Children's Literature in the Blogosphere

IASL Annual Conference Proceedings ◽

10.29173/iasl7582 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pat Pledger

Keyword(s):

Children's Literature ◽

Writing Process ◽

Children’S Literature ◽

Professional Knowledge ◽

Different Types

Blogs about children’s literature can enhance professional knowledge and provide up to date information as well as giving insights into the writing process. This paper will examine different types of blogs that readers can use to find out about trends, new books, authors, reviews, and student use. It will also examine strategies to increase the value of library homepages with instant up to date news about what ́s new in the library. The advantages and the limitations of blogs along with factors to consider when creating and subscribing to blogs will also be explored.

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Audiobooks as a Window to the World

IASL Annual Conference Proceedings ◽

10.29173/iasl7487 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 92-97

Author(s):

Maria Cahill ◽

Jennifer Richey

Keyword(s):

Children's Literature ◽

Skill Development ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Children’S Literature ◽

Literacy Skill ◽

The World ◽

Different Types ◽

Literacy Skill Development ◽

Children's Interests

Library, literacy, and children’s literature professionals promote the benefits of transacting with audiobooks, and awards are bestowed upon audiobooks worldwide. Research spanning decades and conducted worldwide has explored the use of audiobooks for promoting literacy skill development. These studies have explored various uses of audiobooks and report mixed results for different types of readers and for readers of varying levels of proficiency. Yet, huge gaps exist in the research with many aspects of audiobook use still uninvestigated. This paper reports the disconnect between professionals’ claims regarding the benefits of audiobooks for children and those verified by empirical studies. It identifies the gaps in the scholarship surrounding audiobooks and calls attention to those areas in which audiobooks have potential to support children’s interests and needs.

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Frog and Toad at the Academy: Gareth B. Matthews on how children’s literature goes philosophical

Policy Futures in Education ◽

10.1177/14782103211062463 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 147821032110624

Author(s):

Maughn Rollins Gregory ◽

Megan Jane Laverty

Keyword(s):

Children's Literature ◽

Thought Experiment ◽

Children’S Literature ◽

Different Types ◽

Children's Stories ◽

Teacher Guides

Gareth B. Matthews (1929–2011) inaugurated the study of philosophy in children’s literature by simultaneously arguing (1) that philosophy is essentially an encounter with certain kinds of perplexities, (2) that genuine philosophical perplexities are readily found in many children’s stories, and (3) that many children are capable of appreciating and enjoying them. He wrote 58 reviews of philosophical children’s stories and co-authored a series of teacher guides for using such stories. Following Matthews’ example, others have produced resources recommending children’s stories as stimuli for intergenerational philosophical dialog. In our research, we study and systematize the different ways that Matthews understood children’s stories to go philosophical. Here, we introduce five of those ways: philosophical story irony, philosophical story fancy, thought experiment, philosophical fable, and philosophical story realism. For each of these ways, we define a set of literary elements and describe the kind of philosophical perplexity they invite, illustrating with examples from children’s literature reviewed and discussed by Matthews. We intend our article to shed new light on Matthews’ scholarship, to guide (ourselves and others) in locating some of the elements in children’s stories that occasion different types of philosophical perplexity, and to spark new conversations among philosophers and educators about this promising field.

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