scholarly journals Patterns and Trends in Contemporary Canadian Verse-Novels for Young People

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Beverley A. Brenna ◽  
Yina Liu ◽  
Shuwen Sun

This qualitative content analysis identified patterns and trends in a contemporary set of Canadian verse-novels for young people. Twenty-two books were located in our search for titles published between 1995 and 2016, and many of these emerged as award-winners in various contexts including the Governor General’s Award for children’s literature (text). Dresang’s notion of Radical Change, adapted for this interrogation, illuminated particular elements of these societal artifacts worthy of notice. While studies have occurred regarding textual forms or formats and reader characteristics, specific work with the verse-novel and its use with struggling and reluctant readers is limited, with professional articles appearing in place of research-oriented discussions. Scrutiny of available verse-novels is important as it opens a door for explorations of these resources with participants in classroom settings.  

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahira Akbar ◽  
Ra,ana Malik ◽  
Farooq E Azam

This paper intends to explore the reasons of gender discrimination indifferent segments of Pakistani society at grass root level. This study isbased on qualitative content analysis of children’s literature from whichthe most popular corpse of ten English fairytales purposively. Activitiesof different characters along with their social were selected andeconomic status, behavioral traits, gendered messages and thematic roleswere analyzed by using coding frame for manifest and stimulus clues forlatent information. This content analysis research indicates that genderdifference is an integral part of the fairy tales which shows female genderinferior to male. A detailed qualitative analysis of these selectedfairytales cited that gender issues start from titles and prevail throughoutthe fairytales. Males had proper names but girls were known with theirattributive names in the titles. The study suggests a need for drasticchange behaviorally, psychologically and materially (in our children’sliterature and particularly in fairytales) to keep pace with the 21st century,which demands us to be more creative, active and innovative withscientific approach instead of becoming an escapist.


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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 243
Author(s):  
Adam Anshori

This research is aimed at describing the empowerment of children in Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children. The problems formulated in the research will be answered in the descriptions consisting of thoughts, actions, and feelings of the main characters in the novel and presenting other characters’ comments dedicated to the main characters. The main source of the research data was Edith Nesbit’s The Railway Children. It is considered as a children’s literature. The focus of the research was events in the novel which showing the empowerment of the main characters. The data consist of thoughts, actions, and feelings of the main characters and presenting other characters’ admirable comments dedicated to the main characters. The data were analyzed inductively by using qualitative content analysis. The instrument of the research was the researcher himself. To get trustworthiness of the data, the researcher used four criteria, namely: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. The findings of the research showed that the novel contains of children’s empowerment, which can be divided into three categories. They are Thought Empowerment, Action Empowerment and Feeling Empowerment. As empowerment of children is considered as an important aspect in children’s story and it has great influence to enrich children’s intelligence and emotion in their growing period, The Railway Children can be categorized as a good novel.  Keywords: children’s literature, children’s empowerment


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-61
Author(s):  
Stacy Ann Creech

From pre-Columbian times through to the twentieth century, Dominican children's literature has struggled to define itself due to pressures from outside forces such as imperialism and colonialism. This paper examines the socio-political contexts within Dominican history that determined the kind of literature available to children, which almost exclusively depicted a specific construction of indigeneity, European or Anglo-American characters and settings, in an effort to efface the country's African roots. After the Educational Reform of 1993 was instituted, however, there has been a promising change in the field, as Dominican writers are engaged in producing literature for young people that includes more accurate representations of Blackness and multiculturalism.


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Ramesh Nair

Children's literature serves as a powerful medium through which children construct messages about their roles In society and gender Identity is often central to this construction. Although possessing mental schemas about gender differences is helpful when children organize their ideas of the world around them, problems occur when children are exposed to a constant barrage of uncompromising, gender-schematic sources that lead to stereotyping which in turn represses the full development of the child. This paper focuses on how gender is represented in a selection of Malaysian children's books published in the English language. Relying on the type of content analysis employed by previous feminist social science researchers, I explore this selection of Malaysian children's books for young children and highlight some areas of concern with regard to the construction of maleness and femaleness in these texts. The results reveal Imbalances at various levels Including the distribution of main, supporting and minor characters along gendered lines and the positioning of male and female characters In the visual Illustrations. The stereotyping of these characters In terms of their behavioural traits will be discussed with the aim of drawing attention to the need for us to take concerted measures to provide our children with books that will help them realize their potential to the fullest.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-75
Author(s):  
Deniz Arzuk

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.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document