Lesson 1

• Children's Literature


  Any literature enjoyed by children. More specifically, children's literature comprises those books written and published for young people who are not yet interested in adult literature or who may not posses the reading skills or developmental understandings necessary for its perusal.
• Great children's stories


  • They are powerful, imaginative, and memorable; they resonate with readers of all ages and have a lasting and profound impact.
• Stories in children's literature

  They teach children how to cope with life's challenges. They provide a trial run of life's possibilities. They also transmit the accumulated wisdom and values of our culture. Children learn through models and heroes.
• Characteristics of Children's Literature

  • Home
  • School
  • Parents
  • Siblings
  • Grandparents
  • Friendship
  • Toys, dolls, play
  • Pets and animals
  • Birthdays
  • Holidays
  • Magic
  • Imagination
• Patterns in Children's Literature

  • Home-away-home
  • Movement from a protected environment to a new, adverse, or challenging environment
  • City-country-city (sometimes reverse)
  • Real world-fantasy world-real world
  • Life-death-rebirth
  • Separation from and reunion with parents
• Taboo or forbidden topics were also introduced to children such as death, child abuse, economic deprivation, alternative life-styles, illegitimate pregnancy, juvenile gang warfare, and rejected children. By early twenty-first century it had become more nearly true than ever before that children may explore life through literature.
• Literature serves children in four major ways

  • To understand themselves
  • To understand others
  • To understand the world
  • To understand the aesthetic values of written language
• Adolescent Literature


  Generally described as books written for an audience of 12-20 years old. It may also include books primarily written for adults but which have appeal to younger readers.
• 7 Characteristics of Young Adult Literature

  • Young adult literature includes stories about characters from different ethnic and cultural groups. The characters are no longer all white, middle-class characters.
  • Young adult books are basically optimistic with characters making worthy accomplishments. The characters show change and growth.
  • Successful young adult novels with emotions that are important to young people.
• Reading helps you to view books as an indulgence, not a chore. Kids who are exposed to reading are much more likely to choose books over video games, television, and other forms of entertainment as they grow older.