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“I Hope You Are Not Being Stupid About Children”: Transforming Literature Pedagogy Through Children’S Literature, Ashley Cheyenne Johnson

English Dissertations

In this dissertation, I assert that children’s literature is particularly productive for making the literature classroom a more engaging space for students in any genre or historical period of literature taught because it 1) fosters equity; 2) creates confidence; 3) garners student engagement; 4) is valuable; and 5) is an effective, productive, and accessible conduit for studies of literary theory. This dissertation argues for a paired-texts methodology, and incorporates pedagogy theory and scholarship, as well as cultural studies and literary analysis to explore the productive intersections of themes, topics, and modes of writing found in children’s literature that align with …