Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons^™

The Survivors, Abigale Ralston

Honors Theses

Set over 100 years in the future, this story follows the lives of teenagers Alex, Leon, and Paige. The world has been destroyed. In order to survive, humanity has had to learn how to survive in space, in a vehicle called simply The Ship. Lately, however, Alex and his friends have noticed problems occurring on The Ship, indicating a disaster may be imminent. Alex, Leon, and Paige are now tasked with finding the causes of the problems and saving the last of humanity from extinction.

Phoenix Rising: A Scout Is Born, Seth Hunter

Honors Theses

The Kingdom of Taris lies in flames, a shadow of what it once was, crippled by the Brutes of the Northeast. The King and Queen’s deaths, followed by their only daughter’s capture, cast a shadow over Taris, far darker than the depths of the Old Mines.

Demigod And Delinquent: Percy Jackson And The American Teenager, Katie Weber

Honors Theses

Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, has achieved tremendous success with adolescent audiences nationwide since its original publication in 2005. Despite the widespread success of the books, the critical conversation about the novel and subsequent series remains fairly sparse. The existing critical literature on the series addresses its mythological aspects and adolescents’ reactions to the novel but does not analyze Percy’s status as an adolescent or what the novel suggests about adolescents as a whole through its portrayal of Percy. This thesis first provides an overview of the history of …

The Enigmatic Self: An Ongoing Exploration Of Literary Selfhood From The American Renaissance To Contemporary Young Adult Literature, Helene Leichter

Honors Theses

Assuming the near impossible task of sorting through and delineating various conceptions of the self in and throughout literary and civil history, literary critic Irving Howe adopts a highly perceptive and profoundly analytical approach to the enigmatic individual. In the article quoted above, "The Self in Literature," Howe consolidates what he believes to be the most promising attempts at coding and decoding abstractions of the self across numerous literary, philosophical, and sociological texts. The success of Howe’s analysis lies in his ability to simultaneously embrace and scrutinize seemingly incompatible notions of bodily and spiritual discourse. With the knowledge that such …

History, Methods, And Psychology Of Illustrations In Children's Literature, Kelsi Coleman

Honors Theses

This honors thesis includes two parts. The first is a paper written on the history of illustration in children's literature, the ways in which illustrations are created, and the psychological reasoning and effect of illustration in children's literature. The second part is a book created for children to inspire an interest in illustration and give basic information about different kinds of illustration.

Mountains In The Deep, Andy Strauss

Honors Theses

When Evan, prince of the Fourth Quadrant, sees a vision of a ghost-like crown hovering over his father's head, he is sent on a dangerous mission to face the mystical shadow beast ravaging his kingdom--the same beast that has marked him as its prey and that will stop at nothing to hunt him down.

Is Children's Literature Really Meant For Children? Global Political Commentary In Children's Literature, Jenny Scott

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the way children’s literature is a productive form for political commentary. I analyze how the genre of children’s literature allows authors the unexpected freedom to express the moral complexity of contemporary political problems. This form provides authors a space to comment upon complicated and sometimes controversial political discourse in a way they might not have the freedom to do otherwise writing explicitly for an adult audience. Amidst the argument that children’s literature as a form allows for authors to include political discourse, I also incorporate an examination of the audience of children’s literature to demonstrate the complexity …

Censorship In Schools: Reading's Position In The Landscape Of Policy Creation, Rachel Beckham

Honors Theses

Censorship is not new to current issues. It has affected authors and speakers for centuries, but it is especially prevalent today, especially in schools. Teachers and librarians are often challenged for the materials they choose to provide to students. Concerned parents object to the materials for containing sexual content, profanity, or LGBTQ+ characters or themes. This study aims to answer the question, “What role, if any, do books containing controversial topics serve in the literature classrooms of today’s students?” To answer this question, the author of this study conducted a literary analysis on the top three most banned books of …

Coded: Dialect Diversity In The Secondary American Classroom, Madeline Dunn

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the differences between dialects along racial, cultural, and ethnic lines with a specific focus on Black and Latine students inside the public secondary classrooms of America. The focus of the paper is on two linguistic tactics: “code-switching,” a linguistic practice which teaches students to separate their home language from the language they use in formal or professional settings, and “code-meshing,” a linguistic practice to teach students how to mesh together multiple dialects with which a student is familiar. Through the creation of a historical framework and an analysis of existing literature, theory, and pedagogical practices regarding the …

Singular Yet Shared: Willful Heroines And Their Willful Communities In Young Adult Fantasy, Shea Delehaunty

Honors Theses

The psychological theory of narrative identity posits that we create our identities based on a narrative life-story, and that adolescence is a pivotal moment in this process. Literature is one of the most familiar examples of narrative, so what, then, does the literature adolescents read teach them about identity as they construct their own narrative identities? What kinds of characters are portrayed and what can we learn about the adolescents influenced by those characters? This thesis is interested in these questions specifically as they relate to contemporary adolescent girls, who often grow up reading young adult (YA) high fantasy novels …

Representation Matters: African American Female Readers’ Perceptions Of Young Adult Literature, Asia Harden

Honors Theses

In 2019, only 6% of U.S. children’s books published were written by black authors. This portion of the publishing industry, and particularly the category of young adult literature (YA) has room for improvement when it comes to African American representation. To identify how this lack of representation affects readers, this study was broken into two parts which resulted in obtaining the African American female YA author perspective, as well as African American female readers. J. Elle and Kristina Forest were interviewed in the first portion of the study, and three focus groups were conducted in the second study with 13 …

20 Things, Reann Parker

Honors Theses

20 Things is a short young adult novel that explores a variety of topics and themes, from mental health, recovery, and self discovery to race, love, and friendship. Beginning with a high school girl named Halle waking up in a hospital after a suicide attempt, the novel is a coming of age story about the help Halle receives and what she goes through in trying to find reasons to keep living. The novel is divided into ten chapters: “Waking Up,” “Going Home,” “Arriving,” “Being Honest,” “Keeping the Faith,” “Soul Searching,” “Willingness,” “Maintaining,” “Checking In,” and “Living.” Each chapter represents the …

Making The Bible Modern: How I Created A Retelling Of The Good Samaritan, Laura Beth Warner

Honors Theses

This thesis includes the process and methods employed in creating a modern-day retelling of the parable of The Good Samaritan for a first-grade audience and the final product of a children's picture book.

Little Girl In The Country: A Children's Book, Holly Mcginnis

Honors Theses

A Work of Children’s Literature to Address Realities of Childhood in the Southern United States

This thesis investigated the intersection of life’s realities and children’s literature. Representation is an oft-talked-about area of children’s literature. It is coming to light that many groups are underrepresented in writings for children, and recent works are attempting to broaden the types and backgrounds of characters to represent the diversity of readers and authors. This thesis is the author’s attempt to accurately represent the types of students she encountered in student teaching experiences in the Oxford-area. Using inspiration from her own childhood and knowledge of …

Honoré De Balzac’S Portrayal Of The Feminine Condition In The Wild Ass’S Skin, Père Goriot, And The Lily Of The Valley, Brooke V. Musmeci

Honors Theses

In 19th century France, women appeared to be second class citizens. They were often limited in their abilities to have independence and secure their own wealth. This perception of women perhaps justifies why, as Honoré de Balzac’s novels illustrated the realities of French society, he attempted to characterize women’s struggles to obtain control and power in their lives. In his novels The Wild Ass’s Skin (1831), The Lily of the Valley (1835), and Le Père Goriot (1835), Balzac sought to prove how women could improve their lot.

Firstly, in studying how women had been relegated to second-class citizens under their …

“Part Of That (Man’S) World”: Analyzing “Cinderella” And “The Little Mermaid” Fairy Tale Variants Through A Feminist Lens, K. Morgan Mitchell

Honors Theses

Fairy tales are often reduced to nothing more than the moral lesson that can be taught to children. However, when we move past the impulse to search for the simplified moral of the story, we can begin to ascertain the impact of fairy tales on different audiences. This thesis uses both impact theory, which yields a close reading of the textual and cinematic evidence, and reception research, which provides an opportunity to discuss the significance of the material by speculating about the message that readers receive. Under consideration are four variants each of the “Cinderella” and “The Little Mermaid” fairy …

Gender, Intertextuality & Market Demands: Publishing Children's Picture Books, Mackenzie Scott

Honors Theses

Children’s literature in the U.S. has long since reflected, and also influenced, the nation’s societal and cultural identity. The genre’s representation of gender has historically aligned with traditionally distinct and separate sex-typed roles of domestic or non-domestic behavior. Through textual analysis of 80 New York Times bestselling picture books between 2009 and 2019, this research seeks to determine if publishers and consumers are selecting titles that support or subvert stereotypical gender roles. Prior studies on gender representation in children’s literature have concluded that the prevalence of static, passive female characters and active male characters negatively impacts the identity development of …

A Young Adult Scrutinizes The Michael L. Printz Award, Claire Elaine Seale

Honors Theses

In a century peppered in controversy, adolescents between the ages and twelve to eighteen are turning to young adult literature to find hope in their lives. These books with headlining titles like The Hunger Games and Harry Potter are no longer just in print, but their narratives centered around teenage protagonists are being brought to life on screen. In fact, the source of much of our twenty first century culture derives from the ingenuity of young adult authors. Although the young adult empire continues to grow in modern times, many advocates for young adult literature, including the American Library Association …

Cracking The Case On Age-Appropriate Literature, Sara Neumann

Honors Theses

Reading is a vital part of education and life, therefore a necessary skill to learn. There are many debated methods as to teaching a child to read, but sometimes overlooked is another important component of the reading process—what a child reads. Books come in a hoard of different styles, genres, and formats, and their contents can be limitlessly varied. While it can be argued that all books are good to read in an appropriate time and place, as far as learning to read is concerned, there are some books that are more appropriate to children than others. Divided into age-level …

Beyond Stereotypical Picture Books: An Inquiry Of Hidden Life Lessons From Patricia Polacco, Ruthie Lenards

Honors Theses

By applying a historical study of the author, Patricia Polacco, the thematic perspective is evident in her books. Many do not see those hidden life lessons due to the stereotypical norms of picture books. The reader will learn how Patricia Polacco's life lessons may not be hidden to the viewer.

Daniel's Journey In First Grade / El Viaje De Daniel En Primer Grado, Hannah Gallagher

Honors Theses

After growing up in a city where I was privileged to observe a combination of cultures, I felt especially drawn to how children grow up in these environments, especially as it pertains to education. With this in mind, my thesis easily became a place for me to write and illustrate a bilingual children’s picture book. This picture book is for children between the ages of five and eight years old and is written in the English and Spanish languages. I have focused the book specifically on circumstances that immigrant children from Central or South America might encounter, as they adjust …

Desire In The Bildungsroman: Construction And Pursuit Of An Ideal Self Through The Ideal Other, Ethan Watson

Honors Theses

The Bildungsroman, or “novel of education,” has remained popular since Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship. I examine this novel, as well as Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, and Walter Moers’s Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures, focusing specifically on the relationships between the three male protagonists and the women that they encounter throughout their lives. Using the theories of psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, literary critic René Girard, and feminist philosopher Judith Butler, I draw parallels between and contribute to the scholarly conversation of all three works (or in the case of Moers's recent fantasy, Rumo, begin …

The Field: A Study In Illustration, Kacy Alaina Earnest Spears

Honors Theses

Senior year of college, I enrolled in Issues of Communication, a class focused on pinpointing the issues of racism and the long-term effects of microaggressions, defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously of unintentionally expresses a prejudice attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a racial minority}" ("microaggressions"}. One of our guest speakers, Dean Bryan McKinney of the Hickingbotham School of Business, came to present "The Field," a short story written by his father, JV McKinney, about living in the 1950's segregated Arkansas Delta. Dean McKinney played a recording of …

Twice Upon A Time: The Retellings Of Fairy Tales For Contemporary Audiences, Morgan Howard

Honors Theses

If anyone had seen me binge-watching ABC's Once Upon a Time (a television adaptation of Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and more) during my freshman year of college, they undoubtedly would have said I was wasting my time. In fact, I probably would have agreed with them--there were far better things for a busy English and mass communications double major to do in her free time. I didn't realize then that I was actually in the process of developing what would become my research passion for the next four years.

For my final research essay in Composition 1, …

Anthiom: A Christian Ya Novel, Krystal Parker

Honors Theses

Kaelyn gripped tight at the silk sheets around her before her body settled into even breaths. In. Out. In. out. She could still see the shadowed faces in their dark hoods and the fires. There were always fires.

She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling above her, counting the number of tiles from the edge of her bed to the mahogany dresser. In. Out. One. In. Out. Two.

You are back in your room, she reminded herself. It was just a dream.

"Kaelyn?" her door creaked open and she jumped. "Are you okay?"

She rolled over and saw …

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 …

Young Adult Fiction: Inside The Mirror Image, Paige Christin Flannelly

Honors Theses

Identity and image-of-self are concepts intertwined throughout the pages of Young Adult Fiction Literature. Characters in Young Adult Fiction interact with their surroundings and as a result form an identity based on these interactions. Research has shown how young adults respond to the feedback of their surroundings whether embodied by other characters or their environment. The way in which identity and the image characters see in the mirror are formed is directly related to the interactions characters experience in their daily lives. Interactions with landscapes, peers, illness, grief, and parents are the specific interactions discussed in this thesis. The novels …

Fanfiction Communities And Plagiarism: An Academic Inquiry, Claudia I. Hicks

Honors Theses

Fanfiction communities give would-be authors a place to practice their craft. This study focused on how fanfiction community members defined and policed plagiarism. The aim of this study was to conduct qualitative analysis of plagiarism cases in online fanfiction communities. The data sources were analyzed using Grounded Theory. Analysis found that fanfiction communities use certain protocols to police plagiarism except when it violates their highest value, popularity. This study contributes to our understanding of plagiarism in a digital age.

Constructing Reality: The Role Of Mass Media In The Hunger Games Series, Jordan E. Nettles

Honors Theses

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins is an incredibly popular Young Adult series that has had a large impact on both children and adults. The media environment within The Hunger Games trilogy can provide insight into our own world. This thesis seeks to discuss how governing structures in the trilogy, the Capitol and District 13, manipulate the media to secure their own power. Using contemporary research on media theories, media methods, and media effects, this thesis focuses primarily on the Capitol and District 13’s efforts to create and use the media image of Katniss Everdeen, the central character of …

The Implementation Of Common Core: Graphic Novels In The Classroom, Chesnie R. Keeler

Honors Theses

The Common Core State Standards are alive and thriving in schools across the nation, and teachers are constantly looking for the best possible ways to implement these rigorous standards with student interests in mind. These standards set goals, or benchmarks, for students to reach at any specified grade level throughout their primary and secondary education; school districts, administrators, and teachers have the choice of deciding how students meet these standards. As a pre-service teacher who will enter the teaching profession, I examine how graphic novels can be implemented into the English Language Arts classroom by analyzing Maus, Persepolis, …