The Mysteries Of Harry Burdick

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.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Brian Selznick, 2007) tells the story of a mysterious young boy named Hugo, living in the walls of a Paris train station in 1931. It follows Hugo’s adventures, dreams, thoughts, and most of all, his quest to answer the many questions he has about his past. The Invention of Hugo Cabret “is a graphic novel that successfully alternates slabs of written texts with pages of black and white illustrations” (Lawn, 2012, Para 4). It is discovered firstly, how words and images work together to portray action and suspense. And secondly, how the words and images together arouse emotion from the reader and draw in the audience. These tools and techniques

C.S Lewis wrote an essay titled On Three Ways of Writing for Children. A highly acclaimed author of children’s fantasy books-widely known for his series The Chronicles of Narnia- Lewis goes into detail about the three ways children’s stories can be written. This essay will examine these three categories in relation to C.S Lewis’s book entitled Prince Caspian.

As a child daydreaming and imagining was essential to survive the extensive abominable days of summer, or the weekends. Likewise, in the texts “Red Cranes” by Jacey Choy and “The Firefly Hunt” by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki two children who still express their imagination and creativity, have to realize the harsh realities that everyone must incorporate. In the texts “Red Cranes” and “The Firefly Hunt” they express the ambition and creativity of a child’s mind. However, the development of the two characters dealing with the realities in their adolescent years, varies tremendously between the two stories.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter encounters many new people and obstacles that help Harry development as a character. With these obstacles J.K Rowling provides our readers with imagery that engages our senses. Through the use of imagery Rowling plants symbols throughout the narrative that are crucial to the creation of the fantasy. The obstacles that Rowling uses to provide imagery are the Sorting Hat, the introduction of new characters, the Mirror of Erised, the trials needed to reach the Sorcerer’s Stone, and, finally, The Sorcerer’s Stone.

The author of this book did make use of literary elements to tell the story. These elements are also used in other picture books such as lines, shapes, color and speech bubble. The book is a graphic novel and dialogue takes majority of the writing in the book. The dialogical and concise style of writing of the author including the pictures

Furthermore, the illustrations paint a beautiful picture that I like to think is an insight into a child’s mind, which I is a key element in this book and what makes it so great. Since the book is narrated by a child the intentional simplicity of the words and the controlled chaos that is the illustrations breathes unadulterated life into a rather normal children’s book.

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.

Firstly, the writer portrays the world of children through the first person narrative which encapsulates young Leo’s fresh, spontaneous optimism and hope towards the dawning of a new era, ‘My dreams for the twentieth century, and for myself, were coming true’(Chapter 1. p. 28). Therefore, this device allows the reader direct access to the intensity yet simplicity of a child’s point of view and enhances Leo’s personal

Chapters that connect to Wendy Mass’s novel, The Last Present from Thomas Foster's, How To Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids are “More than just Rain, Snow, or Springtime rain,” “He's Blind for a Reason”, and “It’s Never Just Heart Disease… and Rarely Just a Illness.”

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has become one of the most popular children’s series in the world over the past decade. Through these books children and young adults alike have delved into a fantastical world in which they explored the problems that their protagonist, Harry Potter, has faced. In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the sixth book of the Harry Potter series, Harry dealt with the challenge of proving to his peers and professors that Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape were no longer trustworthy. Even so, Harry failed to realize that the author of the notes in his Advanced Potion-Making book was corrupt. In this book, J.K. Rowling uses point of view, style, and irony to demonstrate the need for people to be more analytical

This charming story reverses the typical roles within a children’s book. With underlying issues of stereotypes, independence and empowerment, it fills children with imagination and teaches them the importance of being strong, smart, and the realization that beauty comes from within.

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

I chose to read and comment on Barbara Kiefer’s “Envisioning Experience: The Potential of Picture Books.” Kiefer’s main point in writing this essay was to get the message across that children enjoy picture books that allow them to identify and make connections with the characters or the plots, and that while reading and analyzing the pictures, they gain a better sense of aesthetics and how to interpret them.

Using imagination and creativity, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has defined literature as transformative. In this seven-book series J.K Rowling imagined and creatively pieced together a fantasy world of muggles, wizards, tyrants, and heroes to symbolically share with readers problems plaguing modern society. Similar to Shelley’s work of the past, never before have readers in the modern era seen teenage and adult mania surrounding an 11-year-old wizard. Some will argue that J.K. Rowling’s young-adult series lacks depth or wants to twist young minds by using magic and evil, but through close examination it is evident that