Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons^™

C.S. Lewis's Debt To Dante: The Voyage Of The "Dawn Trader" And Purgatorio, Mattison Schuknecht

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

Compares imagery of sun and water in Voyage and Purgatorio; contrasts the horizontal structure of Voyage with the vertical orientation of Purgatorio. This essay is meant to be read with Martin, Thomas L. “Seven for Seven” in the same issue, as each comments on the other.

C.S. Lewis's Two Satyrs, Joe R. Christopher

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

Two very different satyrs appear in C.S. Lewis’s works, one in his early pre-conversion poem “The Satyr” in Spirits in Bondage and one in his more mature Narnia books (Mr. Tumnus, but Narnia is also home to a whole race of Fauns). Lewis handles the imagery and associations of the satyr or faun quite differently at these points in his writing career, but both represent a split in the psychology of the human male.

The Helmholtz, The Doctor, The Minotaur, And The Labyrinth, Buket Akgün

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

Compares the use and resolution of Minotaur and Labyrinth themes and imagery, and the identification of the Theseus hero-figure with the monster, in Victor Pelevin’s novel The Helmet of Horror and the sixth season Doctor Who episode “The God Complex.”

Mapping Gender In Middle-Earth, John Miller

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

Examines the geography and both natural and created landscapes of Middle-earth in terms of what they reveal about gender and race, and how Tolkien used landscape to “[map] alternative masculinities onto […] different races” and emphasize contrasting depictions of femininity through female characters and races that either “stay put” or wander.

The Black Speech: The Lord Of The Rings As A Modern Linguistic Critique, Cody Jarman

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

Uses the theories of Owen Barfield to analyze the language and rhetoric used in the service of evil in The Lord of the Rings as a critique of modernity and the divorce of true meaning from speech. Ted Sandyman, Saruman, and the Mouth of Sauron are used as particular examples.

Notes And Letters, John Rosegrant, Debra Polesiak, Ryder W. Miller

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

• A Comment on "1904: Tolkien, Trauma, and its Anniversaries".

A letter responding to Nancy Bunting’s provocative article on Tolkien’s traumatic family history in Mythlore #127.

By John Rosegrant.

• Jean Louise to the Dark Tower Came.

Explicates a pattern of references to Browning’s “Childe Roland” in Harper Lee’s recently published Go Set a Watchman.

By Debra Polesiak.

• American Survivor: William Faulkner's A Fable.

Draws our attention to American World War I veteran William Faulkner’s A Fable as an example of the fantastic in response to the war’s trauma.

By Ryder W. Miller.

Reviews, Rebekah Choat, Joe R. Christopher, Cait Coker, Janet Brennan Croft, Mike Foster, Melody Green, Kristine Larsen, Scott Mclaren, Emily Moniz Mirova, Kelly Orazi, Brian Roberts, Andrew C. Stout

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

Charles Williams: The Third Inkling. Grevel Lindop. Reviewed by Scott McLaren.

The Chapel of the Thorn: A Dramatic Poem. Charles Williams. Edited and Introduced by Sørina Higgins. Reviewed by Scott McLaren.

Women and C.S. Lewis: What His Life and Literature Reveal For Today’s Culture. Carolyn Curtis and Mary Pomroy Key, eds. Reviewed by Rebekah Choat.

Tolkien Among the Moderns. Edited by Ralph C. Wood. Reviewed by Andrew C. Stout.

Tolkien. Raymond Edwards. Reviewed by Cait Coker.

Children into Swans: Fairy Tales and the Pagan Imagination. Jan Beveridge. Reviewed by Brian Roberts.

Trilby/The Crumb Fairy. Charles Nodier. Translated and adapted by …

Victorian Counter-Worlds And The Uncanny: The Fantasy Illustrations Of Walter Crane And Arthur Rackham, Amzie A. Dunekacke

UCARE: Research Products

I will prepare an in-depth examination of the different, often opposing ways illustrators Walter Crane and Arthur Rackham portray elements of fantasy in their fairy tale illustrations. Fantasy in fairy tales became very popular during the “Golden Age of Illustration” in Britain, which lasted from the mid nineteenth century until the First World War. Fantasy served as a form of escapism from the rigidity of Victorian society and the increasingly industrialized culture. In my examination, I will focus on how Crane and Rackham’s separate styles use or abandon elements of fantasy such as the horrific and grotesque, anthropomorphism of animals …

The Shadow Of The War: Postwar Destabilization, Nostalgia, And Fragile Truth In The Works Of A. A. Milne, Sarah E. Johnson Labarbera

Masters Essays

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Collection Of Swedish-American Children’S Literature, Katie Hanson

Swenson Center Faculty Research Stipend Reports

For five days I examined resources related to children’s literature held in the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center collection. Initially, I proposed that I would examine anything having to do with children's literature. I ended up looking at lots of immigration stories as well as the holdings in the children's collection.

Carmita Cerda Aprende A Cocinar, Alexandra Christian Burkley

Open Access Books

Carmita Cerda aprende a cocinar was written and illustrated in 2016 by Alexandra Christian Burkley. The original text was edited and translated by Mackensy Asbell and Madeline Strelec. New, original illustrations were created by Rina Sato.

Spiritual Formation Of Young Adults In China: A Case Study Of Protagonists In Boxers And Saints, Xu Bian

Seattle Pacific Seminary Theses

The thesis examines the spiritual development of young adult protagonists depicted in Boxers and saints by Gene Luen Yang using the framework of six spiritual components and the approach of critical content analysis. It shows that the six elements, journey, transcendence, community, religion, mystery of creation, and transformation, are involved regardless of different religions people are converted to. In addition, religions provide an avenue for spirituality to mature given that spirituality is an intrinsic and universal characteristic of human beings regardless of their religious beliefs or lack of them. Finally, spirituality is not superior to religions because of the two …

“There Is Only Power”: Surveying The Structures And Operations Of Power In The Magical World Of Harry Potter, Aaron D. Marciniak

Departmental Honors Projects

As the internationally best-selling series Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling moves into its second generation of readers, it becomes increasingly important to analyze the assumptions it communicates about power differentials between people and belief systems. A central tenant of narrative paradigm holds that humans are innately narrative, internalizing narrative frameworks as a means to understand the world which then become externalized through human action. Thus, while the social hierarchies, collective actions, and institutional authorities in the fantasy world of Harry Potter in some ways map onto Anglo-American social and political structures, the significant differences between these textual and “real world” …

Excerpt From: Won, A Novel, Jenna Ellenbogen

Honors Undergraduate Theses

High school is bad enough with cliques, coursework, and the impending threat of college – now some old evil is coming to Solomon Starek High School (SSH for short). It’s up to transfer student Ella, older than time and unthinkably powerful, to stop it. Ella’s certainly up to the task, but the world’s changed since the last time she was in it. Society has merged magic with science, and Ella’s not sure she’s up for that. Can her new classmates help her stop what’s coming, or will they fall short? This excerpt tracks Ella’s first days at school, and sets …

Margaret Wise Brown Papers, 1938-1960., Beth S. Harris

Finding Aids: Guides to the Collections

Materials related to the career of children's author Margaret Wise Brown. The collection includes literary manuscripts, correspondence, legal papers, biographical information, periodical publications, sound recordings, ephemera, and clippings

Nsu Early Literacy And Reading Education Curriculum 2016, Nova Southeastern University

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice College Archive

No abstract provided.

A Twist On Happily Ever After : Fractured Fairy Tales For Young Adults, Kathryn Hale

Graduate Research Papers

Fractured fairy tales are growing in popularity for young adults. Teacher librarians may need a more complete understanding of themes and characters found in fractured fairy tales in order to provide readers’ advisory in this genre. The purpose of this research paper is to describe the themes and moral lessons of positively reviewed fractured fairy tales for young adults. Novels from 2006 - 2015 were analyzed using constant comparison for the themes and lessons described in them. Nine positively reviewed core collection novels were chosen, read and analyzed by the researcher. Themes explored through the research include: danger of ignorance, …

Beasts, Brides, And Brutality: The Intersection Of Animalism And Gender In European Fairy Tales, Rachel Matson

English Honors Papers

This thesis, a comparative study of published fairy tale collections across three nations and three centuries, argues that fairy tales were, in their time, highly charged ideological interventions in period debates about gender, class, and nation. In this thesis I recover not just the historical context of each collection but also the circumstances of production for their print publication. The variables that form the basis of this comparison include: whether stories in a given volume were collected from informants or invented by a single author; the level of attachment of the collector to nationalist movements; and the layers of editorial …

Parody And The Pen: Pippi Longstocking, Harriet M. Welsch, And Flavia De Luce As Disrupters Of Space, Language, And The Male Gaze, Kelsey Mclendon

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In opposition to a literary tradition of damsel-in-distress female characters, Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking, Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy, and Alan Bradley’s The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie provide examples of empowered, intelligent, and capable young girls living in a mid-20th century environment and successfully subverting patriarchal norms. Drawing on Laura Mulvey’s theory on women as spectacle, Hélène Cixous’s concept of l’ecriture feminine, and New Historicist influences, I explore the common threads within these post-World War II era texts. Pippi’s strength and humor, Harriet’s spying and writing, and Flavia’s scientific expertise and detectival work illustrate their …

A Survey Of Children’S And Young Adult Literature Collections In Academic Libraries Of Christian Higher Education, Melissa Atkinson

The Christian Librarian

Children’s and young adult literature collections have an important place in an academic library. Most often, these collections go unnoticed by many in academia, who may regard children’s literature as irrelevant to the mission of the academic library. In reality, these important collections support institutional curriculum and include interdisciplinary resources used in many academic departments. Findings are reported of a survey conducted of private Christian colleges and universities regarding their management of children’s and young adult literature collections which seeks to identify current practices and procedures being utilized. Results from the survey highlight use, promotion, and management.

Gender Stereotypes In Children's Literature, Christine C. Nebbia

Graduate Research Papers

This research paper focused on the creation of nine professional development sessions using critical literacy practices in order to analyze and examine gender stereotypes in children's literature addressed in the classroom. This professional development grew out of an in-depth examination of the research over the past 40 years addressing gender stereotypes and gender representation in children's literature, as well as, the literature on critical literacy practices and issues of social justice. The professional development sessions were designed around three major goals: to enable teachers to independently analyze children's literature for gender stereotypes; to help teachers understand the four components of …

There And Back Again… And Again, Dylan Spilinek

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

The goal of this research project was to analyze literature to understand the time period the piece was written in. J. R. R. Tolkien claimed that his children’s story, The Hobbit, held no historical allegories that related to his time period. However, analyzing The Hobbit shows how Tolkien’s personal life held many areas that influenced his writing, and those who read his tales.

Tolkien was inspired by Beowulf’s epic hero plot and Christian beliefs as seen by his character, ideologies and symbolic objects, and by his naturalistic mindset reflected by the story’s species relations and underlying themes. This childhood …

Adult Influences In The Construction Of Youth War Diaries, Amanda Slater

Undergraduate Research Journal

In her article, “Youth Voices in the War Diary Business,” Susan Honeyman argues that interviews with children and youth – although influenced by the adult population – “resist being reducible simply to war propaganda or protectionist sentimentality” (74). This is especially true for award-winning author and peace activist Deborah Ellis, whose recent nonfiction – Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees (2009), Off to War: Voices of Soldier’s Children (2008), and Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children (2004) – tend to lack “imposing adult interpretation” (Honeyman 82). While this may be accurate within the work of Ellis as well as …

Continuity In Color: The Persistence Of Symbolic Meaning In Myths, Tales, And Tropes, Mckinley May

Honors College Theses

This paper examines the symbolism of the colors black, white, and red from ancient times to modern. It explores ancient myths, the Grimm canon of fairy tales, and modern film and television tropes in order to establish the continuity of certain symbolisms through time. In regards to the fairy tales, the examination focuses solely on the lesser-known stories, due to the large amounts of scholarship surrounding the “popular” tales. The continuity of interpretation of these three major colors (black, white, and red) establishes the link between the past and the present and demonstrates the influence of older myths and beliefs …

Voice In Verse: Four Outstanding Mentor Texts, Pauline Skowron Schmidt

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Satire And Synthesis: Parody And Satire Of Victorian Education In The Works Of Lewis Carroll, Cameron D. Sedlacek

All Master's Theses

Education is an integral part of any society. Victorian England saw drastic reform in the method of childhood education, shifting from religious to secular forms of rote memorization. An analysis of the works of Lewis Carroll reveals significant instances of parody, pastiche, and satire on these styles of education and their corresponding reform. Unlike traditional satire, however, Lewis Carroll’s satire does not simply criticize these targets, but utilizes a strategy of synthesis to illustrate strengths and weaknesses of various conflicting educational ideologies and to suggest ways of adopting methods from all available options.

Nursery Rhymes: Pieces Of The Children’S Literature Puzzle In Translation, Catalina Millán Scheiding

Faculty Works

Nursery rhymes are being found increasingly in translational situations, normally in intertextual translations, yet there is no framework or specific study of how they should be translated. This paper aims, on the one hand, to explore the theories related to children’s literature translation that could be applied to nursery rhyme translation, and on the other hand, to identify the particular idiosyncrasies of nursery rhymes that may have an effect on their translation. Several examples are analyzed from different media (comic, children’s book and film) in their translation from English into Spanish and new study possibilities are proposed.

"Don't Read This!": Lemony Snicket And The Control Of Youth Reading Autonomy In Late-Nineteenth-Century Britain, Brittany A. Previte

Senior Independent Study Theses

This independent study investigates adult authority in youth literature in late-nineteenth-century Britain. Examining both sensational literature known as “penny dreadfuls” and the didactic magazines The Boy’s Own Paper and The Girl’s Own Paper, this project analyzes how rhetoric enforced middle class ideology outside of the classroom and shaped the youth reading experience. In an urbanizing, industrializing Britain, anxiety about social mobility ran high, and youth consumption of penny dreadfuls received suspicion due to their supposedly subversive content. This study argues that penny dreadfuls actually reinforced the social order, mirroring didactic literature in their construction of conservative adult authority. In …

The Somewhere We Wish Were Nowhere: Dystopian Realities And (Un)Democratic Imaginaries, Benjamin B. Taylor

Senior Independent Study Theses

How do political practices influence mass culture? Conversely, how does mass culture influence political practice? This project addresses these questions by turning to the concepts of utopia and dystopia. Imagined utopic and dystopic visions express both the hopes and anxieties of the societies producing them. Dystopias also highlight the mechanisms of power that function within particular social orders. Through readings of Lois Lowry’s The Giver and Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, I demonstrate how utopia and dystopia function and how we can respond to dystopic realities by theorizing solutions that are more conducive to the …

Heart Of The Machine, Lauren Liebowitz Mfa

All Student Scholarship

Rion lives as a roach in the down-below, sharing what little she has with other kids in need. An encounter with a dead body leaves her with what seems like someone else's memories in her head--Obsidian, one of the synthetic humanoid Protectors who battle against unknown, inhuman invaders. Rion's everyday struggle to survive and keep her friends safe is complicated by this unfamiliar, unwanted presence. As she searches for a cure or at least an explanation, she comes to the attention of different powers at play who want access to Obsidian's memories, at any cost. Soon she is fighting not …