LIS 5183 Books and Materials for Children

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LIS 5183Books and Materials for Children

• Meeting 4
• Summer, 2008
• Terri Street, Adjunct

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Folktale Sharing

• Book discussion groups
• Discuss assignment points in small groups
• Any text variations
• Contribution of art
• Setting
• Child appeal
• Support from books
• Briefly share with class

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Plot

• Definition
• Action
• Mysteries and suspense
• Narrative Orders
• Chronological
• Variations
• Time shifts
• Diary
• Flashbacks

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Plot

• Conflict
• Types
• Person v. self
• Person v. person (antagonist)
• Folktales
• Person v. society
• Person v. nature
• Grows from character
• Folktales
• Poor text, script

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Plot

• Patterns
• Open-ended
• Minimal suspense
• Rising action
• Exposition
• Climax
• Denouement
• Resolution
• Multiple plot lines

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Style and Tone

• Word selection and arrangement
• Appropriate
• Figurative language
• Within readers understanding
• Dialogue
• Natural
• Slang popular expressions date
• Best test oral reading

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Value of Historical Fiction

• Experience the past
• Invite comparison to present
• See judge the past more clearly
• Recognize universal human need
• See human interdependence
• Importance of taking a stand
• Develop feeling for continuity of life, e.g. big
  picture of history

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Types of Historical Fiction

• Actual events or people
• General historical perspective, a feel for the
  time
• Contemporary story that endures
• Cross genre

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Criteria for Evaluating Hist. F

• Interesting story
• Balance fact with fiction
• Accurate and authentic
• Times
• Culture
• Language
• Authors Hippocratic oath
• Reflect spirit and values of time
• May include other interpretations
• Illuminate today by examining past

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Theme

• Central message
• Universal
• Expressed in a complete sentence
• Reveals authors purpose
• Dimension beyond plot

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Evaluating Theme

• Worthy?
• Sound moral and ethical principles?
• Explicit v. implicit?
• Didactic?

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Lets Talk!

• Discussion of Ruth Whites Belle Praters Boy
• Major conflict?
• Coincidence?
• Setting?
• Tone?
• Theme?

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Sociological Criticism

• Examines social groups, relationships, and values
• Emphasize nature and effect of social forces that
  shape power relationships between groups or
  classes of people
• Treat literature as either a document reflecting
  social conditions or a product of those
  conditions
• Former view brings into focus the social milieu
  the latter emphasizes the work
• Important forms are Marxist and feminist
  approaches

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Sociological Criticism

• Aspect of larger processes of history
• people acting in social groups
• members of social institutions or movements
• Sociological Critics
• use literary texts to illustrate social attitudes
  and tendencies
• attempt to relate what happens in texts to social
  events and patterns
• concerned about the effects of texts on human
  events
• concerned about historical events on texts

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Works Cited

• Collier, Christopher. Criteria for Historical
  Fiction. School Library Journal. 28 (August,
  1982)32.
• Hunter, Mollie. Shoulder in the Sky. Talent Is
  Not Enough. New York Harper, 1976. pp. 43-44.
• Paterson, Katherine. Hearts in Hiding. Worlds
  of Childhood The Art and Craft of Writing for
  Children, ed. William Zinsser. Boston Houghton
  Mifflin, 1990. p. 153.

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Interesting Websites

• The Edge of the Forest A Childrens Literature
  Monthlyhttp//theedgeoftheforest.com/middle_grade
  .shtml
• Fuse 8 Productions http//www.schoollibraryjourna
  l.com/ (click Fuse 8 Productions under Blogs)

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Next Weeks Assignment

• Elements of Style
• Information Books
• Student storytelling
• Tell a story to the class (students may choose to
  do this assignment for Meeting 5 or 6 sign-up to
  commit to a specific day)
• May use visual if desired (e.g., puppet,
  storyboard)

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Storytelling Discussion

• Expectations
• Questions?
• Signup (8 per day)