Informational Essay

What is Childrens Literature?

Childrens literature is a genre of literature that includes picture books, fairy tales, fables,
folk songs, lullabies, and easy-to-read stories written specially for children. Childrens literature
did not exist until the 1700s and the genre has changed dramatically since then. Children were
viewed in a different way than they are now, they were seen as mini adults. In todays society
children are viewed differently and the genre has expanded. The material is diverse (Zack, 1991).
Childrens literature is important and can be used to teach a variety of topics. It is important that
we use childrens literature to help introduce topics to our children and further their information
on topics (Short, 1997). When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power
of literature: (Miller, 2009, p.105).

What is the Holocaust?

The Holocaust was an act of genocide, mass murder, in which Adolf Hitlers Nazi
Germany killed six million Jews. The genocide was not just to Jews. An additional 5 million
other people were killed, making the total of eleven million people that were killed. Why did
Hitler kill all of those people? Hitler believed in a superior race. He thought people should look a
certain way, dress a certain way, and act a certain way. If he did not like you, you became part of
the population that he tortured and terrorized (Smith and Thompson, 2006, p. 336). This horrific
event took place between 1933-1945. When people talk about the Holocaust they often refer to it
as the Final Solution. This is another name for the Holocaust because it was Hitlers way to
solve the problem he had with the Jews (Short, 1997). It is important that our children learn
about this event. It was a major event that changed the world. Some might find this topic too
tough to teach and wait until children are in about fifth or sixth grade, but there are ways we can
use literature to teach this even to children.

What is childrens literature on the Holocaust and how can we use

it?
There are many books on different reading levels used to teach the Holocaust. When
children read books with believable characters, they can move beyond empathic feelings toward
a feeling of sympathy which leads to sharing, or taking action on the part of others (Smith,
2006). Most books for children on this topic include Number the Stars, The Diary of Anne Frank,
The Devils Arithmetic, and many more. While these are excellent books regarding the Holocaust,
the world of childrens literature as much more to offer. The books listed are for older reading
levels. Now there are even picture books available for children (Koehnecke, 2001). For example
there are several books for younger readers such as The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco, The
Yellow Star by Carmen Agra Deedy, and many more. These books offer a perspective of an event
that was tragic and awful but allow for children to understand. While the content is still tough to
talk about it is important that children hear about it.

Resources used for the informational essay:

Koehnecke, D. (2001). Smoky night and crack: Controversial subjects in current children's
stories. Children's Literature in Education, 32(1), 17-30. Retrieved April 10, 2016.

Miller, D. (2009). Everyone is a reader. In The book whisperer: Awakening the inner reader in
every child (pp. 19-46). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Short, G. (1997). Learning Through Literature: Historical Fiction, Autobiography, and the
Holocaust. Children's Literature in Education, 28(4), 179-190. Retrieved March 20, 2016.

Smith-DArezzo, W. M., & Thompson, S. (2006). Topics of Stress and Abuse in Picture Books
for Children. Children's Literature in Education Child Lit Educ, 37(4), 335-347.
doi:10.1007/s10583-006-9015-3
Zack, V. (1991). "It was the worst of times" : Learning about the holocaust through literature.
Language Arts, 68, 42-48. Retrieved April 10, 2016.