters.” The themes of courage, integrity,
and honor are developed through Nick’s actions. For example, whenever he is
in grave danger, he whispers a prayer to his long-dead hero. Nick’s quest is to
use his 1930 knowledge of the reefs to save Admiral Lord Nelson from a
French and Spanish ambush in 1805. The author uses parallels in rewards
during both periods. In 1805 Nick is awarded the Silver Cross of St. George, the
highest honor of bravery at sea, and he is called a hero by Admiral Lord Nelson:
in 1939, Nick is hailed a hero for his bravery and actions by Winston Churchill.
The Theme of Personal Development
Literature provides children with opportunities to identify with other people’s
experiences and help them better understand their own growing up.
Consequently, the themes of many children’s books deal with developing self-
understanding.
One book that develops the importance of support from another human beings
is Theodore Taylor’s “The Cay”.

Many children’s books deal in some way with the necessity of overcoming
problems. Characters may confront problems within themselves or in their
relationships with others, or problems caused by society or nature.
Memorable characters face their adversaries, and through a maturing process,
they learn to handle their difficulties. Handling problems may be as dramatic
and planned as Mafatu’s search for courage in Armstrong Sperry’s “Call It
Courage” or may result from accident, as in Theodore Taylor's “The Cay.“
Style
• Authors have a wide choice of words to select from and numerous
ways to arrange words to create plots, characters, and settings
and to express themes. Many authors use words and sentences in
creative ways.
• Figurative language helps develop character, plot, and setting.
• Authors also may select words and sentence structures with
rhythms to evoke different moods.

Point of View
Different people may describe an incident in different terms:
The feelings they experience, the details they mention, and
their judgments about what occurred may vary because of
their backgrounds, values, and perspectives.
Authors, however, develop subject matter and express view
points according to levels of interest and understanding of
the readers.
Authors may also use changes in page color to reflect
different points of view.
An author has several options when selecting point of view.
• A first-person point of view speaks through the “I” of one
of the characters.
• An objective point view lets actions speak for themselves; the
author describes only the characters’ actions, and readers must
infer the characters’ thoughts and feelings.
• An omniscient point of view tells the story in the third person
(“they,,” “he”, or “she”).
The author is not restricted to the knowledge, experiences, and
feelings of one person; the feelings and thoughts of all characters
can be revealed. (all knowing)
• A limited omniscient point of view however, concentrates on the
experiences of one character but has the option to be all-knowing
about other characters.
The Right Book for Each Child
Children have different personal and literary needs at different ages because of
developmental stages.
Accessibility
Literature must be readily accessible if children are to read at all.
Readability
A book must conform to a child’s reading level in order for a child to read
independently.
Interest and Reader Response
Interests also are extremely important when developing literature programs.
Margaret Early (1992/1993) stated, “Decades of experience have shown that
children are more likely to develop as thoughtful readers when they are pursing
content that interests them”.
Without asking questions about interests, there is no way to learn, for
example, that a fourth grader boy is a Shakespeare buff, because
research into children’s interests does not indicate that a fourth
grader should like Shakespeare’s plays. Or consider a first-grade girl
whose favorite subject is dinosaurs, which she can identify by name:
Discovering this would be impossible without an interview, because
research does not indicate that first-grade girls are interested in
factual, scientific subjects. These two cases point to the need to
discover children’s interests before helping them select books.
Informal conversation is one of the simplest ways to uncover
children’s interest:
Ask a child to describe what he or she likes to do and read about.
Usually, you should record the information when working with a
number of children.
The range of books also suggests that it is important to select books
that match the interests of the readers.
Young children usually just enjoy and talk about books, but older
ones can start to evaluate what they do and do not like about
literature.
 Teaching With Literary Elements
Involving Children in Plot
Creative drama interpretations based on story texts help children expand their
imaginations, stimulate their feelings, enhance their language and clarify their
concepts.
To help children learn the importance of order, have them rearrange the incidents:
Involving Children in Characterization
Involving Children in Setting
Involving Children in Theme
Students need many opportunities to read and discuss literature in
order to identify controlling ideas or central concepts in stories.
Themes are difficult because they frequently are implied rather that
directly stated.
When looking for theme, it is important to consider how the main
character changes in the story, what conflicts are found in the story,
what actions are rewarded or punished, and what the main
character has learned as a result. Even the title may provide clues
to the theme.

Explain to students that theme is the controlling idea or central

concept in a story. Themes often reveal important beliefs about
life, and a story may contain more than one theme. When searching
for a theme, ask, “What is the author trying to tell us that would
make a difference in our lives?”
Review some of the ways in which authors reveal themes, such as
through conflict, the characters' actions, the characters’ thoughts,
the outcome of the story, the actions that are rewarded or punished
and narrative. In addition, the title and illustrations may provide
clues.

Involving Children in Style

Authors show the power of carefully chosen words and sentence
structures as they create visual images and arrange words to create
moods or to increase tension. A pleasing style and character
development using personification make books enjoyable for many
young readers.
 General Introduction

Introduction to the Course

Introduction • Aims and objectives
• Interactive Lectures
• Assessments
• Assignment Deadlines
Lecture 1 - Valuing Literature for Children
• It is through literature that we most
intimately enter the hearts and minds and
spirits of other people. And what we value
in this is the difference as well as the
human similarities of others: that way, as
C. S. Lewis put it, we become a thousand
different people and yet remain
ourselves. A. Chambers
 LITERATURE IS LIFE.

What is LITERATURE IS A GROUP OF WORKS OF ART

literature? MADE UP OF WORDS, WRITTEN OR PASSED
ON BY THE WORD OF THE MOUTH.

LITERATURES ENTICES, MOTIVATES AND

INSTRUCTS.
 Other Definitions
• Literature can be the following:
• Published or unpublished books
• A work of art that holds interest, gives pleasure
• fictional, non-fictional ideas,imaginative, biographical
• A reflection that makes readers see, feel, hear, love,…
• Something that has structure, form
• What readers think, discuss, argue, disagree
• communication
• with ourselves
• with each other
• A creation that allows us to see some issue from a different, perhaps unique, perspective
• expands our viewpoints
• beyond our personal experiences
 Simply a book created for children.

What then is Children’s literature is good quality trade books for

children from birth to adolescence, covering topics of
Children’s relevance and interest to children of all ages, through
prose and poetry, fiction and non-fiction.
Literature?
A book written through the eyes of children.
 • Children who are successful at
becoming literate view reading
and writing as authentic activities
from which they get information
Why do we need and pleasure, and by which they
children’s communicate to others.
literature?
• Books are the major means of
transmitting our literary heritage
from government to government.
 These books, all initially written
for children, eventually
gravitated to the adult world.
Cont.
All of these stories are adult
books that are read by children
(or at least young adults)
Early childhood educators,
Renea Arnold and Nell
Colburn in their findings
advocate that to promote
early literacy skills that will Activities such as reading
help prepare children for to the children, singing
school, reading and songs with the children,
learning skills should be pointing out letters in
introduced in order to books are of great help in
encourage language the development of a child
development in young
children.
 Values of Literature for Children

Personal Values Educational values

 Personal values
We read to children because of the following values:
Enjoyment
Imagination
Insight
Vicarious experience
Mind connection between adult and child
Universality of experience
 Cont.(Personal Values)
• Brain development
• Helps children to wind down
• Bonding between adult and child
• Knowledge, heritage and cultural identity
• Understanding and Emphathy
• Moral reasoning
• Literacy and Artistic Preferences
 Educational Values

• Reading and writing

becomes easy
• Art Appreciation
• Language development
• Cognitive development
• Instructional guide for
syllabus
• Information
• Academic excellence
• Wide vocabulary
 Research in child
development has identified
Promoting stages in the language,
child cognitive, personality and
social development of
development children.
through
literature A)Language development.
Literature has profound
influences on children’s
language development
 During their first few years, children show
dramatic changes in language ability.

Pre school Most children learn language very rapidly.

children
They speak their first words at about 1 year of
age; at about 18 months, they begin to put
words together in two-word combinations.
 The number of the combinations
increases slowly, then it shows a sudden
upsurge around age 2
Cont.(Pre-
school) Speech usually becomes more complex
by age 3, when most children have
added adverbs, pronouns, prepositions
and more adjectives to their
vocabularies.
 LITERATURE AND LITERATURE –RELATED EXPERIENCES
CAN ENCOURAGE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN
PRESCHOOL CHILDREN - SECONDARY

Secondary students

Pre
school/secondary -Language development continues through reading and
writing.

-Vocabulary increases as students progresses with literature.

-.
The literary books encourages literary appreciation and
understanding.

-Advance writing style that may help students understand

the writing process
 CHILDREN’S LITERATURE ALSO ENCOURAGES
CREATIVITY. IT HELPS CHILDREN TO USE THEIR
IMAGINATIONS AND TO CONNECT
IDEAS/REPRESENTATIONS IN WORDS.
b. Cognitive
Development
ART MASTERPIECES THROUGH THE AGES
(DESNOETTES, 2006) ARE IMAGINATIVE AND
ORIGINAL BOOKS THAT ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO
LEARN ABOUT MUSIC AND ART, AND THEY ARE
ENGAGING IN THEIR DESIGN AND INTERACTIVITY.
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE PROMOTES THE
DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS’ INTERNAL
IMAGINATIONS.
 Other values of
Cognitive development through children’s literature.
Children’s literature is especially effective for developing the basic
operations associated with thinking through the following concepts;
-Observation,
-Comparism,
-Classification,
- Making Hypothesis,
-Organization,
-Summary,
-Application and
-Criticism
 Developmental psychologist Jean Piaget says that
when students move from the pre-operational to the
operational stage of cognitive development, they
become less egocentric.

c. Personality Whereas students in preschool and kindergarten may

be entirely focused on themselves, as students grow
Development older, they begin to take into account the feelings and
viewpoints of others.

Being able to understand other people’s viewpoints

and to not be selfish are important skills that adults
must nurture in children, as Norton says that
“acceptable relationships require an understanding of
the feelings and viewpoints of others”
 Personality development
“ Personality characteristics are the traits that give each person a
unique style of reacting to other people, places, things and events”
(George Maxim, 1993)

To acquire these traits, children go through many stages of personality

development. They learn to express emotions, empathy and develop
feelings of self esteem

Literature thus play an important role in helping children develop

positive and realistic self concepts
 Children’s literature guide good
manners and helps children to
develop courteous behaviours.
d. Social
development Humorous dialogues, puns,
cartoons and illustrations bring
out good social values in a child
 Children’s literature can foster social
development by encouraging students to accept
other people and their differences.
Social
development
Children’s literature can also encourage students
to develop relationships with people,
encouraging social contact. An atypical
friendship is depicted in Loop the Loop (Dugan,
1992), where a young child and an elderly person
become good friends and share the common joy
of playing with yo-yo’s.
 Preschool children start to develop
concepts of right and wrong when they
identify with their parents and parental
values, attitudes and standards of
conduct.
Moral
development Children’s literature contains numerous
moments of crisis, when characters make
moral decisions and contemplate the
reasons for their decisions.
 Cont.

• Teachers or adults may need to help children

understand decision making if the decisions are
beyond their moral development
 TEACHERS NEED TO IDENTIFY, NAME ACTIONS AND
OBJECTS WELL,

GAIN MORE COMPLEX SPEECH AND ENJOY THE

WONDER OF LANGUAGE WHILE READING TO
The CHILDREN.

Requirements ALSO, BOOKS ARE TO BE READ WITH REPETITIVE

LANGUAGE AND EXCELLENT ORAL PRESENTATION TO
ENTICE THE LITTLE LISTENERS.

THIS WILL ALLOW THE CHILDREN TO JOIN IN AND

LEARN ALONG.
 Cont.

TEACHERS MUST ENGAGE IN A QUALITY READ- ALOUD AND

STORY TELLING SESSIONS

WORDLESS PICTURE BOOKS ARE EXCELLENT

STIMULI FOR ORAL AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE, SO
TEACHERS SHOULD USE THIS TOOL TO STIMULATE
CHILDREN’S THINKING
 Children’s responses to literature
• Encouraging children to respond to the literature they read is one of
the most important tasks for adults who interact with children and
literature.

• To get a good response, there should be early and continual reading to

children.

• Each genre in a book should be uniquely discussed.

• Also, the environment should be conducive for learning in order to
achieve a good response
 Descriptive i.e retelling the stories, naming character
and giving illustrations

Analytic i.e Pointing to the use of language, structure

and literary style.’

Types of Personal i.e Describing the readers action, emotions

response from and memories that have been evoked.

the children. Interpretative i.e Making inferences about the work

and relating it with other phenomena.

Evaluative i.e Judging the work’s merit on personal,

formal or moral criteria
 Conclusion

An effective literature program

requires that a wide range of books
must be read as they all have
different benefits and purposes.
A GOOD LITERATURE PROGRAM SUPPORTS
LITERACY DEVELOPMENT AT ALL LEVELS.

REFLECT!!!
THE END!
 Source& Further Reading

• Source: https://www.luther.edu/oneota-reading-journal/archive/2012/the-
value-of-childrens-literature/

• https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1308657.pdf
• Further reading:
• https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-43180-6_11
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/376901
 Tutorial

• Why is Children’s Literature taught at the University?

• Based on your understanding of Children’s Literature, identify two stories
that speak to any of the developments of children discussed in class.
• How can you create an environment that will be conducive to learning and
stimulate good responses?
 Next Lecture

• History of Children’s Literature

• What is children’s Literature?
• Books written by award-winning authors
• Books written for children meeting high literary standards
• Books with lots of pictures
• Books that are engaging