Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons^™

Book Review: The Book Of Joshua: A Novel By Jennifer Anne Moses, University Of Wisconsin Press, 2018, Kia Jane Richmond

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Jennifer Anne Moses’s (2018) young adult novel, The Book of Joshua: A Novel, begins with a letter from eighteen-year-old protagonist Joshua Cushing; he is writing in response to a college admissions essay prompt about overcoming a challenge or experience that shaped his life. For Josh, that experience began with his awakening in a New Jersey psychiatric hospital; he was missing his left eye and his girlfriend, Sophie, and could not remember losing either one. Moses’s book unravels the mystery for the reader, explaining how Josh lost his left eye, what happened to Sophie, and how mental illness fits into …

Course Syllabus For English 1120 - Speculative Fiction, Chad Luck

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This document contains a syllabus for a new version of the large-lecture course English 1120: Speculative Fiction. This version of the class focuses on horror fiction, in particular, and structures the course according to a series of discursive contexts crucial to that genre. So, the course is organized around five thematic units including: psychology, religion, gender, race, and science. Each of these units presents key texts in that given area and asks students to think critically about the relationship of fiction to that particular cultural context. The course, in general, cultivates in students the ability to analyze cultural objects—in this …

Decolonizing Children's Literature: Diversity & Representation In Six Scholarly Journals, Camryn Carwll, Kathleen Fricke, Shannon Montgomery, Shannon Solley, Samantha Walsh, Gabrielle Halko

English Student Work

Research on children's publishing shows that children's literature remains an overwhelmingly White, cisgender, heterosexual, and abled field. The same can be said about the scholarship of children's literature, but little research has been done to measure representation and diversity within the discipline. Our collaborative research team (five undergraduate research assistants and one faculty member) analyzes data from six children's literature journals over a 10-year period; using criteria from Lee & Low's Diversity Baseline Survey and the Cooperative Children's Book Center at UW-Madison, we measure how much of the published scholarship in recent children's literature journals can be considered "diverse." Finally, …

Dissecting The Man Of Steel: The Evolution Of Superman As A Reflection Of American Society, Marie Gould

Undergraduate Theses

Since his debut during the Great Depression in 1938, Superman has become an American cultural icon. His symbol is not only known throughout the nation, but the world as well. Despite this, many consider Superman to be irrelevant and unrelatable to reality because he is written as an outrageously overpowered being with “boy scout” morals. However, he has not always been written this way. This research seeks to uncover the connections between Superman’s various narratives and the changing social and political ideas of American Society throughout history. Specifically, the objective of this study is to establish whether Superman has changed …

Dear Mr. Anderson: An Open Letter To The Danish Storyteller About Craft And Style, Alexa Jones

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

An analysis of Hand Christian Anderson fairy tales and a letter to the author

The Inklings And King Arthur: J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Willams, C.S. Lewis, And Owen Barfield On The Matter Of Britain Ed. Sørina Higgins, Jared Lobdell

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

No abstract provided.

The Best Children's Books Of The Year [2020 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 2019. 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.

Louder Than A Bomb: Poetry Slams And Community Activism Create A Powerful Brew, Kristin Lems

Faculty Publications

Louder than a Bomb is the oldest youth poetry slam in the country, born out of Chicago's oral performance resources, including Second City. The article shares LTAB's beginnings, evolution, growth, and influence, and the author describes the experience of being a judge at the annual poetry slam.

Entertainment Media Perceptions Of Minorities In Young Adult Adaptations, Kynnadie Bennett

Honors College Theses

This is an exploration of stereotypical and racist portrayals of minorities, specifically African-American, Latinx, and Native American communities, in film and television in the past and how that has affected representation in film adaptations of young adult literature. Young adult literature is one of the highest-selling genres in literature, purchased by both young adults and actual adults. In recent years, young adult literature has been adapted into film and television series and while representation has improved since the early years of entertainment history, there are still problems in the industry: many of the stereotypes remain, some minorities lack representation, and …

Innocent No More: How Child Vampires Challenge The Social Narrative Of Childhood, Ashley Quinn

Masters Theses

The inclusion of children within Gothic and horror fiction has always been regarded as untoward because children are vulnerable to misrepresentation. However, excluding children from transgressive genres eliminates a space where childhood can be critically analyzed. Fortunately, authors such as Stephen King, Anne Rice, and John Ajvide Lindqvist break the taboo through the inclusion of children in vampiric narratives. These narratives encourage readers to question the social narrative of childhood within the context of vampire stories. Through an examination of ‘Salem’s Lot (King, 1975), “Popsy” (King, 1987), Interview with the Vampire (Rice, 1976), and Let the Right One In (Lindqvist, …

Family Influences And Intersections: Adelaide F. Samuels Bassett And Susan Blagge Caldwell Samuels Marcy (Mrs. S. B. C. Samuels), Deidre Johnson

English Faculty Publications

A number of women who created children's series came from writing families – generally, mothers and daughters (like the two Elizabeth Stuart Phelpses) or sisters (like Julia A. Mathews and Joanna Hone Mathews). Adelaide F. Samuels and Mrs. S. B. C. Samuels offer a somewhat different example of this category in that they were sisters-in-law rather than biological relatives. Both women wrote professionally for only a short period: Susan Samuels is also among those authors who produced only one series before abandoning the genre. (Adelaide penned two and a standalone sequel.)

Talent, Tensions, And Tragedy: The Life And Writings Of Sarah E. Chester Logie, Deidre Johnson

English Faculty Publications

Demographically, Sarah E. Chester (who also wrote as Sallie Chester) shares several traits with other women who created girls' series. A minister's daughter, she lived in the Northeastern United States and had several family members who also wrote for publication. Like several of her counterparts with close associations to the clergy, she worked primarily with religious presses. And, like many married series authors, she found the shape of her life affected by her husband's actions and decisions – in her case, quite drastically. Although her fiction has distinctly religious elements, a number of Chester's stories are more notable for the …

Feminist Theology And The Fantastic In Jewish Poetics And Children's Literature (1960s–Present), Meira S. Levinson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation traces the development of Jewish fantasy rhetoric in post-WWII British and American literature, focusing on three genres: kabbalistic Beat poetry, children’s fantasy, and graphic novels/comics. Despite increasing scholarly attention to all these areas, little work has focused on fantasy rhetoric or issues of gender and sexuality within non-canonical Jewish literature, or on interplays of religion and fantasy in children’s literature. Jewish kabbalistic poetry and children’s fantasy speak to each other in their mutual engagements with the otherworldly, mystical and monstrous, interrogations of gender, and complex portrayals of feminist theological potentialities. I identify and analyze Jewish-hermeneutic themes and methodologies …

Preaching Hope: Young Adult Fantasy And Science Fiction As Conversation Partners With Scripture, Kathleen Monson Lutes

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This thesis treats young adult science fiction and fantasy as a conversation partner with scripture, particularly but not limited to themes of apocalypse, revelation, and end-times, for the purposes of preaching God’s love and hope in a chaotic world. Included in this conversation is The Hunger Games trilogy, Divergent trilogy, A Wrinkle in Time, The Last Battle, and Warm Bodies. The dominant themes discussed are prophecy, sin/evil/repentance, resistance, and the Great Battle. This work provides a voice for preaching difficult themes, including end-times, in a world of fear and darkness. It particularly offers an example for preaching the timelessness of …

Teaching Tolerance Through English Language Arts, Samantha Casarella

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio examines the ways in which tolerance can be taught and reinforced through English Language Arts. Substantive research is presented justifying the urgency of teaching tolerance at the high school level and the role that English Language Arts teachers play in the process. Methods of practical application are presented through three separate unit plans, each focused on elevating students’ social consciousness.

Reacting To The Future: An Immersive Experience With The Hunger Games, Amanda Taylor

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

Description of an immersive, role-play based assignment centered on The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Designed for a ENG 1120 Speculative Fiction course focused on dystopian literature. The assignments adapts elements of Reacting to the Past pedagogy and was developed as part of a Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy Faculty Learning Community focused on large lecture literature courses.

Using Children's Literature To Support Social And Emotional Learning In Third Through Sixth Grade Classrooms, Hayley L. Paljug

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research examined the use of award-winning children’s literature for social and emotional learning, focusing on its use for children in third through sixth grades. The world is ever-changing, and, as a result, the need for children to learn necessary social and emotional skills continues to increase. These skills include, but are not limited to, perseverance, friendship, grit, caring, and the like. It has been found that teaching social and emotional skills through bibliotherapy is an engaging and successful method that can be used by schools and teachers. Teachers or other educational stakeholders can use this document to begin to …

The Best Children's Picture Books Of The Year In Spanish [2020 Edition], Bank Street College Of Education. Children's Book Committee

The Center for Children's Literature

An annotated list of the best children's books in Spanish published or translated in 2019. In English and Spanish.

Spanish title: Los mejores libros infantiles en Español.

Body Image/Imagining Bodies: Trauma, Control, And Healing In Graphic Memoirs About Anorexia, Kristine M. Gatchel

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase of graphic narratives focusing on the intersection of comics and medicine, a subgenre known as graphic medicine. These memoirs, known as graphic pathographies, are written from those who interact with disease in various capacities from patient, to doctor, to caregiver. This project closely examines three graphic pathographies written about the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Prior writing, both fictional and personal memoir, on anorexia has often been considered as problematic for its ability to function as a how-to manual for anorexics. Anorexia is a complex disease that exists largely within the …

Transformative Subjects: American Children’S Periodicals, 1855-1905, Emily R. Dehaven

Theses and Dissertations--English

Through this dissertation, I explore the ways that authors and editors use the form of children’s periodicals to discuss questions of childhood independence, the structure of the family, and the balance of power between children and adults with regards to literary texts. I examine the ways in which adults and children negotiate control over the periodicals and over the images of transformation present within those texts. Periodicals offer a unique opportunity for interaction between readers and editors. Magazines and newspapers encouraged readers to write into the magazine to offer their own insights and opinions. Readers of children’s magazines even had …

Latinx Characters In Young Adult Literature: Perpetuating And Countering Stereotypes, Dallas Gomez

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The Latinx community is rapidly growing in the United States, and it is important for young readers to find books with characters who are members of this community . However, there are many stereotypes that exist about this group in society, some negative and some positive . To determine how the Latinx community is depicted to readers of young adult (YA) fiction, I selected a set of novels featuring Latinx people as main characters based on their publication date and targeted audience age . By reading and analyzing different books written at different times, not only was it found that …

Book Review: An Encouraging Thought: The Christian Worldview In The Writings Of J.R.R. Tolkien By Donald T. Williams, Phillip Fitzsimmons

Faculty Articles & Research

Donald T. Williams begins his book An Encouraging Thought: The Christian Worldview in the Writings of J.R.R. Tolkien with the sentence, “I first read The Lord of the Rings in the summer of 1968, the summer between my junior and senior years of high school.” (p. 8 Kindle) This autobiographical fact launches the slim volume that shares Williams’s early discoveries that J.R.R. Tolkien was a Christian whose Christian worldview is expressed throughout The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and “On Fairy-Stories.”

"And All Were Welcome": An Analysis Of The Transgender Child In Contemporary Picture Books, Isaac Prestwich

Pomona Senior Theses

This paper constitutes an interrogation of children’s picture books that feature trans and gender non-conforming child protagonists. In these books, the audience, presumed to be a child, whose experience of the narrative is mediated through the adult or older figure reading the picture book, is brought to empathize and identify with the book’s characters, whether they be the protagonist themselves, or those auxiliary figures who surround the main character. My goal is to identify consistent themes across the genre, as well as within the field of critical childhood studies, particularly as they pertain to the rhetorical value of the Child, …

So How Does Elastic Grammar Create Meaning In Children’S Literature?: Storytelling And Elastic Grammar In Haroun And The Sea Of Stories (1990), Inkheart (2003), And A Monster Calls (2011), Kate Lomas Glendenning

Theses : Honours

So why is grammar an unsung hero that rarely receives acknowledgement? And why do the first two sentences of this abstract start with coordinating conjunctions? This thesis will explore elastic grammar: a term I coined to recognise style devices that are traditionally thought of as grammatically incorrect but are used to create a deeper level of meaning within fiction. The analysis of the elasticity of grammar will be conducted through close readings of three children’s books and three elastic grammar devices. Since each novel’s primary focus is storytelling, this thesis analyses elastic grammar that relates to storytelling. The three elastic …

Early Black Poetry, Social Justice, And Black Children: Receptions Of Child Activism In African American Literary History, Tabitha Lashay Joy Lowery

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In spite of the substantial amount of critical work that has been produced on the recovery of early African American literature in the last few decades, our representations of black authors are still limited. Current studies of early African American poets privilege the identification of African American literature with resistance to slavery. This identification has persisted and has made the field one-dimensional. My dissertation provides reception histories of four early black poets—Phillis Wheatley, George Moses Horton, Frances Harper, and Paul Laurence Dunbar—to argue for and present an expansive understanding of African American literature. A thorough examination of these authors’ circulation …

The Challenge Of Monoculturalism: What Books Are Educators Sharing With Children And What Messages Do They Send?, Helen Adam, Caroline Barratt-Pugh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The importance of recognising, valuing and respecting a child’s family, culture, language and values is increasingly articulated in educational policy. Diversity and inclusion are central themes of the guiding principles of early childhood education and care in Australia. Children’s literature can be a powerful tool for extending children’s knowledge and understandings of themselves and others who may be different culturally, socially or historically. However, evidence suggests many settings provide monocultural book collections which are counterproductive to principles of diversity. This paper reports on a larger study investigating factors and relationships influencing the use of children’s literature to support principles of …