Philip Nel > Courses > English 355: Literature for Children (Spring 2010) > Paper Assignment: How to Read Children's Literature

For all parts of this assignment, please remember to do the following: Back up all of your claims with specific examples from the book — refer to text, artwork, layout, design, etc. Analyze those examples. Show how they support your claims.

Part I: Childhood Reading

Due: 25 Jan. 2010.
Length: 2 pages.
Points: 100.

Pick a favorite book from your childhood. If you can’t answer that question, then was the first book you either read or remember having read to you? Now, answer these questions:

1. Why was this book your favorite? What features of it appealed to you then? Was it the words, the artwork, the person reading it to you, or something else?
2. To what degree is your experience of this book today similar to what it was then? Explain, with examples.
3. To what degree is your experience of this book today different than what it was then? Explain, with examples.

Part II: A Second Look

Due: 29 Mar. 2010
Length: 3 pages
Points: 100.

Return to the same book you looked at in Part I.

1. How does the book work? In answering this question, you will want to evaluate the book on its own terms. In order to do so, you’ll need to answer the following questions:
   a) Identify three of the pleasures of this work. Here, it will be helpful to consider Perry Nodelman’s list of pleasures.
   b) Pick one scene from this book — a two-page spread if a picture book, two consecutive pages if a chapter book, or a comparable amout if some other genre (poetry, drama, etc.). How do the words and/or pictures work to develop the book’s (or poem’s) themes? Offer a close-reading, drawing upon our class discussions, readings, and all the critical terms you’ve learned. And please include a photocopy of the two-page spread when you turn in the paper.
   c) What genre is this book? If the book fits in more than one genre (and many do), then choose the most relevant genres. Here it will be helpful to review your class notes.
2. Is the book a successful example of this genre or these genres? Why or why not?
3. In your conclusion, indicate to whom would you recommend this book.

When you turn in Part II, be sure to include the graded version of Part I — paper-clipped (or stapled) together.

Part III: A New Book

Due: 3 May 2010
Length: 3 pages
Points: 100.

Pick a book that was published within the last ten years (no earlier than 2000) and that is not on the syllabus. And, just to be clear, this book must be different than the one you looked at in Parts I and II.

Answer the same questions from Part II.

When you turn in Part III, be sure to include the graded versions of Parts I and II — paper-clipped (or stapled) together.

---

 

Recommended Resources: