Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons^™

My Brain Wakes Up, Nicole Mcdonough

Graduate Student Independent Studies

An original work of fiction designed to open the conversation between students and teachers about the striking contrasts and innate beauty in how differently each of our brains are made. It is at once a work of fiction, an interview of children, an opportunity for personal reflection, and an invitation for all learners to honor our unique creativity.

The Inclusion Of Lgbtq Yal In The Curriculum: Can It Foster Acceptance?, Alysha Mercendetti

3690: A Journal of First-Year Student Research Writing

Overview: Acceptance, whether it be by friends, family, teachers, or peers, is crucial for any teen. Finding acceptance can be significantly more difficult for a teen going through the coming out process or maybe one that has already done so but is still not feeling completely okay in his or her own skin. Along with the fact that the world is highly a heteronormative one, society holds extremely shortsighted views and lacks knowledge on the subject of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning sexualities, and this ultimately plays a huge role in why LGBTQ teens are either too afraid to …

Tough Talk: Books About Bullying, Pauline Skowron Schmidt, Jennifer Stuntz, Emilee Hussack

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reflective Tales : Tracing Fairy Tales In Popular Culture Through The Depiction Of Maternity In Three “Snow White” Variants., Alexandra O'Keefe

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Measuring The Effects Of An American Physiological Society’S Phun Week Activity On 2nd Grade Students, James Edelman

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the last few years the United States has been on the decline in the fields of science and technology. The American Physiological Society (APS) has developed a program to engage young minds with scientists. Physiology Understanding Week (PhUn) is the APS initiative to use interactive experiments to engage school-age children with science and physiology. Even though PhUn Week has been going on since 2005, systematic assessment of the activities effects is rare. Here, we sought to assess if an APS PhUn Week activity enhances physiology understanding and interest in science in second grade children form a rural area. The …

Seeking Infinity: Exploring The Meaning And Potential Of Young Adult Literature, Jacinta Yanders

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The category of Young Adult (YA) Literature has experienced tremendous growth in terms of readership and works produced over the course of the last fifteen years or so. While there has been some scholarly work done on the category, the research pales in comparison to almost any other facet of literature. For whatever reasons, scholars have largely decided to ignore the changes that have occurred in YA. However, that has not stopped readers from continuing to read these books. In fact, this paper not only addresses the background and what I believe to be the defining characteristics of YA, but …

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Divine Surgeons At Work: The Presence And Purpose Of The Dream Vision In Till We Have Faces, Erin K. Wagner

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Studies the metamorphosis of Orual, the main character of C.S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces, under the “divine surgery” of the dream-visions sent by the gods.

Tolkien's Faërian Drama: Origins And Valedictions, Janet Brennan Croft

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Attempts to define the characteristics of faërian drama through the way it changes the lives of dreamers such as Scrooge, the Pearl poet and Sir Gawain, and Smith of Wootton Major.

Subverting Mythopoeic Fantasy: Miyuki Miyabe's The Book Of Heroes, Grzegorz Trebicki

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Introduces us to Miyuki Miyabe, who deliberately rings changes on Tolkien’s concept of sub-creation in his thought-provoking The Book of Heroes, a story that turns the virtues of storytelling itself on their heads.

Tolkien In Love: Pictures From Winter 1912-1913, Nancy A. Bunting

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Makes a case for examining Tolkien’s work as an amateur visual artist as key to understanding the important stresses and changes in his life over the winter months of 1912–1913, as he anticipated reuniting with Edith Bratt after their forced separation.

"They Have Quarreled With The Trees": Perverted Perceptions Of "Progress" In The Fiction Series Of C.S. Lewis, Deborah Klein

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Uses the tools of eco-criticism to read Lewis’s attitudes towards nature, hierarchy, and the changes wrought by technological progress in the Narnia books and the Cosmic Trilogy.

Artemis At Ragnarok: E.R. Eddison's Queen Antiope, Joseph Young

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Building on his paper in Mythlore #117/118, calls for a change in critical attitudes towards E.R. Eddison, revealing a deep philosophical and spiritual foundation at the base of the lush, glittering surface of the Zimiamvia trilogy. A careful unraveling of mythological references and evidence from previously unpublished Eddison letters at the Bodleian back up his conclusion.

From Children’S Book To Epic Prequel: Peter Jackson’S Transformation Of Tolkien’S The Hobbit, Frank P. Riga, Maureen Thum, Judith Kollmann

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Makes the case that Jackson’s sometimes controversial screenwriting decisions actually echo Tolkien’s own abortive attempt to revise and change The Hobbit to bring it into line with the mood and milieu of The Lord of the Rings.

Pillaging Middle-Earth: Self-Plagiarism In Smith Of Wootton Major, Josh B. Long

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Examines the fraught concept of “self-plagiarism” in Tolkien’s works. Self-plagiarism or self-borrowing is something more than just repeating themes and motifs throughout one’s literary career, and Long details examples of scenes, dialogue, character traits, and so on echoing from one work to another, with particular attention to The Lord of the Rings and Smith of Wootton Major.

The Art Of Detection In A World Of Change: The Silver Chair And Spenser Revisited, Charles A. Huttar

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Reflects on mutabilitie in the Narnian tale; weaves together an examination of the characteristics of the classic detective tale, Spenser’s Two Cantos of Mutabilitie, and the plot and style of Lewis’s novel into a satisfying whole.

Reviews, Sharon L. Bolding, Janet Brennan Croft, Kazia Estrada, Mike Foster, Bonnie Gaarden, Jon Garrad, Melody Green, Perry Neil Harrison, T. S. Miller, Holly Ordway, Christopher Tuthill, Joe R. Christopher

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

George MacDonald: Divine Carelessness and Fairytale Levity. Daniel Gabelman. Reviewed by Bonnie Gaarden.

The Gender Dance: Ironic Subversion in C.S. Lewis's Cosmic Trilogy. Monika B. Hilder. Preface by Matthew Dickerson. Reviewed by Joe R. Christopher.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: In a Modern English Version with a Critical Introduction. John Gardner. Reviewed by Perry Neil Harrison.

Myths of Light: Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal. Joseph Campbell. Reviewed by Christopher Tuthill.

The Riddles of the Hobbit. Adam Roberts. Reviewed by Jon Garrad.

The Modern Literary Werewolf: A Critical Study of the Mutable Motif. Brent A. Stypczynski. Reviewed by Sharon L. …

Wimps, Dorks, And Reluctant Readers: Redefining Literacy In Multimodal Middle Grade Diary Books, Rachel Lee Rickard

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Since the release of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the multimodal, middle-grade diary book has gained popularity. The series features “handwritten,” journal entries and drawings and has elicited many imitators, the most prominent of which is Rachel Renee Russell’s Dork Diaries. While the diary form is not new to children’s literature, these series reinvent the established conventions through drawings and supplementary online environments. Both series are routinely identified as for reluctant readers; however, their diversity of form actually leads to complex reader engagement. My purpose is to refute the idea that the books are useful only …

Letters To Make-Believe: An Afterschool Survival Kit, Jessica Maginity 14

Honor Scholar Theses

None

Subteen, Preteen, Tween: Preadolescent Literature Inside And Out, Bethany Fort

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the inside and outside of preadolescent literature, a subgenre that has been widely neglected by literary scholars, educators, and book publishers. In Chapter 2, I analyze the themes within The Giver by Lois Lowry and use the developmental stage of preadolescence to define a subgenre of preadolescence, which has distinct characteristics that separate it from the other subgenres of children’s literature. In Chapter 3, I focus on the outside of preadolescent literature, using the results of bookseller and author surveys and research on the history of the tween retail market to uncover the subtle messages being …