Objectives and competences
The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the basic concepts of children's literature, to introduce them to children's rhymes, songs, poetry, stories and tales, as well as to adolescent literature, to introduce genres such as the fairy tale, folk tale, concept book, series book, alphabet book and picture book, and to provide students with the vocabulary for critiquing the text of a children's book.
Content (Syllabus outline)
• Choosing and evaluating children’s books.
• Poetry for younger children: nursery rhymes, skipping rhymes, lullabies.
• Poetry for older children: nonsense verse, narrative verse.
• Illustrated Children's Books: description, analysis and evaluation of illustrations.
• Folk and fairy tales: chain tales, literary fairy tales.
• Concept Books.
• Children’s Classics.
• New media for children.
Learning and teaching methods
• lectures,
• seminars,
Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding
On completion of this course the student will be able to:
• demonstrate knowledge of history behind and trends in literature for children and adolescents,
• choose and critique books for children.
Intended learning outcomes - transferable/key skills and other attributes
Transferable/Key Skills and other attributes:
• Ability to self-motivate and self-organise in a working environment.
• Ability to collect and organise data and report on findings.
• Ability to review peer work and to accept peer critique.
Readings
• Bloom, H. Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages. Simon & Schuster, 2002.
• Zipes, J. The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature: The Traditions in English, Norton, 2006.
• Egoff, S. (Ed.). 1996: Only Connect: Readings in Children's Literature, Third Edition, Oxford: OUP.
Prerequisits
Regular submitting of written assignments and active participation in lectures and tutorials are prerequisites for taking the written exam.
Additional information on implementation and assessment • Written examination, - 70 %
• oral presentation, participation and short written assignments. - 30 %
