U1L1

Children and Adolescents’

Literature: An Introduction
Jerry Glenn L. Castillo, LPT
Instructor III
 What is Children and Adolescents’
Literature?

"Children's literature is said to be a collection of works

and writings (books and articles) that are provided by
specialist writers for the free study of children, and in all of
them the taste and level of development and
development of children are considered.“

- (Hejazi, Banafsheh, 2006)

the works that are appropriate both in terms of the
theme, construction and payment, and image, and in
terms of language and presentation, and manner of
presentation, with the needs, interests, experiences,
and abilities of children and adolescents to
understand and read.
The term child is the person who
can at least understand them by
seeing the images or listening to
the text of the books. The age
range of this definition continues
until the age of fourteen or fifteen.
Although the term refers to adolescence,
in the present circumstances, due to the
fundamental socio-cultural changes in
global societies, especially due to the
remarkable advances in complex
electronic sound and visual instruments,
adolescents older than the age of fifteen
are practically in the study of works that
are for adults.

- (Hejazi, Banafsheh, 2006)

What is Children and Adolescent Literature?

 It refers to all literary works,

both written and oral that
are written purposely for
children and adolescents.

 Reading materials such as

storybooks, poems, and short
stories which have been
chosen by adults and are
classified as suitable for young
readers.
What is Children and Adolescent Literature?

 Children's Literature is
defined as material written
and produced for the
information or entertainment
of children and young adults.
Characteristics of Children’s Literature
 Simple and Straightforward
 Repetitive
 Didactic
 Full of Illustrations
 Optimistic
 Fantastic
 Has Children Characters
 Innocence
 Depends on Action
 Characteristics of Children’s Literature

Repetitive
 Authors repeat things so they stick with the kids.
Earworms turn into knowledge eventually.
 So children's stories are full of repeated events,
incidents, numbers, days—you name it. And of
course, it's all wrapped up in a bunch of pretty
pictures and a fun story.
 Characteristics of Children’s Literature

Didactic
 Children's literature isn't just written to entertain
kids—it's written to teach them.
 Children's literature also help children learn
right from wrong. And wrong from evil. Notice
how the bad guy in children's literature almost
always gets punished at the end?
 Characteristics of Children’s Literature

Full of Illustrations
 Illustrations help keep kids' attention and
stimulate their imagination and they help them
understand the stories.
 Before kids can read, illustrations dramatize and
reinforce the story that's being told so they can
follow along even if they don't understand the
words.
 Characteristics of Children’s Literature

Optimistic
 In children's’ book, there is always a happy
ending.
 That optimistic perspective is a big part of what
we consider to be children's literature. When we
grow up, we may realize that life doesn't always
end happily.
 Characteristics of Children’s Literature

Fantastic
 In children's literature, people fly. They grow into
giants. They talk to animals. They cast spells and
transform into magical beings.

 This emphasis on the fantastic, of course,

reflects the imagination of children. After all,
when we're little, we live in a world of fantasy.
 Characteristics of Children’s Literature

Has Children Characters

 Children are everywhere in children's
literature—in fact, they're usually the
protagonists.

 Given that this literature is written for kids, it's

not surprising that it reflects the identity of its
readers.
 Characteristics of Children’s Literature

Children cont..
 Part of the reason it's so appealing to
children is because it mirrors their concerns
and their perspective on the world through
the characters that it depicts.
 Characteristics of Children’s Literature

Innocence
 How innocent are we, exactly? What's good
about that innocence? What's dangerous
about it?
 Children's literature seeks to answer these
questions by showing kids out in a strange
world, encountering new things and new
people and figuring out how to handle it all.
 Characteristics of Children’s Literature

Depends on Action
 Kids are cute and all, but they're not quite
keyed into all the abstract ideas and emotions
that we adults are privy to. And that's why
children's books are full of action: kids are much
more able to understand actions
 Children's stories focus on things happening.
Characters don't just sit around and chat all
day—they do things.
 Elements of Children’s Literature
 It should always be an enjoyable experience for
the listener/reader.
 Children's literature written for children by adults.
 Literature that is read by or to children.
 It stands up to expert critical analysis.
 Reader's appreciate the story and make
connections with the book.
 Interest and relevance to reader.
Children’s Literature are classified by:

 Genre
 Intended Age

-Anderson
 By Genre
Fictions (narrative literacy Non-fictions (texts which deal
works whose content is with actual, real-life subject)
produced by the imagination
and is not based on facts)
Drama, Poetry, Fables, Narrative, Essays, Biography,
Fantasy, Autobiography, and Speech
Humor, Fairy tales, Science
Fiction, Short Story, Realistic
Fiction, Folklore
Historical Fiction, Horror,
Mystery, Tall Tale (story with
blatant exaggeration),
Legend and Mythology
-Anderson
By Intended Age

 Picture Books - ages 0-5

 Early Readers - ages 5-7
 Chapter Books - ages 7-12
 Young Adult - ages 12-18

- Anderson
References:
Specialty Journal of Humanities and Cultural Science, 2017, Vol,
2 (2): 40-46

Child and Adolescent Literature, Distance Learning Library

Collection, Book 2, Tehran, 2001.

Imen, Leily (and others); A passage on Children's Literature,

Nebraska, Children's Book Council, Beat and First Printing, p. 3.

https://askinglot.com/what-are-the-characteristics-of-childrens-
literature
Thanks!
Any questions?