Children’s Literature Genre: Fantasy

Group:

• Jaris Mirza Alfarid

• Muhammad Emil Fajri
• Muhammad Rafif Izzuddin Arkan
• Muhammad Rayhan Syaputra

A. Introduction

Children’s Literature is a category of literature that is intended to be read by an intended

audience of children. Children’s literature consists of stories that are age appropriate for the
intended audience and usually contains a direct moral of the story (Barnett, 2023). The Fantasy
genre is a genre of literature that incorporates things or events that cannot happen in the real
world and are imaginary, also known as ‘the fantastic’ (Literary Terms, n.d.). As Children’s
Literature itself is not a genre (Barnett, 2023), a story that is intended to be for children still
needs to have a genre. Fantasy Children’s Literature is Children’s Literature that has Fantasy
as its genre of story.

An example of Fantasy Children’s Literature is “Alice Adventures in Wonderland” by an

English mathematics professor, Lewis Carroll. Published in the year 1865, “Alice Adventures
in Wonderland” tells a story about a little girl named Alice who was transported into the world
known as “Wonderland”. Here, she meets a slew cast of characters such as the Cheshire Cat,
The Mad Hatter, The Queen of Hearts, and much more. The book was then adapted into a
movie titled “Alice Adventures in Wonderland”, directed by William Sterling and released in
1972.

B. Discussion

“Alice Adventures in Wonderland” is put on the fantasy genre due to one simple reason. The
simple reason is that Alice is transported into an imaginary world, that is “Wonderland”. A
prominent sign of the Fantasy genre is that the world that takes place in the story is not Earth,
this type of Fantasy is called High or Epic Fantasy. Multiple other reasons are also present,
such as the character Cheshire Cat, a talking, striped cat with a goofy smile that can go invisible
like a chameleon. Cheshire Cat is an imaginary creature, a staple of the Fantasy genre (Literary
Terms, n.d.).

While the book can be considered as Fantasy, there are also reasons why the book is
considered as Children’s Literature. Children’s Literature, more often than not, is filled with
the fantasy genre, as the genre itself is characterized by being very imaginative. While not
everything Fantasy is intended for children, “Alice Adventures in Wonderland” contains
multiple themes that is prominent in Children’s Literature. One of these themes is ‘Innocence’,
as Alice throughout the story is portrayed in a very childish way. She demands things rather
than asking for them, she does not understand the purpose of debates, and she does not show
any interest in the Caterpillar’s thought-provoking questions. The story also contains
didacticism, which is an element in Children’s Literature that teaches children morals. The
antagonist, The Queen of Hearts, acted pretty much like Alice. She demands, does not have
any interest in anything complicated, and every single one of her whims needs to be satisfied.
The difference between her and Alice is that The Queen of Hearts has a bigger social stratum
when compared to Alice. Alice is put off by this behaviour of the Queen, saying that she is
rude. This indirectly tell a moral message of how one should act with others.

C. Conclusion

Fantasy Children’s Literature is a section of Children’s Literature, which is a literature that

is intended to be read by or to be read to children that contains the genre of Fantasy, a genre
that is characterized by its heave use of imaginative storytelling and world-building. “Alice
Adventures in Wonderland” is a book written by Lewis Carroll and is a big example of Fantasy
Children’s Literature. It contains imaginative worldbuilding, such as the world “Wonderland”,
mythical creatures, and a High Fantasy storytelling of the journey of Alice. The book contains
the theme of innocence and an element of didacticism with a ‘fantastic’ storytelling, marking
the book as a part of Children’s Literature.
References
Barnett, T. (2023, February 10). What Is Children's Literature? Retrieved February 19, 2023, from
language humanities.org: https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-is-childrens-
literature.htm

Literary Terms. (n.d.). Fantasy. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from Literary Terms:
https://literaryterms.net/fantasy/