Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons^™

Fashioning A Feeble Mind: Cognitive Disability In American Fiction, 1830-1940, Lucy Wallitsch

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Between 1830 and 1940, American fiction is populated by an increasing number of cognitively disabled characters. I explore the relationships between these cognitively disabled characters and the rapidly changing scientific and political environments in which they were created. Drawing on a variety of regionally specific primary sources, I analyze the influences of medical and social conceptions of cognitive disability on works of American fiction containing characters which fit historical labels for cognitive disability such as The Deerslayer, “Life in the Iron Mills,” the short stories of Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, The Sound and the Fury, and Of Mice and Men ...

Missing Persons’ Report! Where Are The Transgender Characters In Children’S Picture Books?, Ashley Lauren Sullivan, Laurie Lynne Urraro

Occasional Paper Series

When ruminating on the factors that impact early childhood education, one invariably reflects on the topic of how curriculum represents (or fails to represent) issues of gender, specifically with regard to how gender is portrayed within the selection of classroom picture books. In such ruminations, many questions emerge regarding the specific role reading curriculum plays as it relates to gender.

Disabled ≠ Disempowered: A Critical Framework For Analyzing The Representation Of Mental Disabilities In Young Adult Literature, Michele L. Dobbins

English Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this honors thesis, I focus on young adult novels that highlight rather than minimize the experience of having a mental disability, and I argue that this topic must be included in education and book discussions in order to create more inclusive classrooms and communities. I examine representations of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and autism in popular young adult novels, paying special focus to the way characters represent the relationship between power and disability. After reading a wide range of novels from award-winning bestsellers to reviewers’ recommendations, I noted the frequency of topics such as identity, community, institutions, and romanticization ...

The Treatment Of Violence In Young Adult Literature: Rick Yancey's Monstrumology Series, Hannah Ruth Balsavich

Master’s Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Bilingualism And The American Family, Caitlin M. Nickerson

Senior Honors Projects

Bilingualism is the ability to speak more than one language fluently. People of all ages may aspire to learn a second or third language in order to fulfill both personal goals and communicate with a variety of people in different contexts. Irrespective of one’s walk of life or socioeconomic status, being bilingual is a valuable skill. Although English is the language of power in the United States, there are hundreds of other languages spoken in this country.

There are a number of different ways in which children can become bilingual. For example, they may enter the school system speaking ...

The Polyphonic Survivor: Dialogism And Heteroglossia In Art Spiegelman's "Maus: A Survivor's Tale", Joshua Novalis

Masters Theses

Using Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of polyphony, dialogism, and heteroglossia, this thesis will seek to show that Art Spiegelman's Maus is an innately heteroglossic work. Through the use of the graphic novel medium, a multi-perspectival blend of visual and textual narrative, Spiegelman creates a work where various key voices are allowed to speak within the work—without any one voice being given full authority over the other. Vladek Spiegelman, for example, is given the ability to speak freely, despite his narrative’s shortcomings. Although Spiegelman shows Vladek’s perspective to be flawed and inaccurate at times, Art’s interviews ...

Choosing A Moral Compass: The Journey Towards Moral Maturity In Harry Potter, Tricia Mieden

Masters Theses

This thesis examines Harry Potter’s moral development and illustrates how a reader’s involvement with literature complements moral education in the classroom. Using Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development as a guide, this thesis considers how Harry solidifies his moral commitments as he matures and, as a result, becomes more aware of how his moral principles influence his actions. Through an analysis of Harry’s cognitive reasoning, which is evidenced through the narration, readers are able to develop a similar awareness to the ways their moral principles influence their choices

Andrew Lang: A World We Have Lost, William Donaldson

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the career and wide-ranging accomplishments of the Scottish essayist, poet and critic Andrew Lang (1844-1912), author of Myth, Ritual and Religion (2 vols., 1887), arguing that Lang was "an original thinker with a powerful oppositional streak;" reviews his significance for late Victorian anthropology and the studies of religions (including psychical research), and on his work as a translator and classicist, reviewer, ballad scholar, biographer, and Scottish historian, as well as his contribution to children's literature; includes an assessment of a new 2-volume selection of Lang's writing; and concludes that Lang's "virtuosic range" and "slashing keenness of ...

Using Visible Thinking Routines To Teach About The Impact Of Colonialism On Race Within The Language Arts Classroom, Carol Kelly

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Particularly within Language Arts, the curriculum has historically been based around the classics of Literature, which are heavily dominated by wealthy white men. Finding suitable materials to teach from, whilst still providing the background knowledge of the traditional canon, is a challenge to effective teaching about diversity. I am aware that I come from a culture of whiteness, and this makes me wary of my own biases when teaching about cultural diversity. When approaching this topic I have drawn upon a variety of resources, and this paper will use a mixture of academic research, teaching materials, and self study to ...

Delving Into Multicultural Literature With Inquiry, Juan Gonzalez

Honors Theses

This paper argues for the use of multicultural literature in the classroom, and puts forth a unit plan that uses critical literacy in an English 11 classroom, though it can be readapted to fit other grade levels. Bishop (1990) describes multicultural literature as a set of windows, that people use to view the experiences of others, and mirrors, that reflect and validate peoples’ experience, a core principal in this paper. Critical literacy is comprised of four dimensions (Lewison, Flint, & Van Sluys, 2002) that allows for analyzing literature in a different and meaningful way. The final part of this paper details ...

Subjective Retelling: The Influence Of External And Individual Factors On The Folktales Of The Brothers Grimm, Katherine R. Woodhouse

Young Historians Conference

Since a first edition of Children’s and Household Tales was published in 1812, the work of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm has been read, told, watched, and referenced all over the world. When the Grimms initially set out to construct the famous anthology, they intended to objectively uncover a breadth of traditional German folktales, preserving them in their purest possible forms. These stories, the brothers believed, held the essence of the nation’s declining culture and collective identity. However, the assumption that the stories of Children’s and Household Tales holistically represent the genuine German history and dialogue of oral ...

Wendy's Story In J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Jessica Hedrick

Steeplechase

Although known today as simply Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie’s classic children’s novel was originally titled Peter and Wendy. This paper explores the famous children’s story from Wendy Darling’s perspective, taking particular interest in the narrator’s contradictory stance on Wendy her agency in the original novelized text. Peter Pan may be the most well known of Barrie’s characters, but the novel’s story is Wendy’s. The relationship between a mother and her children forms the crux of the novel; without Wendy, without her relationship with her own mother and her desire to play ...

Identifying Elements Of Kinder- Und Jugendliteratur, Clara G. Hendrickson, Joshua D. Pearson, Brice J. Montgomery, Natalie M. Lien, Marcella B. Moorman, Anna T. Kaster, Elizabeth J. Carraher, Annis N. Shaver

The Research and Scholarship Symposium

Kinder- und Jugendliteratur, children’s literature written for the purpose of teaching or entertaining young people, has been present in German literature since the Middle Ages. This genre has changed as German literature progressed, reflecting the developments of each era, including such periods as the Romantic, the Biedermeier, Realism, Modernism and Postmodernism. As such, we examined individual works of German Kinder- und Jugendliteratur for the purpose of identifying distinctive features which situate them within children’s literature as well as in the respective historical genre. The works examined were Nußknacker und Mausekönig (1816) by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Emil und ...

The Best Children's Books Of The Year [2017 Edition], Bank Street College Of Education. Children's Book Committee

The Center for Children's Literature

Includes more than 600 titles chosen by the Children’s Book Committee as the best of the best published in 2016. In choosing books for the annual list, committee members consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes.

Bilingual Children’S Literature: Bridging The Gap Between Language And Identity = Literatura Infantil Bilingüe: Cerrando La Brecha Entre El Idioma Y La Identidad, Amanda Weber

Student research

No abstract provided.

Inexhaustible Magic: Folklore As World Building In Harry Potter, Samantha G. Castleman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The practice of secondary world building, the creation of a fantasy realm with its own unique laws and systems has long been a tradition within the genre of fantasy writing. In many notable cases, such as those publications by J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft, folklore exhibited in the world of the reader has been specifically used not only to construct these fantasy realms, but to add depth and believability to their presentation. The universe of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series demonstrates this same practice of folklore-as-world-building, yet her construction does much more than just create ...

God The Father Or Mother Divine? : Subversive Theology In John Milton's Paradise Lost And Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Jordan Pace

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Reading The Rainbow: Availability And Content Of Young Adult Queer Literature In Georgia Secondary Schools, Sawyer Henderson

Honors Theses

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and other sexual minority, or LGBTQ+, youth are at high risk for suicide. In fact, youth identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual are four times more likely to attempt suicide compared to their heterosexual peers; the rates are higher for transgender/transsexual youth. Various factors contributing to these rates include bullying, lack of acceptance, and lack of academic material available to support LGBTQ+ youth (“Facts About Suicide”). Because of the severe need for LGBTQ+ resources, high school libraries should offer more literature with queer* characters and teachers should practice bibliotherapy with these books in their ...

From Refugees To Voting Rights, Books To Inspire A Just, Inclusive Society, Bank Street College Of Education

The Center for Children's Literature

This list - which includes contributions from the Bank Street Children's Book Committee, the Bank Street College Library, and School Library Journal - is intended to be a starting place (not a comprehensive list) to help educators and librarians create a supportive space to explore these issues and help promote an inclusive, democratic, and just society. Sections include: Immigrants/Immigration, Refugees, Islam, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Questioning, Transgender/Binary, Intersex, Sexual Harassment/Sexual Assault, Disability, Women in Leadership, English/Spanish Bilingual, Voting Rights, Democratic Process, Children's Rights, History, Bullying, Racism/Injustice Nonfiction, Climate Change, Protest and Activism, Racism in Fiction.

Return To Sender, Katherine Noelle Nypaver

Honors Research Projects

Return to Sender is a fictional short story that illustrates the potential consequences of neglecting to take others seriously. River Ellison, a high school senior at St. Jude’s Academy struggling with depression and habitual self-harm, receives a note from his peer regarding his thoughts on suicide. His ordinary school day transforms into twenty-four hours of repercussions that force River to see his peer for what she is—an equal. Prefacing the short story, my critical essay explains why I find C.D. Payne, John Green, Jesse Andrews, and J.D. Salinger so inspiring to the young adult literature world ...