THE DIFFERENT GENRES OF CHILDRENS LITERATURE

Think about the last 5 10 things you read

You may have thought about

Novels Newspapers Aspirin bottle Comic books Directions Recipes Internet pages

There are three main purposes for reading

Reading to be informed Reading for literary experience Reading to perform task

What are the differences?

Reading to be informed is reading to gain information. Reading for literary experience is reading for enjoyment. Reading to perform a task is reading to accomplish a specific job.

What is childrens literature

In general, the term comprises both those books which are selected and read by children, as well as those deemed as 'appropriate for children' by authorities.
www.wikipedia.com

Did You know?

There are some who would have it that childrens literature is written specially for kids. Though in some cases books meant for adults have become kids books
Such as Mark twains Huckleberry Finn or The Prince and the Pauper

The reverse isnt unheard of either

www.ferrum.edu

There are 2 main types of literature:

FICTION

NON FICTION

Fiction
Fiction is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.

Nonfiction
Nonfiction is text dealing with actual, real-life subjects.

GENRES OF CHILDRENS LITERATURE

A genre is a category of literature marked by a distinctive style.

The most commonly identified genres of Kids Lit are

        

picture books picture story books traditional literature historical fiction modern fantasy contemporary realistic fiction non-fiction or informational books Biography poetry

www.bsu.edu

Picture Books
Different from a Picture story book
In a Picture story book the Pictures merely complement the story

A universal definition of a picture book is hard to pin down. one thing experts agree on is that the interplay of narrative and illustration is fundamental to the book as a whole.
Picturingbooks.imaginarylands.org

Elements of A good Picture Book

 32 pages is standard  Illustrations dominate text  Illustrations integrate with the

narrative to bring story to a satisfying conclusion.  Word count is generally less than 500 words. Picturingbooks.imaginarylands.org

Although, picture books can have over 2000 words or have none at all, as is the case with wordless picture books.  Overall design serves to build a relationship between the text and the illustrations, this includes the front matter, back matter, and the book jacket

Picturingbooks.imaginarylands.org

Graphic Alphabet by David Pelletier is an example of a picture book.

Picture books are also referred to as stories without words, picture books, nursery rhymes, stories in rhyme, alphabet books, counting books (Glaister et. Al)

www.bsu.edu

TRADITIONAL LIERATURE
Traditional literature is defined as literature which came from an oral story telling tradition Could be for entertainment or instruction

Picturingbooks.imaginarylands.org

Examples for traditional Lit

Myths Legends Folk tales Fables
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MYTHS

a myth is a sacred narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to be in their present form. Many scholars in other fields use the term "myth" in somewhat different ways. In a very broad sense, the word can refer to any traditional story.

LEGEND

Latin, legenda, "things to be read" is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history The Brothers Grimm defined legend as folktale historically grounded.

FOLK TALES
n. A story or legend forming part of

an oral tradition. Folktale n : a tale circulated by word of mouth among the common folk

Folktales were told all over the world.

Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm were born in the late 1700s in Germany. When they grew up, they traveled a lot. Wherever they traveled, they listened to people tell stories. They published many of these stories. Today they are very famous and are known as the Brothers Grimm.

They published these stories

Cinderella Sleeping Beauty Snow White Little Red Riding Hood Rapunzel Rumpelstiltskin Hansel and Gretel The Frog King

Remember, folktales were told all over the world.

Many of the Grimm tales we know are also found in other parts of the world. The characters and setting might be different, but the plot Is basically the same.

REMEMBER!
Tales of talking animals Tales that tell why? Tales of magic (fairy tales) Tales of exaggeration (legends, tall tales)
Note: Fairy tales are tales of magic. They are folk tales.

EXAMPLE:
Wanda Gag's The Six Swans ONE day a king solved a problem by making a deal with an old woman. As a result, he had to marry the womans daughter who was very wicked indeed.

Because the king had bad vibes about his new wife, he worried that his 6 sons and a daughter from a previous marriage might not be safe. He didnt even want his new wife to know they existed. So he hid them in a castle deep in the woods. His new wife was smart though. She paid the kings servants to tell her where he went everyday.

She came up with a plan. She sewed some white shirts and then sewed a spell in each one. Then she set off for the castle. The boys thought their father was coming so they ran outside. She threw a shirt over each one of them and watched as they turned into swans.

Its a good thing the daughter didnt run outside. Shes the only one who didnt turn into a swan. She ran into the forest to find her brothers.

Eventually she found them and discovered that if she wanted to break the spell, she had to sew 6 shirts made out of star flowers and couldnt laugh or speak for 6 years. She was determined to do this. It was a little hard though when a king decided to marry her. For 6 years of marriage she never laughed or talked. She had 3 kids, but her mother-in-law took them away from her and hid them. She had a very difficult life.

The king finally decided that she must be killing her babies and decided she should die. On the final day of the 6 years, she was about to be burned to death. Just as someone was lighting the fire, she looked up and saw 6 swans.

She quickly threw the six shirts over them. The magic spell was off! There was only one problem the youngest brother still had 1 swan wing.

The king found out his mother had lied. I dont know what happened to his mother, but everyone else lived happily ever after.

Rafe Martin
Rafe Martin read The Six Swans. When he finished, he had a lot of questions that he wanted answered. He wondered what happened to the boy who still had one wing.

Rafe Martin
What happens to that boy? What kind of young man will he become? How will he find his place on this earth and be happy, when all who see him think him a cripple or worse, a freak?

BIRDWING
So Rafe Martin wrote BIRDWING. This story begins 6 years later and is mostly about the youngest boy, Prince Ardwin.

BIRDWING
Prince Ardwin cant figure out whether he wants to stay with his family or return to the sky. If he stays, he might have to get a mechanical arm. Plus his father might make him marry another kings daughter. So he leaves.

BIRDWING
While hes gone, he experiences violence, danger, struggles and love. He even sees his stepmother, the one who turned him into a swan to begin with!

FABLES
1 a short tale that teaches a lesson. The characters in fables are often animals who speak and act like people. "The Fox and the Grapes" is a well-known fable by Aesop. 2 a false story; lie. He told us a fable about his father being a jet pilot.

CHARACTERS
Characters dont usually have names like we do. They go by the type of animal. They talk and act like people.

The characters dont change much.

Foxes are always clever. Mice are always small and weak. But the main character always learns a lesson.

WHAT IS THE MORAL OF A FABLE?

MORAL: the lesson about right and wrong learned from a story or event.

Historical Fiction
Stories with fictional characters and events in a historical setting.

HISTORICAL FICTION
setting is the most important literary element. Historical Fiction books, whether they are picture story books, transitional books, or novels, may have characters who are either imaginary or who actually lived during the time period.

Modern Fantasy
Modern Fantasy is a broad genre with many types of books included in its spectrum. The genre is often characterized by its use of time travel, or imaginary beings from other planets, or animals that talk.

Examples of Modern Fantasy are

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling The Giver by Lois Lowry Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle A. A. Milne's Winnie The Pooh Alice in Wonderland

CONTEMPORARY REALISTIC FICTION

Stories involve bad and good situations of today Character overcomes obstacles that makes them grow as a person

CONTEMPORARY REALISTIC FICTION

It "extends children's horizons by broadening their interests, allowing them to experience new adventures and showing them different ways to view and deal with conflicts in their own lives" (Through the eyes of a child (2003), p. 363). Contemporary Realistic Fiction is sometimes referred to as humorous stories, school stories, mystery stories, survival stories, and sports stories (Glaister, et. al)

Informational Texts
The function of these texts is to convey information.

Informational Texts
Books consist of accurate and clear facts stating something informative (Glaister, et. al) These books avoid stereotypes and generalizations (Glaister, et. al)

Informational Texts
These books are often called photo documentaries, narrative texts, how-to books, question and answer books, activity books, and life-cycle books (Glaister, et. al) Eyewitness book series are popular

Biography and Autobiography

Biographies are narratives of a persons life. Autobiographies are life stories written by the actual person.

Sowhat are you going to read today?

THANKS TO:
www.bsu.edu. www.bsu.edu. "Picturing books." imaginarylands.org. imaginarylands.org. "Children's Literature." www.wikipedia.com. Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac clipart