Children's Literature

Instructor: Chi-Fen Emily Chen, Ph.D. 陳其芬

Department of English, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Taiwan

 Please read Chapter 9 from Russell, D. L. (2009). Literature for children: a short introduction.

Introduction

• Folk literature includes all the myths, legends, epics, fables, and folktales passed down by word of mouth through the generations. The authors of traditional literature are usually unknown or unidentifiable.

• These stories have endured because they are entertaining, they embody the culture’s belief system, and they contain fundamental human truths by which people have lived for centuries. Knowing the characters and situations of folk literature is part of being culturally literate.

• Folk literature, regardless of its place of origin, seems clearly to have arisen to meet a variety of human needs:

1. The need to explain the mysteries of the natural world

2. The need to articulate our fears and dreams

3. The need to impose order on the apparent random, even chaotic, nature of life

4. The need to entertain ourselves and each other

• Their brevity, immediate action, easily understandable characters, recurring features, fantastic elements, and happy endings particularly appeal to children between the ages of 3 and 8.

• Folk literature can help children begin to develop a sense of morality. It helps children to sort out good and evil in the world and to identify with the good.

• Recommended folktale websites:

  SurLaLune Fairy Tales Site

  Folklore and Mythology: Electronic Texts (by D. L. Ashliman, University of Pittsburgh)

  Fairy Tales & Folktales (from Web English Teacher)

  Folk Tales from Around the World (from TOPICS Online Magazine)

  Fairytales Around the Globe (from Online University)