scholarly journals Classics of Children’s Literature: Definitions – Ideologies – Theoretical Concepts

Author(s):  
Maciej Skowera

The aim of the paper is to present a discussion on the issue of classicality in relation to children’s literature and in the context of ideology, as well as to formulate a definition of literary classics for young readers based on socio-cultural and not aesthetic criteria. The author refers to representative examples of Polish and English reflection on the issue and, at the end of the article, proposes to define classical works as literary texts that, after many years from their creation, are still subjected to professional and non-professional rereading and various transformations.

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (47) ◽  
pp. 139-164
Author(s):  
Agata M. Balińska

The paper reviews instances of intralingual translation between British and American English. Its main focus is the translation of literary texts aimed and children and young readers which were written in Britain and then altered before being released on the American market. Examples of cases where originally American texts were altered for British readers, a less common trend, are also provided. The text explores typical differences between British and American English, the position of children’s literature and the motivations behind the changes, examples of alteration to titles of books, changes that trigger changes of larger portions of texts, alterations to the style of the books, and areas where the authors of the translations corrected authors’ mistakes. Most of the examples are based on previously published works which analyzed intralingual translation between British and American English in children’s literature, with some taken from unpublished research by the author. The paper was written with the hope that it will help create more awareness of the existence of such translations, especially since in most cases no information that such changes were made is provided within or outside the literary texts discussed in this paper.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Amy Cross ◽  
Cherie Allan ◽  
Kerry Kilner

This paper examines the effects of curatorial processes used to develop children's literature digital research projects in the bibliographic database AustLit. Through AustLit's emphasis on contextualising individual works within cultural, biographical, and critical spaces, Australia's literary history is comprehensively represented in a unique digital humanities space. Within AustLit is BlackWords, a project dedicated to recording Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytelling, publishing, and literary cultural history, including children's and young adult texts. Children's literature has received significant attention in AustLit (and BlackWords) over the last decade through three projects that are documented in this paper. The curation of this data highlights the challenges in presenting ‘national’ literatures in countries where minority voices were (and perhaps continue to be) repressed and unseen. This paper employs a ‘resourceful reading’ approach – both close and distant reading methods – to trace the complex and ever-evolving definition of ‘Australian children's literature’.


Author(s):  
Maria Nikolajeva ◽  
Everaldo Lima de Araújo ◽  
Márcia Da Gama Silva Felipe ◽  
Thales Sant'Ana Ferreira Mendes

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.


Tekstualia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (65) ◽  
pp. 69-88
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Wieczorkiewicz

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.


Author(s):  
Reuven Snir

This chapter looks at the literary dynamics of Arabic literature in synchronic cross-section. Inventories of canonized and non-canonized literary texts are presented separately in three subsystems: texts for adults, children’s literature, and texts in translation. The resulting six subsystems ― three canonized and three non-canonized ― are seen as autonomous networks of relationships and as interacting literary networks on various levels. The internal and external interrelationships and interactions between the various subsystems need to be studied if we want to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the modern Arabic literary system. The structure of the canonical center of the Arabic literary system is discussed referring to the phenomenon of Islamist literature and the reasons for its exclusion from the secular literary center.


Author(s):  
Hannah Godwin

This chapter considers an “uneasy yet potentially fruitful confluence” between modernist writing and children's literature in the only Faulkner tale penned specifically for children. Drawing on “the Romantic reverence for the child as transcendent and inspirational,” a reverence qualified to some degree by twentieth-century psychoanalysis and its suspicion of childhood innocence, modernist artists portrayed the child as “a vessel of consciousness” and “instinctual, intense perceptions,” and thus a source of “defamiliarizing perspectives” that fostered artistic experimentation. In The Wishing Tree, writing for young readers may have helped Faulkner awaken his creative potential. The Wishing Tree's rich mix of fantasy and history “works to imbue the child reader with a sense of historical consciousness” while recognizing her as the bearer “of a more hopeful future”.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 453-471
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Chrzanowska-Kluczewska ◽  

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Nina Goga

Høsten 2020 innføres nye læreplaner (LK20) i norsk skole. Noe av det nye i disse læreplanene er innføringen av tverrfaglige temaer og kjerneelementer i alle fag. I denne artikkelen retter jeg oppmerksomheten mot det tverrfaglige temaet bærekraftig utvikling for å diskutere hvordan dette kan integreres i norskfaget med vekt på kjerneelementene tekst i kontekst, kritisk tilnærming til tekst og muntlig kommunikasjon. Diskusjonen tar utgangspunkt i teoretiske perspektiver på økokritikk, littera-tursamtaler og skalert lesing, og gjennom et forslag til hvordan lærere kan legge til rette for økokritiske litteratursamtaler om representasjoner av forholdet mellom barn og trær i to barnelitterære klassikere. Artikkelen argumenterer for at denne koblingen mellom oppmerksom lesing av og samtaler om barnelitteratur kan utvikle kritiske perspektiver på verbal-språklige framstillinger av flersanselige naturerfaringer og dermed være et bidrag til økt bevissthet om økologisk samspill. Dette er kunnskap som kan ha betydning for hvordan barn og unge blir språklig rustet til å orientere seg i den overordnete klimadiskursen og for hvordan de vil forstå seg selv i rollen som økoborgere.Nøkkelord: økokritikk, plantestudier, litteratursamtaler, barnelitteratur, Johanna Spyri, L. M. MontgomeryEcocritical literature conversations – An arena for increased awareness of ecological interplay?AbstractBy autumn 2020 a new national school curriculum (LK20) will be introduced in Norway. Some of what is new in LK20 is the introduction of cross-curricular themes and core elements in all school subjects. In this article I turn the attention to the cross-curricular theme sustainable development to discuss how this may be integrated into the school subject Norwegian and with a special emphasis on the core elements text in context, critical approach to text and oral communication. The discussion is based on theoretical perspectives on ecocriticism, literature conversations and scaled reading, and on a specific proposal for how teachers may prepare for ecocritical literature conversations on representations of the relationship between children and trees in two literary classics for children. The article argues that this bridging between careful reading of and conversation about children’s literature may evolve a critical approach to verbal depictions of multisensory nature experiences and hence contribute to increased awareness of ecological interplay. Such knowledge may prove significant to children’s linguistic skills needed to orientate in the overall climate discourse and to how they understand themselves as ecocitizens.Keywords: ecocriticism, plant studies, literature conversations, children’s literature, Johanna Spyri, L. M. Montgomery


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Akanksha Bahukhandi

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne Pearce

Greetings Everyone,The news for this new year’s issue consists mainly of a list of a major children’s literature awards that have been announced, as well as a few upcoming conferences.AWARDS2017 ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Book and Media Award WinnersJohn Newberry MedalThe Girl Who Drank the Moon Written by Kelly Barnhill and published by Algonquin Young Readers, an imprint of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, a division of Workman PublishingNewberry Honour BooksFreedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan written and illustrated by Ashley Bryan and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing DivisionThe Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog written by Adam Gidwitz, illustrated by Hatem Aly and published by Dutton Children's Books, Penguin Young Readers Group, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLCWolf Hollow written by Lauren Wolk and published by Dutton Children's Books, Penguin Young Readers Group, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLCRandolph Caldecott MedalRadiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat illustrated by Javaka Steptoe, written by Javaka Steptoe and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.Caldecot Honour BooksDu Iz Tak? illustrated and written by Carson Ellis, and published by Candlewick PressFreedom in Congo Square illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Little Bee Books, an imprint of Bonnier Publishing GroupLeave Me Alone! illustrated and written by Vera Brosgol and published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited PartnershipThey All Saw a Cat illustrated and written by Brendan Wenzel and published by Chronicle Books LLCLaura Ingalls Wilder AwardNikki Grimes -- Her award-winning works include “Bronx Masquerade,” recipient of the Coretta Scott King Author Award in 2003, and “Words with Wings,” the recipient of a Coretta Scott King Author Honor in 2014. Grimes is also the recipient of the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award in 2016 and the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children in 2006.2018 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor AwardNaomi Shihab Nye will deliver the 2018 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.Mildred L. Batchelder AwardCry, Heart, But Never Break - Originally published in Danish in 2001 as “Græd blot hjerte,” the book was written by Glenn Ringtved, illustrated by Charolotte Pardi, translated by Robert Moulthrop and published by Enchanted Lion Books.Batchelder Honour BooksAs Time Went By published by NorthSouth Books, Inc., written and illustrated by José Sanabria and translated from the German by Audrey HallOver the Ocean published by Chronicle Books LLC, written and illustrated by Taro Gomi and translated from the Japanese by Taylor NormanPura Belpre (Author) AwardJuana & Lucas written by Juana Medina, is the Pura Belpré Author Award winner. The book is illustrated by Juana Medina and published by Candlewick PressPura Belpre (Illustrator) AwardLowriders to the Center of the Earth illustrated by Raúl Gonzalez, written by Cathy Camper and published by Chronicle Books LLCAndrew Carnegie MedalRyan Swenar Dreamscape Media, LLC, producer of “Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music”Theodor Seuss Geisel AwardWe Are Growing: A Mo Willems’ Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! Book written by Laurie Keller. The book is published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book GroupRobert F. Sibert Informational Book MedalMarch: Book Three written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin and illustrated by Nate Powell, published by Top Shelf Productions, an imprint of IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and Design Works LLC  Stonewall Book Awards - ALA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT)Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature AwardIf I Was Your Girl written by Meredith Russo and published by Flatiron BooksMagnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor written by Rick Riordan and published by Disney Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book GroupHonor BooksPride: Celebrating Diversity & Community written by Robin Stevenson and published by Orca Book PublishersUnbecoming written by Jenny Downham and published by Scholastic Inc. by arrangement with David Fickling BooksWhen the Moon Was Ours written by Anna-Marie McLemore and published by Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press2017 Children’s Literature Association Phoenix AwardsPhoenix Award  2017Wish Me Luck by James Heneghan Farrar Straus Giroux, 1997Phoenix Honor Books 2017Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman HarperCollins, 1997Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye Simon & Schuster, 19972017 Phoenix Picture Book AwardTell Me a Season by Mary McKenna Siddals & Petra Mathers Clarion Books, 1997One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Tale by Demi Scholastic, 1997 CONFERENCESMarchSerendipity 2017: From Beginning to End (Life, Death, and Everything In Between) The Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable Mar. 4, 2017 | 8am to 3:30 pm | UBC Ike Barber LibraryJuneChildren’s Literature Association ConferenceHosted by the University of South Florida June 22-24, 2017 Tampa, FL  Hilton Tampa Downtown Hotel Conference Theme: Imagined FuturesJulyInternational Research Society for Children’s Literature (IRSCL) Congress 2017 – Toronto July 29 - August 2, 2017  Keele Campus, York University  The Congress theme is “Possible & Impossible Children: Intersections of Children’s Literature & Childhood Studies." That is all for this issue. Best wishes!Hanne Pearce, Communication Editor 


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