Children's literature is an umbrella term for many different kinds of books. For our purposes, the term children includes anyone from birth to the age of majority. 

    This course strives to provide an introduction to the many facets of children’s literature, including a variety of genres, times, and places. We will be looking at poetry, picture books, and novels for a variety of ages. It is important to remember that although most books are recommended for a particular range of ages, the good ones have a lot to offer readers of all ages. Our aim is not to pick books apart, but rather to come to some understanding of how they are put together.
    Children’s literature is a vast storehouse of ideas, some wonderful and some worrisome. The books we read as children have shaped our thinking and our understanding of the world in more ways than many of us are ready to admit. The point of this course is to examine what the books we will read have to offer us as readers of literary texts. Reading children’s books requires us to remember some things we’ve forgotten and reminds us that adults don’t know everything and are often blind to the obvious. 
    Although we will inevitably be tempted to ponder how child readers might react to these books, our focus will be to discuss how we have reacted to these books, how these books are put together, and how the books and our readings are informed by social conditioning, theoretical perspectives, and literary analysis.

    Books can be purchased at The Box of Delights Bookstore, 466 Main St, Wolfville.

Andrea Schwenke Wyile & Teya Rosenberg: Considering Children’s Literature: A Reader (Broadview) 9781551116044; $39.95

Astrid Lindgren: Pippi Longstocking 9780140309577 $7.50

Louise Fitzhugh: Harriet the Spy 9780440416791 $7.99

Robert Cormier: The Chocolate War 9780440944591 $10.99

Sherman Alexie: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part–Time Indian 9780316013697 $13.50

Beverley Naidoo: Out of Bounds 9780060508012; $7.00

Budge Wilson: Fractures 9780143312017; $16.00

Shaun Tan: Lost & Found (Scholastic, 3 books in one) 9780545229241; $24.99

buy any 2 of the following 4 titles:

Maurice Sendak: In the Night Kitchen 9780064434362; $8.99

Jennifer & Matthew Holm: Babymouse: Mad Scientist (Random House) 9780375865749; $7.99

Beatrix Potter: The Tale of Peter Rabbit 9780723257936; $8.99

             Margaret Wild & Ron Brooks: Fox (Kane Miller) 978193360005159; $8.95