Juvenile picture books about the Holocaust: Extending the definitions of children’s literature

1993 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 36-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia A. Walter ◽  
Susan F. March
2013 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maj Asplund Carlsson ◽  
Johannes Lunneblad

Title: Where “the wild things” are: An author of children’s books on a visit to the suburbsAbstract:Few studies have been carried out on children’s literature from a post-colonial perspective. In this article, we look closer at four picture books recently published in Sweden with the purpose of giving children from urban areas patterns of identification. The aim of our study is to see how the ‘suburb’ is articulated as a multi-accented sign. Three themes are elaborated in our analysis, i.e. loneliness and alienation, drug abuse and misery as well as small business occurrence. We also discuss the consequences for children in early years of an encounter with a distorted or alienated view of suburban culture.


Bibliosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 80-88
Author(s):  
O. B. Bukhina

Comparing changes in publication policies, the influence of translated books, and an important role that women writers play now, author analyzed new tendencies in American and Russian children’s and teens’ literature. The author concludes that American picture books reflect the varieties of contemporary experiences, and the Russian ones thrive with poetry and non-fiction. The comparison of teens’ literature of both countries shows a lot of similarities; both encompass more sensitive topics, such as illness, death, suicide, drugs, psychological trauma, and bulling.


Author(s):  
Hervé Cantero

Generations of Australian children have been presented with iconic figures and values associated with the events of 1915 at Gallipoli and involved in the ritual practices of remembrance exemplified by Anzac Day ceremonies throughout a corpus of children’s literature which ranges from picture books for pre-schoolers to young adult fiction. This paper aims to broadly identify the narrative strategies at work in a selection of recent stories of brave animals helping the Aussie boys under fire or paeans to the duty of personal and communal remembrance and to examine them in a larger context of national self-representation.


Author(s):  
Krzysztof Rybak

The article investigates the ways of representing the Holocaust in children’s literature published in Poland in the 21st century (e.g. Joanna Rudniańska’s Kotka Brygidy and Smoke by Antón Fortes and Joanna Concejo). Phenomena such as anti-Semitism or death of the main character, called by researchers and critics inappropriate for a young audience, are analyzed with the use of the research on taboo in children’s literature (Bogusława Sochańska and Justyna Czechowska) as well as confronted with the threat of “traumatization” of the young reader (Małgorzata Wójcik-Dudek). The analysis proves that the Shoah only appears to be well-represented in children’s literature as many topics are still omitted.


Diogenes ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-54
Author(s):  
Jean Perrot

In this article, a chapter from a more general study, the butterfly is considered as an arresting `index', highlighting the evolution of children's culture and the relationships between science and literature. Comparing Furetière's knowledge of this insect, as set out in his Dictionnaire universel (1690), to its literary representations in Charles Perrault's or Fénelon's tales, helps to assess the context in which children's literature came to be written within the higher circles of the Versailles Court society. It also explains some aspects of the `Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes'. Flying the flag for modernism, the butterfly stands in rhetorical opposition to the industrious bee or `zephyr' of the pastoral and idyll, as a sign of liberated childhood. An epilogue shows that butterflies in contemporary writings for children offer a postmodern illustration of the baroque trend that was initiated in children's literature at the end of the 17th century, and impart a special flavour to some of the most popular tales and picture-books.


in education ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-70
Author(s):  
Beverley Brenna ◽  
Shuwen Sun ◽  
Yina Liu

This comprehensive qualitative examination of two groups of Canadian picture books, 57 titles published in 2005 and 120 titles published in 2015, offers comparative data that demonstrate patterns related to authors, illustrators, characterization, genres, audiences, and particular elements of Radical Change. Following book collection, content analysis was conducted with a consideration of Dresang’s notion that books for children are evolving with respect to forms and formats, perspectives, and boundaries. Our process for analysis was developed from Berg’s framework of systematic content analysis based on predetermined as well as emerging categories. There is much recent research exploring particular content in children’s literature, supporting the central importance of literature in the classroom and community. Comparative Canadian studies across decades, however, are rare, and are increasingly important as a way to track and describe the changes that are taking place with respect to books for young people. It is interesting that in both 2005 and 2015, picture books tended to feature children as protagonists, with the highest number of books from the 2005 set utilizing the fantasy genre (at 34%) or realistic fiction (at 28%) and the highest number of books from the 2015 set occurring in non-fiction (at 34%, up from 16% in 2005) or fantasy (at 31%). Historical fiction in both years presented comparatively low, at 12% and 3%, respectively.Findings of this study support and extend the notion of Radical Change. The research team noted marked innovations within the 2015 group related to forms and formats, boundaries, and perspectives. Of particular note are the increasing numbers of books that present Indigenous content and perspectives. While many of the changes appearing in Canadian picture books between 2005 and 2015 might be predicted through the standard categories of Radical Change (Dresang, 1999), other findings also emerged that suggest new Radical Change considerations. Continuing to examine children’s literature as artifacts of a culture can illuminate particular aspects of that culture and offer opportunities to engage authors, illustrators, and publishers in filling gaps where particular perspectives or topics are missing. Advocacy is important as children’s literature continues to be a source of tension for what it portrays and presents as well as its missing voices. A knowledge of patterns and trends in relation to available content and resources supports classroom practice as well as encourages classroom research and further explorations of the evolving landscape of children's books.


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