Children's literature

thumb|A mother reads to her children, depicted by Jessie Willcox Smith in a cover illustration of a volume of fairy tales written in the mid to late 19th century. Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, and poems that are enjoyed by children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Sourced Children's literature cannot be created without a close attachment with the children and they should be given moral education through entertainment. Harapriya Barukial Borgohain, writer, upon receiving the Dharmeswar Kataki memorial children's literature award at a ceremony at Tezpur Sahitya Sabha Bhawan — cited in: Awareness generated on children's literature April 16, 2014 Assam Tribune Guwahati, India Al Bawaba (Middle East) Ltd.; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand Just creation of children's literature is not enough, we will have to be aware of the wrong spellings and sentence structures. Otherwise, the children wouldn't be satisfied. Harapriya Barukial Borgohain, writer, upon receiving the Dharmeswar Kataki memorial children's literature award at a ceremony at Tezpur Sahitya Sabha Bhawan — cited in: Awareness generated on children's literature April 16, 2014 Assam Tribune Guwahati, India Al Bawaba (Middle East) Ltd.; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand Children's literature often bears clear evidence of its political leanings. Robinson Crusoe (written for adults but appropriated by younger readers) was about a white man who taught a black man how to behave as much as possible like a decent Englishman. The Jungle Book stories feature Mowgli, who learns the law of the jungle then dominates all of them. Jay Heale Using kid literature to preach equality; Works must carry dream of united SA Works must carry dream of united SA Pretoria News South Africa November 18, 2013 8; Section: news Independent Online; www.pretorianews.co.za; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand Children's literature is not political? What rubbish. If it reflects the society we live in, it is political. For years, the only local books about black children featured them living in a round mud hut in a folktale or wandering around chatting up lions and leopards. Then our authors were gradually allowed by our publishers to dream a little, to speak from the heart. Jay Heale Using kid literature to preach equality; Works must carry dream of united SA Works must carry dream of united SA Pretoria News South Africa November 18, 2013 8; Section: news Independent Online; www.pretorianews.co.za; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand Children, parents, teachers and schools must always be involved. It is important that good habits and the pleasure of reading can and must be instilled in us when we are young. Atle Hetland Literature for the people The Nation Karachi, Pakistan 27 72 May 9, 2013 Asianet-Pakistan; www.nation.com.pk; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand The very first humans anthropomorphized the trees and the sun. It's just what we do. I don't think children's literature is teaching children to graft human emotions onto animals. J. Timothy Hunt, author who uses the pen-name Tim Beiser — cited in: Graham Slaughter The Toronto Star Is Winnie the Pooh hindering children's ability to learn science? Humanlike animals in books can confuse kids, says study, but authors strongly disagree March 28, 2014 L3 Torstar Syndication Services, a division of Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand Entertainment written for children was no less grisly. In 1815 Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published a compendium of old folktales that had gradually been adapted for children. Commonly known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, the collection ranks with the Bible and Shakespeare as one of the bestselling and most respected works in the Western canon. Though it isn’t obvious from the bowdlerized versions in Walt Disney films, the tales are filled with murder, infanticide, cannibalism, mutilation, and sexual abuse—grim fairy tales indeed. Take just the three famous stepmother stories: During a famine, the father and stepmother of Hansel and Gretel abandon them in a forest so that they will starve to death. The children stumble upon an edible house inhabited by a witch, who imprisons Hansel and fattens him up in preparation for eating him. Fortunately Gretel shoves the witch into a fiery oven, and “the godless witch burned to death in a horrible way.” Cinderella’s stepsisters, when trying to squeeze into her slippers, take their mother’s advice and cut off a toe or heel to make them fit. Doves notice the blood, and after Cinderella marries the prince, they peck out the stepsisters’ eyes, punishing them “for their wickedness and malice with blindness for the rest of their lives.” Snow White arouses the jealousy of her stepmother, the queen, so the queen orders a hunter to take her into the forest, kill her, and bring back her lungs and liver for the queen to eat. When the queen realizes that Snow White has escaped, she makes three more attempts on her life, two by poison, one by asphyxiation. After the prince has revived her, the queen crashes their wedding, but “iron slippers had already been heated up for her over a fire of coals.... She had to put on the red-hot iron shoes and dance in them until she dropped to the ground dead.” As we shall see, purveyors of entertainment for young children today have become so intolerant of violence that even episodes of the early Muppets have been deemed too dangerous for them. Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature (2012) I doubt that the imagination can be suppressed. If you truly eradicated it in a child, he would grow up to be an eggplant. Like all our evil propensities, the imagination will out. But if it is rejected and despised, it will grow into wild and weedy shapes; it will be deformed. At its best, it will be mere ego-centered daydreaming; at its worst, it will be wishful thinking, which is a very dangerous occupation when it is taken seriously. Ursula K. LeGuin, "Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?" (1974), published in The Language of the Night (1979) Children's literature is a key educational source in creating an inclusive culture. Mark McGlashan, Lancaster University — cited in: Graeme Paton, Education Editor Same-sex parents 'should be featured in school books'; Children's books used in primary schools should feature same-sex parents to help teach tolerance among youngsters, according to an academic The Telegraph Online July 10, 2013 Telegraph Group Ltd., www.telegraph.co.uk; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand A 4-year-old reading a book about a talking bear, or in my case a bear that hugs trees, it's an innocent little fantasy. If a child loves picking up that book every night, I think the positive outweighs the negative - if there is any negative. I'd strongly argue there isn't. Nicholas Oldland, author of Big Bear Hug — cited in: Graham Slaughter The Toronto Star Is Winnie the Pooh hindering children's ability to learn science? Humanlike animals in books can confuse kids, says study, but authors strongly disagree March 28, 2014 L3 Torstar Syndication Services, a division of Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand What mostly attracts me to children's literature is how complex it is We often have a misconception that children's literature is literature for adults with simpler language, and happy endings. Victoria Ford Smith, assistant professor at University of Connecticut, specialist in children's literature — cited in: Jill Martin Wrenn How to keep kids reading through the summer CNN Wire CNN; CNN Newsource Sales, Inc.; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand April 28, 2014 Really, children's literature brings their fears and frustrations to life. Jill Martin Wrenn How to keep kids reading through the summer CNN Wire CNN; CNN Newsource Sales, Inc.; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand April 28, 2014 This is one reason why children's literature is so important: it often begins with laughter. Damon Young Pain comes before a punchline The Age Melbourne, Australia March 22, 2014 13; Section: Arts and Entertainment Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. www.theage.com.au.; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand One of the most common epithets for children's books is 'fun'. It suggests a certain luxurious triviality: what's fun is all that's not serious. And certainly, many books are just that: escapes from the serious business of living. Damon Young Pain comes before a punchline The Age Melbourne, Australia March 22, 2014 13; Section: Arts and Entertainment Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. www.theage.com.au.; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand This is one of the triumphs of kids' books in general: a bonding in incomprehensibility. Damon Young Pain comes before a punchline The Age Melbourne, Australia March 22, 2014 13; Section: Arts and Entertainment Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. www.theage.com.au.; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand But all in all, the fun of children's books is often altruistic: it is a lesson in how to cope with an imperfect and often impenetrable life - and, as we chortle together, a form of intimacy. Damon Young Pain comes before a punchline The Age Melbourne, Australia March 22, 2014 13; Section: Arts and Entertainment Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. www.theage.com.au.; Accessed via InfoTrac Newsstand See also Book Children Education Fiction Literature Psychology Writing External links Choosing High Quality Children's Literature Children's book illustration International Children's Digital Library Repository of 2,827 children's books in 48 languages viewable over the Internet. Small World Books – children's literature from around the world Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature Children's Literature Research Collections, at the University of Minnesota Baldwin Digital Library of Children's Literature Children's eTexts at Project Gutenberg (more) International Board on Books for Young People CBI Clubhouse, Informational Site for Children's Book Writers The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Children's Literature Network Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA), Sutherland Sub branch – literacy in children and young adults of the Sutherland Shire Litland.com Review of Children's Literature against character education guidelines The Ball State University Digital Media Repository Historic Children's Book collection provides online access to children's books from the 20th and 19th centuries. Stanford.eu Hathitrust.org Childrens-Stories.Net Collection of FREE children's stories for all by leading authors promoting reading skills Category:Literature literature