ENGL 3820 - Literature for the Young Child

An exploration of human and literary values in the best of children’s works for the very young through age nine. Emphasis is on critical sensitivity and techniques necessary for interpreting and evaluating works representative of the major forms of children’s literature. Discussion will focus on how literature is first learned through adult-child interaction and how interaction creates changes that are influenced by time period and culture as well as the personal dynamics inherent in the oral tradition. Visual reading through picture books will be examined as well as the evaluation of good picture book literature. Developmental issues related to a child’s reading capability and narrative skills will be considered through an examination of transitional reader (chapter books) and novels. Poetry, both in its oral form and its written form, will be considered as will be mythology and folklore: its versions, variants, and adaptations (both in book and film form).

Prerequisites & Corequisites: Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Credits: 4 hours

When Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer I