scholarly journals The Language of Fear in Children’s Literature: A Case Study of Ted Hughes’s Poems for Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 453-471
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Chrzanowska-Kluczewska ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Poetic Imagery ◽  
Fear And Anxiety ◽  
Cognitive Construct

The article tackles the issue of the language of fear exploited in children’s literature, taking Ted Hughes’s Nature poems for young readers as the object of analysis. It presents a perspective of linguistic stylistics and literary semantics and as such is not meant to be a critical literary evaluation of Hughes’s poetry. Rather, it focuses on linguistic instruments of creating the aura of fear in children’s poetry and their cognitive import. The author has chosen a neuroscientific paradigm for the two closely related emotions – fear and anxiety – as propagated by American researcher Joseph LeDoux, most prominently in his work “Anxious” (2015). LeDoux maintains that the feeling of fear is not inborn but rather a cognitive construct emergent from the use of one’s native language practiced within a particular socio-cultural context. The unique atmosphere of Hughes’s poetry has been achieved by a rich lexicon of fear-related notions and a skillfully applied figuration (anthropomorphisms, similes). His poetic imagery powerfully complements the vocabulary and troping in calling to life fictional worlds, often uncanny and menacing, remote from the young readers’ experience. The author of this article perceives in the lexicon, figuration and multimodal imagery (both verbal and visual, the latter realized as illustrations in picture-books) an important didactic device that teaches children how to manage fearsome experiences. This capability will also prepare children to face anxiety, an emotion typical of adult life and related mostly to existential problems.

scholarly journals Are Archetypes Not Enough in Children's Literature? A Case Study of Body Shaming and Stereotypes in Roald Dahl's The Twits And The Witches

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Akanksha Bahukhandi
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Human Race ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Functional Units

Archetypes are easily identifiable in works of fiction regardless of when they were penned and the relevant cultural mileu. This is because archetypes are functional units of the 'collective unconcious' which is common to all. Going by that logic shouldn't the authors of fiction be just fine with exploring various aspects and variations af various archetyes deep seated in the psyche of their readers? If archetypes provide a sound base of ready acceptance by virtue of  their familiarity to the entire human race, then what explains the rampant use of strereotypical characters and plots in fiction all across the globe and especially in children's literature? Do the stereotypes encourage prejudices and body shaming? The present paper aims to look into the possible reasons behind the use of stereotypes and caricatures, their effectiveness and their impact on the young readers.

scholarly journals Między utopią socjalizmu a karykaturą Zachodu. Nie-dziecięca interpretacja świata przedstawionego w trylogii o skrzacie Nieumiałku Mikołaja Nosowa

2020 ◽  
pp. 63-88
Author(s):  
Marta Studenna-Skrukwa
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
Adult Reader

This paper attempts an interpretation of Nikolai Nosov’s novels about the adventures of Dunno, which enjoyed a cult status in the Soviet Union. Despite being children’s literature, they are examined in terms of themes that have little to do with young readers. The analysis is historical rather than literary, aiming chiefly to elucidate the cultural context and the social notions from the period of Khrushchev’s thaw. Here, the author undertakes to answer the questions concerning the extent to which the reality created by Nosov served to mould the socialist worldview as early as childhood and, simultaneously, whether it incidentally offered the adult reader an opportunity of intellectual escape into the officially condemned world.

scholarly journals INTERPRETING THE READABILITY IN SIMPLIFIED EDITIONS OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FROM A THEMATIC PERSPECTIVE: A CASE STUDY ON ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 201
Author(s):  
Tingjia Wang
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Thematic Structure ◽  
Linear Pattern ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland ◽  
Alice’S Adventures In Wonderland

Readability formulas developed on the foundation of the structuralist approach have been proven capable of providing satisfactory indexes about the readability in most cases, but cannot explain “causes of difficulty or... how to write readably” (Klare, 1974, p. 62). This paper will explore the thematic structure under the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics as an explanation perspective for the achievement of readability in simplified editions of children’s literature. The study is based on a comparison between the original and two simplified editions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in terms of Theme composition and Theme status, respectively. The two adaptations have provided explicit conjunctions and an explicit identity chain, respectively, as the major tool to assist young readers with reading. Green (1865) has foregrounded the tactic relationship between clauses by adding Textual Theme back to the clause and by revising the clausal order in complexes. Swan (1988) has omitted most Textual Themes either on purpose or along with the deletion of plots, and rewritten marked Themes into unmarked, modifying the development of text into a linear pattern and converging the clausal order in text towards that in spoken language.

scholarly journals Strange Encounter: Depicting An “Other” Reality for Young Readers

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
YOU Chengcheng
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Japanese Culture ◽  
Magic Realism ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
The Fantastic

This article explores fantastic encounters between humans and non-humans inChinese and Japanese Children’s literature. Naoko Awa’s collection of short storiesThe Fox’s Window and Other Stories is closely read to elucidate narrative features ofwhat I call as “strange encounter”, the magic realistic human-animal encounter inChinese and Japanese cultural context. Chinese supernatural literature and culturaltradition of yaoguai, which have been assimilated into Japanese culture (Japaneseyōkai), are referred to throughout my discussion.  Todorov’s approach to thefantastic, Judith Zeitlin’s study of Strange Tales of Liaozhai Studio, and RosemaryJackson’s study of fantasy are drawn upon to illuminate the meaning of encountersbetween men and animals. I argue that magic realism as a relatively new genrefor young readers, not only reflects the author’s individual creative experienceof the fantastic but also partakes in the sense of an “other” reality that resonatesthroughout a cultural community.Perjumpaan Ganjil: Gambaran suatu Realitas “Liyan” bagi Pembaca Muda.Artikel ini membahas perjumpaan fantastis antara ‘manusia’ dan ‘non-manusia’ didalam sastra anak Cina dan Jepang. Antologi cerita pendek karangan Naoko Awa TheFox’s Window and Other Stories akan dikupas untuk memaparkan fitur naratif yangdisebut sebagai ‘perjumpaan aneh’ (strange encounter), perjumpaan magis-realis antaramanusia dengan binatang dalam konteks kebudayaan Cina dan Jepang. Karya sastrasupernatural Cina dan keberadaan yaoguai yang telah diasimilasi dalam kebudayaanJepang (disebut youkai) menjadi sebuah referensi penting dalam artikel ini. Pendekatanfantasi dari Todorov, studi Judith Zeitlin tentang Strange Tales of Liaozhai Studio,dan studi fantasi dari Rosemary Jackson digunakan untuk memperjelas arti dariperjumpaan antara manusia dan binatang. Magis-realis sebagai sesuatu yang baru bagi pembaca muda tidak hanya merefleksikan pengalaman kreatif pribadi sang pengarang akan fantasi, tetapi juga berperan dalam pembentukan realitas “liyan” dalam sebuahkomunitas budaya.

scholarly journals The International Children’s Digital Library: A Case Study in Designing for a Multilingual, Multicultural, Multigenerational Audience

2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Browne Hutchinson ◽  
Anne Rose ◽  
Benjamin B. Bederson ◽  
Ann Carlson Weeks ◽  
Allison Druin
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Design Criteria

The challenges encountered in building the InternationalChildren’s Digital Library (ICDL), a freely availableonline library of children’s literature are described. Thesechallenges include selecting and processing books fromdifferent countries, handling and presenting multiplelanguages simultaneously, and addressing cultural differences. Unlike other digital libraries that present content from one or a few languages and cultures, and focuson either adult or child audiences, ICDL must serve amultilingual, multicultural, multigenerational audience.The research is presented as a case study for addressingthese design criteria; current solutions and plans forfuture work are described.

scholarly journals Milliyet Çocuk and the Making of Children's Literary Culture in Turkey in the 1970s

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-75
Author(s):  
Deniz Arzuk
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Children's Literature ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Literary Culture ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
Majority Group

This article is based on a systematic content analysis of Milliyet Çocuk, a children's magazine published by a left-leaning publishing house in the politically polarised context of Turkey in the late 1970s. It outlines the socio-political and cultural context, defines Milliyet Çocuk's position in the structure of the publishing field and questions how a non-majority group made space for themselves in a nation's children's literature. The archival material used in this article has been collected for the course New Perspectives in Cultural History, taught by Prof. Cengiz Kırlı. My research is funded by the Swedish Institute.

scholarly journals Muito mais que diversão - contribuições de Maria Nikolajeva sobre literatura infanto-juvenil

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (29) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Nikolajeva ◽  
Everaldo Lima de Araújo ◽  
Márcia Da Gama Silva Felipe ◽  
Thales Sant'Ana Ferreira Mendes
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
International Research ◽  
Linear Time ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Research Society ◽  
Brothers Grimm ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Cognitive Approaches ◽  
E Mail

Maria Nikolajeva nasceu na Rússia e se mudou para a Suécia em 1981. Mestre em Inglês pela Universidade Estadual de Moscou (Rússia) e doutora em Literatura Comparada pela Universidade de Estocolmo (Suécia) – onde trabalhou por 25 anos –, é Professora e Catedrática de Educação na Universidade de Cambridge (Reino Unido). Já foi presidente (1993-1997) da International Research Society for Children’s Lierature e uma das editoras seniores da Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. Em 2005, recebeu o International Brothers Grimm Award pela contribuição de seu trabalho sobre literatura infantil. É autora de mais de 300 artigos e de algumas dezenas de livros, incluindo From mythic to linear: time in children's literature (2000), Power, voice and subjectivity in literature for young readers (2010) e Reading for Learning: cognitive approaches to children's literature (2014). Sua obra mais conhecida no Brasil é Livro ilustrado: palavras e imagens (Cosac Naify, 2011), escrito em 2001, com a professora Carole Scott.Por e-mail, gentilmente a professora Maria Nikolajeva nos concedeu esta entrevista, carregada de posicionamentos sobre leitura e literatura infanto-juvenil. Com presteza, a professora ainda nos presenteou com a versão em inglês dessa conversa. É possível perceber importantes nuanças reflexivas para além da realidade brasileira, pondo em evidência o escopo dos estudos que tratam da literatura infantil e juvenil, seja no âmbito do ensino e da pesquisa.

Inspiration from Translation: The Golden Age of English-Language Children’s Literature and Its Impact on Polish Juvenile Fiction

Tekstualia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (65) ◽  
pp. 69-88
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Wieczorkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
English Language ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Juvenile Literature ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Literary Convention ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Adventure Novels

The article presents a cross-sectional view of the impact of the translations of English-language juvenile literature of the Golden Age on Polish literary production for young readers. This panorama of infl uences and reception modes is presented in three comparative close-ups, dealing with characters and recipients (English ‘girls’ novels’ and their Polish equivalents), literary convention (adventure novels), and fairytale quality, imagination, and fantasy (Polish literary works inspired by English classic fantasy books). The study shows that Golden Age children’s literature transferred into Polish by means of translation brought new trends, motifs, genres and themes to Polish juvenile literature, signifi cantly contributing to its development.

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