“Writing for kids is simple, just as simple as bringing them up. All you do is take all the sex out, and use little short words and little dumb ideas, and don’t be too scary, and be sure there’s a happy ending. Right? Nothing to it,” is author Ursula LeGuin’s sarcastic response to the question, “How do you write children’s books?” Nineteenth-century Russian author Maxim Gorky claims, “You must write for children in the same way you do for adults, only better.” These authors question the common belief that books for children constitute an inferior genre of literature.
Since the 17th c. philosopher John Locke’s theory that a child’s mind is a tabula rasa (blank slate), adults have wrestled with what and how to influence a child’s thinking, leading to their moral development as much as anything else. On one hand, criteria used to evaluate children’s literature is pretty much the same as criteria for any literature. Both literature “for children” and “for adults” benefit from a reader’s critical, questioning attitude, which should not diminish enjoyment of a story but enrich it. On the other hand, adults continue to closely surveil the content and “appropriateness” of literature for children of all ages, which factor into local, national, and sometimes global conversations of cultural and societal issues, including the always contested and controversial topic of book banning.
This course explores the ethical and other impacts and influences of children’s literature in texts geared towards youth (birth to young adults). It provides an opportunity to discover new stories, perhaps reconsider favorites from your childhood, and conceivably read them in a new way: as meaningful expressions of artistry, as emotional and intellectual experiences, and as meaningful representations of social justice, cultural and/or political activism, and personal inspiration embodying a range of human (and other) imagination and identity. Throughout the semester, we will encounter texts that invite multi-layered, diverse contemplation, including post-colonial, historical, aesthetic, Indigenous, feminist, and queer interpretations, amongst others.
This course will begin with a brief introduction to the history of children’s literature as a distinct western literary genre, and move through well-defined categories, such as picture books to young adult novels. These will include representative texts of subgenres, such as fantasy, realistic fiction, etc. Some basic questions we will discuss include, “what is the purpose of children’s literature, and why is it important to study? As well as “what makes a book a ‘classic’? and “why are some books controversial (i.e., why are specific audiences troubled by certain texts)?”
Alongside beloved classics of mainstream western literature, we will also touch upon children’s literature in ethnic, multicultural, and international contexts, including the emerging field of translations and new compositions of native language texts (such as materials used in Hawaiian language immersion programs). Connected to these contexts, we will also discuss the role of colonialism and educational curriculums in shaping the politics of children’s literature, and the emerging resistance to such practices in (post)-colonial settings such as Hawai‘i.
Course requirements: Two short essays or equivalent (5-6 pages or 4,000-4,500 words each); lead a class discussion on a reading; an oral presentation; a creative or research-based final project; a midterm, final exam, and reading quizzes; class participation through regular class discussion, assignments, and attendance; an “experience art” by attending at least one course-related event during the semester, such as a poetry reading or play, and writing a reaction/review.
A Hawai’i State Public Library card is also very helpful, particularly in the first half of the semester, in order to borrow children’s picture books (the state libraries have a much better and selection that our UH libraries, particularly with more recent publications.
Possible texts (all available digitally online or via Kindle): Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Lehua Parker, One Boy, No Water; Witi Ihimaera, Whale Rider; Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves; Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese.
The primary materials for the course are all post-1898, thus, this course is an option that can fulfill the 1898-present historical breadth requirement for English majors.
Course SLOs: Improve ability to critically read, analyze, and interpret complex literary texts, using relevant literary terminology; augment knowledge of how literature is organized by historical periods, genres, cultures, and cultural formations; improve ability to express ideas by organizing, developing and supporting a description, analysis, or argument in written formats within the conventions of academic writing; develop an understanding of children’s literature as a unique and distinct field, as well as its connection to other literatures; develop basic knowledge of key terms and issues important to the study of children’s literature.