Part one:
Children's Literature Defined
Children’s Literature
can simply be defined as written works intended for children. However, from
what I learned in this class, children’s literature goes far beyond this very simple
definition. It encompasses a variety of literary works, from novels to short stories
to poetry, and can be virtually any genre, such as fantasy, non-fiction, or
fairy tales. Children’s literature has one quality that defines it from adult
literature – the content, including themes, conflicts, characters, plots,
settings, and point of view, must be relatable to a child.
In our early notes, we learned
children’s literature has a child protagonist who is faced with issues that
concern children. Again, the story must relate to children. The storyline and
timeline is usually straightforward, and many times illustrations are used to
enhance the reading. Most children’s authors use concrete and vivid language,
and the stories typically expand a child’s awareness. Also according to our
notes, a “good” children’s book contains the following elements: enjoyable
reading without too much teaching or moralizing, truth, quality, integrity, and
originality.
All of the books we read had varying
themes. Bud, Not Buddy and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry dealt with
racism. Kira-Kira and Ramona and Her Father taught family
values. We also covered topics like bravery (Despereaux), morality (Little
Red Riding Hood), and cultural differences (Dragonwings). Throughout the semester, I found two themes to be
recurrent in every story we read. The first is the theme of growing up. In
every story, we followed a character through a turning point in their life.
They were faced with a conflict that leads them to learn, grow, and change. The
second common theme was forcing us to see things from a different perspective.
In Walk Two Moons, Sal is given “the
chance to walk in [her] mother’s moccasins – to see what she had seen and feel
what she might have felt” (276). These two themes are constant in children’s
literature because it helps children learn, and prepares them to face the
world.
I realized through my experiences in
this course that children’s literature is a far greater literary genre than I
previously thought. I always thought of it as its own genre, but now I can see
how many sub-genres are included in Children’s Literature. The themes are of
course relatable to children, but many of the stories we read were very
personal for me as well. They are timeless, and each of the stories affected me
in different ways. Some of them brought about strong emotions, just as the
adult novels I read do. I felt angry when T.J. was nearly lynched on his front
lawn. There was a sense of fear when I read about the cold-blooded Jack of all
trades who was determined to murder an innocent boy. I felt sadness when Lynn died, and I felt
joyful when Despereaux found his place in the world.
I think Children’s Literature, as a
whole, is in fact literary works intended for children, but the complexities
covered during this class shows me that there is much, much more to the
definition of children’s literature.
Walk
Two Moons is a Newberry Medal winner, and is regarded in Children’s
Literature as a certifiable “classic.” It’s the story of a young girl who is on
a journey to come to accept her mother’s death and move on with her life.
To exclude this novel from a school’s
curriculum would be absurd. Just because the book is intended for children does
not make it “demeaning” to teach adults. The greatest literature should not be
defined by the genre, or age group of its intended audience, but the content
and themes within the story. This particular novel taught me about acceptance,
and that is a lesson one is never too old to learn. Salamanca is not only
relatable to children, but to anyone who is on a journey to find themselves. I
would argue that this search is never fully complete, therefor everyone can
learn something from her journey.
Secondly, it is often stated that
children’s literature has no permanence, that the themes are only concerning
what may be popular right now, not in the future. Walk Two Moons encompasses a variety of themes that are
withstanding throughout any point in history. Family bonds, dealing with loss,
and growing up – when have these issues not been important? The subjects in
this book also cover timeless life lessons, like friendship and prejudice.
Also, to view things from Sal’s perspective gives readers a unique glimpse into
what life must be like for her.
Finally, many people may believe
children’s literature covers trivial topics, things that aren’t important to
adults. In this particular novel, in addition to all the things I have
previously mentioned, there are many other underlying issues that are very
real, and sometimes difficult to hear about. This book is about a child losing
a parent – is that trivial? There’s also mentioning of a mother losing a child,
a very vivid and haunting description of a still-birth. The issues in this book
are far from trivial; in fact, they are deep enough to provoke very strong
emotions in its readers, which is not always an easily attainable element in
literature.
Walk
Two Moons is a “classic” for a reason. It encompasses so many themes and
issues that are relatable to both children and adults. It presents us with a
simple, yet poetic story that takes us on a journey with a young girl who has
lost her mother. We are faced with the character’s emotions, and we end up
feeling her emotions for ourselves, learning her lessons with her, and challenges
us to view things in a new way.
