ESSENTIALS OF CHILDREN

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ESSENTIALS OF CHILDRENS LITERATURE Chapter 1
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CHILDRENS LITERATURE

• is good quality trade books for children
• from birth to adolescence
• covering topics of relevance and interest to
  children of those ages
• through poetry and prose,
• fiction and nonfiction
  
  

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CONTENT

• About experiences of childhood, both good and bad
  diverse topics of interest to children
• Told in a forthright, humorous , or
  suspenseful manner!
• IF told about childhood in a nostalgic or overly
  sentimental way -- inappropriate
• When children shown as victims, stories should
  emphasize hope for a better future
• Mainly for enjoyment and information

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QUALITY

• Involves originality and importance of ideas,
  imaginative use of language, and beauty of
  literary and artistic style
• Fresh, meaningful and interesting for years
• Good (but not great) have value (fast-moving,
  adventure-filled, predictable stories encourage
  newly independent readers to read). No need for
  YOU to read aloud.
• Low end books nothing more than ads for TV
  cartoon characters or author soapboxes.

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ACADEMIC VALUE OF LITERATURE TO CHILDREN

• Literature across the Curriculum use resources
  as listed in Appendix B, p315 not confined to
  textbook as sole source
• Illustration in picture books appreciate both
  for
• its ability to help tell the story
• its value as art (aesthetic)
• Invaluable in teaching children to read daily
• reading excellent literature aloud
• silent independent reading of free-choice material

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PERSONAL VALUE OF LITERATURE TO CHILDREN

• ENJOYMENT
• IMAGINATION AND INSPIRATION
• VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE
• UNDERSTANDING AND EMPATHY
• HERITAGE
• MORAL REASONING
• LITERARY AND ARTISTIC PREFERENCE

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Current Trends

• Rapid increase in publication of childrens
  literature over last 30 years/5,000 books
  published each year.
• 3 X as many books available as a decade ago.
• Picture books
• Heavily illustrated nonfiction
• Highly commercial TV-related spin-off 2
• Rise in books written by celebrity
  authors Heather French, Madonna/Curic/Leno/Dr.
  Laura Schlessinger
• Increasing numbers of multicultural and
  international books
• Increase in amount complexity of illustration
  in childrens books.
• Fewer full-length novels more short,
  high-interest, low-reading level novels for 10-14
  year olds.
• Picture books dealing artfully with varied family
  structures.

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• Small press publishers assuming the task of
  publishing more challenging, original, risky
  books, as independent book publishers fall to
  corporate takeovers.
• Dominance of illustration in childrens books.
  Advance technology has led to improvements in
  many picture books.
• Readers are becoming more visually oriented as
  they spend more time watching television and
  playing video games and spend less time reading.
• Technology has made possible a new emphasis on
  graphics and photos in nonfictionstunning
  presentations.
• Critics concerned design and appearance factors
  overpower the content of the books while going
  beyond the artistic knowledge of young readers.

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• Interactive approaches to books have been
  developed in reaction to CD-ROMs for readers to
  have something to be involved with, to change, to
  manipulate. Rise of audio books another way to
  involve children in literature.
• Rapid increases in home schooling and charter
  schools have created a need for more childrens
  librarians in public libraries who can select
  good literature for purchase, advise readers
  effectively, and offer interesting programs for
  children.
• Increase in bilingual books, esp. English
  -Spanish Spanish only books to accommodate SSL
  students.
• Tie-in artifacts, such as lunch boxes and
  dolls, are being manufactured to accompany books.
• Pop-up, scratch-and-sniff, and paperengineering
  products for young children are proliferating.
• Fear these are less literary and more commercial.

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• More novels being written in verse, such as
  Hesss (1997) Out of the Dust, Creechs Love That
  Dog (2001), Heartbeat (2004) and Woodsons
  Locomotion (2003).

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• Production of board books for toddlers
• simple concepts/colors/numbers
• Children of color
• Mass marketing of books in supermarkets, mall
  bookstores, and drugstores, along with rise of
  book clubs in schools, has changed the way books
  are selected
• Before/teacher or librarian led children to books
  after explaining their merits now appeal of
  cover alone sells the book or not.
• Because of tax on warehoused goods, books go out
  of print quickly if sales arent high
• Difficult to find book loved as a child
• Or one you read a review of 2 years ago.
  Kira-Kira
• Consolidation of publishing houses into a few
  megacompanies make finding a publisher more
  difficult for unknown authors.

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No copies available in book stores when it won
the Newbery/sent back after 3 months
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Celebrities Writing for Children

• Famous singers, actors, entertainers try their
  hands in writing for children with mixed results.
• Famous published authors of adult books write for
  children
• Carl Hiaasen/ Hoot
• Walter Moseley/47
• David Baldacci/ Freddy and the French Fries
• James Patterson/ Maximum Ride

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• Rapid growth of technology in all areas of
  publishing.
• As schools adopt computerized management reading
  programs such as Accelerated Reader, reading and
  books become less a means to enjoyment and
  discovering new information and more a matter of
  gaining points.

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• Reading is the sole means by which we slip,
  involuntarily, into anothers skin, anothers
  voice, anothers soul.
• By Joyce Carol Oates