Agency And Autonomy In Children's Literature

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.

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.

Parents often say, “Listen to your elders.” This cliché can make some people apathetic, but when looking back, most appreciate the wisdom of their elders. The knowledge imparted to children is crucial for their ability to understand and improve the world. In XIV by Derek Walcott, the speaker uses imagery, metaphor, and other literary devices to convey the storyteller’s significance to his life.

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.

In the past five years, children’s literature has had many common themes. Bullying has been a popular subject of interest at all levels of reading. This trend reflects a rising concern about cyberbullying and the sometimes dramatic effects it can have on a child’s life. Writers and parents are making an effort to show children that what they do to their peers has real consequences and to be mindful with their words and actions. Another popular subject is dystopian futures. This interest is in part due to the success of The Hunger Games trilogy, children have become interested in the future of their planet.

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

Going on adventures or quests is a repeated theme in Winnie-the-Pooh which uses spontaneity as part of play in order to have fun. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, playing for adventure pertains to “senses relating to recreation, pleasure, and enjoyment.” Every character in Winnie-the-Pooh goes on adventures or quests and one adventure that the group goes on is in chapter eight that is called; “In Which Christopher Robin Leads an Expotition to the North Pole.” Christopher Robin is the only human character who leads the group of animals on an expedition to find the North Pole in the Hundred Acre Woods. Although the world of the Hundred Acre Woods is a fantasy, the quest of going to find the North Pole is evoked as being light-hearted fun. When Pooh describes Christopher Robin

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.”

Though it all started as just a college fantasy, Geisel’s quickly-blooming talent challenged him to reach his true potential as a children’s author and illustrator. No matter what the storyline was, Geisel managed to squeeze in precious bits of wisdom in messages told in unforgettable ways. “Horton Hears a Who” is just one of the many exemplary examples of Geisel’s work that portrays both outlandish characters and a relevant lesson. Undoubtedly,“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go!”

Reading novels is an experience unlike any other. With the crack of a new book, the reader is transported into the pages, into a new land, ready to take on the role of protagonist. Each little girl has the chance to be a pirate-fighting hero, each little boy able to become the doting husband. If that sentence sounds strange, it is because society has socialized individuals to gender any and all activities, reading included. Elizabeth Segel drives this point home in her article “As the Twig is Bent… Gender and Childhood Reading,” which gives an in-depth analysis of gender in children’s book, and the implications it has for readers.

In today’s society, there is a persistent belief that children and adults are fundamentally different. Society has placed a gap between both generations that is evident throughout movies and children’s literature. In J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, binary oppositions come into play regarding childhood and adulthood, specifically the difference in imagination and reality. This binary opposition is expressed greatly among the characters in both novels. The children are introduced as possessing a wide range of imagination, however as the novel progress, as do their age, their imagination gradually diminishes to a more realistic view of life.

Most children are exposed to fairy tales and fantasies at a very young age. Whether these fictional stories are from Disney, the public library or even cartoons on cable television, every child remembers the pleasurable escape that comes from relishing in these stories. It is extensively agreed upon that children are expected to have a vast imagination, however, the question remains as to what warrants the cut off age from when it is no longer acceptable to spend your days fantasizing about different realities and continuously having your nose stuck in a book. According to The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, “Particularly for the 3–5 yr old child, imagination represents a special mode of mental functioning that allows expansion of the internal object world, increasingly complex relationships with others, and creation of self-defining fantasies characteristic of the oedipal phase. The

“Winnie-The-Pooh” is a collection of tales about the adventures of Pooh and all his friends. This book is written like a narrative in which the author is the narrator. The collection of chapters do not all go along with one another and can be read separately without any particular order. This book starts off with the story about how Pooh was previously known as Edward Bear until he wanted a new name in which Christopher Robin, his owner, came up with the name Winnie-The-Pooh. The name Pooh came from a swam Christopher Robin had once before.

Literary heroes that are also ordinary children are engaging to readers, particularly child readers. James Pope and Julia Round write that “Roald Dahl is a fascinating author in that his books for children feature child heroes who are very often neither hero nor villain, but a wild, subversive combination of both” (258). These characteristics are also true of Coraline and Harry Potter, as they are presented as imperfect, but ultimately find the power within themselves to save what is important to them. Children readers are empowered by Coraline and Harry because they identify with these ordinary children and feel as if they can also make a difference in their lives, as the characters defeat the evil in theirs.

A.A. Milne’s story, Winne-the-Pooh, has caught the eyes of children for several years now. Milne originally wrote the story in 1926, as a bed time story to his son, Christopher Robin Milne, which is a character in the story. The moral of the story was to always have fun with your friends. Walt Disney bought the rights to the story in 1966, later making a movie in 1977 called The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The moral of the movie was that your friends are always there for you. Walt Disney pretty much stayed true to the original story but did make some minor changes. Some of the changes him and his team made were the heffalump story, Winnie the Pooh’s character, and Eeyore’s personality. Even though these may seem like small changes, the moral of the story has changed a slight.