Children's Literature Assignment PDF

Running head: CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
Children’s Literature
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
“A childhood without books – that would be no childhood. That would be like being shut out
from the enchanted place where you can go and find the rarest kind of joy.”
The above lines of the famous author “Astrid Lindgren” speak volume about the
importance of the Literature belonging to the genre of childhood ones. The early years of the
lives of an individual often referred to by the name of childhood is the most impressionable
time of their lives and therefore they are encouraged to read and indulge in other kinds of
creative activities which are likely to further enhance the development of their brain and also
intelligence1. It is precisely here “that the genre of the children’s literature comes into
prominence”. It is significant to note that “the various books related to the genre of the
Children’s Literature not only provide a gateway to the children to pass their leisure time but
also helps them in the process of the development of their intelligence”2. This essay will shed
light on the genre of Children’s Literature and its related aspects.
The “genre of Children’s Literature is also commonly known by the name of juvenile
literature” and it generally includes stories, picture books, fables, poems, rhymes and others
which are not only suitable for the children but also enjoyed by them3. It is significant to note
“that the genre of children’s literature is a very traditional one” but has rarely got the kind of
attention which it deserves. In the ancient times the stories related to “the genre of the
Children’s Literature” were transmitted from one generation to the other through the means
of the “oral tradition”4. However, the real change in the genre of Children’s Literature came
1 Stephens, John, and Robyn McCallum. Retelling stories, framing culture: traditional story and metanarratives
in children's literature. Routledge, 2013.
2 Zipes, Jack. Sticks and stones: The troublesome success of children's literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry
Potter. Routledge, 2013.
3 Carpenter, Humphrey. Secret gardens: a study of the golden age of children's literature. Faber & Faber, 2012.
4 Van Coillie, Jan, and Walter P. Verschueren. Children's literature in translation: Challenges and strategies.
Routledge, 2014.

2CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
in the 15th and the 16th century with the discovery of the method of printing5. It is significant
to note that at this particular period most of the literary works were written for the adults but
later on they were modified for the children as well. The most important feature of the texts
belonging “to the genre of Children’s Literature of this particular period of time” was the fact
that “a large quantity of literature, often with a moral or religious message, has been aimed
specifically at children”6. Furthermore, the later part of the 19th century and the early part of
the 20th century is the period which is commonly called by the name of “Golden Age of
Children's Literature” as it was “during this particular period that some of the best works
related to the genre of Children’s Literature were composed” and they are a part of the canon
of Children’s Literature even in the present times7. In the opinion of many people, “It was
only in the 18th century, with the development of the concept of childhood, that a separate
genre of children's literature began to emerge, with its own divisions, expectations, and
canon”8. The opinion of the “French historian Philippe Ariès” articulated in the book
“Centuries of Childhood” (1962) that “the modern concept of childhood only emerged in
recent times”. It is a reflection of this that the children before the 15th century were made to
read the various texts from “instructional and didactic texts for children written by clerics like
the Venerable Bede and Ælfric of Eynsham and there was a lack of any genuine literature
aimed specifically at children before the 18th century”9. However, the real change in the
scenario came about in the 19th century with the appearance of various kinds of literary works
specifically designed for the children like “Lewis Carroll's tale, Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland”, “The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel The Princess and Curdie, by
5 Nikolajeva, Maria. Children's literature comes of age: toward a new aesthetic. Vol. 4. Routledge, 2015.
6 McGillis, Roderick. Voices of the other: Children's literature and the postcolonial context. Routledge, 2013.
7 Carpenter, Humphrey. Secret gardens: a study of the golden age of children's literature. Faber & Faber, 2012.
8 Carpenter, Humphrey. Secret gardens: a study of the golden age of children's literature. Faber & Faber, 2012.
9 Rudd, David, ed. The Routledge companion to children's literature. Routledge, 2012.