Literary Criticism : ' The Unassuming And Humble Picture ' Essay

Throughout time, countless great children’s books have been published and then loved by many. To name a few, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. What do these three books have in common? They were all published as children’s books, then kept out of their hands for numerous reasons. Parents and teachers claimed these books were unfit for children’s reading. They either introduced topics that were not open to them yet or went against their lifestyle. All around the world, great books are being kept from children for doltish reasons. They are being censored, then banned from their eyes. Taking this literature from them is ruining their childhood; it is preventing children from learning about the world and being ready for it. Censoring in children’s books needs to become less harsh or else they are going to grow up in a sealed world.

Children’s Literature is a wide range. It is collection of culture, concepts and future values. After reading the introduction” Trade And Plumb-Cake Forever, The Riverside Anthology of Children’s Literature), I considered most insightful in reading this section , Children’s literature differs from adult literature, Children’s literature plays a key role in raising children's imaginations, and it plays an important role in the development and creative thinking in children.

Doughty, A. A. (2013). 'Throw the Book Away': Reading versus Experience in Children's Fantasy. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

When readers read a story written by an author they will usually think that the author likes to read books and is what led the author to writing a book. William Goldman said, “As a child, I had no Interest in reading” (Goldman 3), this can lead readers to imagining the author as a young child rather than an adult not wanting to read a book. When Readers imagine the author as a young child the image imagined can give a better sense of how the author felt as a young child. The imagination of a child giving the reader a picture to think about is less complex than that of a adult giving a reader a picture to think about.

Another interesting trend in children’s literature is mixing of genres, such as mixing cartoons and novels, which may be

It surprised me at first that Contemporary Realistic Fiction is the most popular genre in children’s books. But after reading this it made more sense why contemporary realistic fiction is the most popular genre. It approaches the reality of children’s own lives. They can also connect to it so much easier than other genres.

Children’s literature is the precedent for the development of all children. Children’s literature varies from poetry to children’s picture books. Every aspect of children’s literature gives an ability to grow a child mentally and develop their ideas and imagination. In early literature, children were romanized to be perfect and well behaved. Author Maurice Sendak counters the idea of a perfect child in his book “Where The Wild Things Are”. Sendak uses his picture book to illustrate a child’s ability to have feelings of anger, resentment, and frustration. The interviewer, Patrick F. Roughen of Red Feather Journal states that“Where the Wild Things Are (1963) contains some of the earliest attempts in children’s literature to represent the intrapsychic challenges of the lives of children. Anger, frustration, and the complexities of parent-child relationships can be found throughout its pages”. “Where the Wild Things Are” reinforces the idea that children are capable of emotions that one would imagine are only depicted in the adult world.

Children’s literature has existed for as long as there have been stories to be told to children. Stories, books, songs, poems are all made for children. Children’s literature does not have a definite definition of what it is; basically, it is anything a child reads (Lerer, 2008). Children begin to learn what reading and writing are used for before even knowing how the system works. Children recognise the function of written language by seeing examples of written language that are being used around them. Many children know the difference between reading and talking, they are aware that written language is used to do things in this world (Emitt, Zbaracki, Komesaroff and Pollock, 2015). Quintilian, John Locke, Saint Augustine and Doctor Seuss speculated on the ways children learn the Australian language and learn about their lives from literature (Lerer, 2008). In fact, Lerer states that “the history of children’s literature is inseparable from the history of childhood, for the child was made through texts and tales he/she studied, heard and told back,” (2008, p.1). Children’s literature nurtures an understanding of narrative structures and visual images played in storytelling, this helps develop

The best picture books, are warm, humorous, and can be read again and again. There must be something new to take away each time you read it. It has to hold up to multiple readings. There must be substance, depth, and layering.

Children’s literature can take many forms, from far-fetching science fiction to spell binding who-done-it mysteries. One of the most popular ideas presented in these various forms is that of escapism. The characters in these stories explore quite complex social issues in ways that are less confrontational then realism. One might consider why escape is such a central theme; as a child there are numerous benefits to fantasy, it allows readers to experiment with different views of the world and takes hypothetical situations and invites them to make connections between this fictive scenario and their own reality. John Stephens an English professor at Macquarie University has said “ Fantasy writing operates through metaphor- so that the unfamiliar is used to stand in for, or comment upon, the familiar.”

Through the expression of literature within the elementary school classroom, young children can become exposed to endless lesson’s regarding life and growing. “Realistic” stories have been criticized for being dull, too complex, and psychologically empty. For example, it is practically impossible to find any meaning within literature such as “See Dick. See Jane.” Nonetheless, fantasy restores this meaning within the reading process. As expressed by Bruno Bettelheim, author of The Uses of Enchantment, fantasy allows children to identify with heroes who ultimately win, offering confidence to believe that negative aspects in one’s life can be successfully dealt with. The Wizard of Oz is a

Fairy tale characters, along with other fictional beings, have entertained and inspired many children for centuries. Various little girls, all over the world have dreamed of one day finding their Prince Charming and meeting their godmother, while little boys were on the look out for dragons and dragon slayers. At some point however, the magic in many of the little children eyes slowly drifted away, and their belief in this fictional reality wavered. Americans in the 21st century seem to have lost their connection with imagination. In “Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?,” Ursula LeGuin claims that Americans fail to read fictional novels because they have lost faith in an alternate reality, and find books useless, due to the lack of personal gain. Yet, LeGuin overlooks the many maturely developed Americans who have never touched any fictional print, and exaggerates their self-indulging nature.

The mental development of a child is an unpredictable thing. Not all children are going to grow at the same pace, and the stories they read could start to become tiresome. The absurdities of stories such as The Princess and the Pea that once made them fun might now alienate them. But they still might not be ready for books meant for older children. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by John Scieszka and Lane Smith is a postmodern book offering a remedy that problem. It uses light hearted comedy and parody alongside eccentric art to aid in a child’s literacy and cognitive development, making it a deserving winner of its Caldecott Medal.

'In children 's literature the notion and construct of 'childhood ' became an influential force...it became associated with freedom...and play; focusing on educating children malleablly. '

Although many view children's fiction as suitable only to children, and an embarrassingly immature pursuit for a serious person, children' stories mold the way we think. They allows us to look at very complex and difficult issues in a safe and playful way, and they give us the freedom to imagine the unimaginable.