In my Degree Project I developed a case study of two independent publishers that promote children’s literature with a special focus on diversity and challenging gender stereotypes, situating them within the bigger framework of activism for gender equality and against homophobia in Italy. I looked at the potential of children’s literature as a significant instrument of communication for social change and analysed the publishers’ activities as a form of activism, specifically connected with the sphere of education. I narrow my analysis to two publishers: Lo Stampatello, specialising in children’s literature against gender stereotypes and homophobia, and Settenove, specialising in the theme of gender equality. I analysed first a selection of texts from these publishers and then some of their diffusion practices, through which they engage with other entities dealing with gender equality and LGBT rights. I see these publishers as self-aware agents of change, that produce messages about equality, deliberately diffused into the public and specifically targeting an audience of children, parents, teachers and educators, and that play an active role in the scenario of contentious politics [Tilly and Tarrow, 2007].

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ABSTRACT This paper contrasts J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series in the English original with its Swedish translation, by Lena Fries-Gedin. After an initial presentation of related research, some concepts such as implied narrator, implied reader, as well as intertextuality in translation and dual audience in children’s literature are explained. These concepts are applied to the two bodies of text to examine if they are identical in both the English and the Swedish versions. Some translational strategies are presented, and looking at examples from the texts it is discerned which strategies are being used. The Swedish translation’s use of formal ‘you’ to reflect the quality of inter-character relationships is discussed and examined, and the portrayal of sociolects in the original and translation are compared, concluding that the dialects are transformed into average spoken Swedish, and that adolescent speech is only partially transposed from the English original. There is also a comparison of differences in register, where the mentioned examples show that there is a loss of fluidity in style, and that the tone of the Swedish text is more dated than the English text. Some comparisons to other translations of Harry Potter are made, citing examples from other research, to view the Swedish translation in an international context. A brief comparison of the graphic design differences of layout is discussed, concluding that the Swedish design is likely more appealing to children.

This master thesis deals with the translations of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales into Czech and their reception in the period from 1948 to 1989. After a description of the historical context and the status of children's and translated literature in the given period, an analysis of different fairy tales follows, with a focus on the influence of cultural and language norms and literary tradition on the translations. Special attention has been paid to censorship. The theoretical background consists of a chapter dedicated to Andersen's life and work, characteristics of his fairy tales and their reception, and a chapter dealing with the specifics of the translation of children's literature. The thesis also includes a bibliography of Czech translations of Andersen's fairy tales (book editions) and a bibliography of reviews, monographs and articles about Andersen published between 1948 and 1989. The main contributions of this thesis are in providing an overview of the translations in the given period and its analysis of the influence of norms and censorship on the translation. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

The diploma thesis describes Polish and Czech nonsense in children's literature. The main goal is to define nonsense literature, its development from a historical and formative point of view, considering contemporary events. The first part of the thesis focuses on the theoretical definition of the term nonsense and its historical aspect, especially on the two key representatives of English nonsense Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll. The next part deals with the development of Polish nonsense in children's literature. Two main authors, Julian Tuwim and Jan Brzechwa, who are considered as the creators of the new poetic school, took part in the formation of nonsense in Poland. Absurd humour and the world of children readers became the main inspirations for their work. This poetics was followed by other representatives of the Polish nonsense, including Ludwik Jerzy Kern, Wanda Chotomska and others. The work also focuses on the development of Czech nonsense for children, its main personalities and major works, which are based on nonsense, absurdity and word play. The diploma describes nonsense work for children of Josef Kainar, Jiří Kolář, Miloš Macourek, Pavel Šrut and other writers of literature. The last part of the thesis deals with specific nonsense literature for children of Polish and Czech authors....

The purpose of the study was to describe the use of nonfiction/informational trade books within a literature-based elementary classroom by students and the teacher. Using a qualitative ethnographic approach, the researcher became a participant observer in a third grade classroom during a two and one-half week thematic unit about the westward movement. Data were collected from field notes, audiotapes of class discussions and informal interviews, documents of students' work, photographs, daily observer comment summaries, and memos. These data were coded, analyzed for recurring patterns, and grouped together, resulting in grounded theory.

The authors closely analyzed 45 children's books featuring characters with refugee backgrounds that had been published since 2013. With the concept of culturally sustaining pedagogy underpinning the review, analysis revealed that these texts are rich and detailed, providing a starting point for discussing the global refugee crisis with students, but they occasionally fall short in providing complex, multidimensional representations of characters’ lives and experiences. A majority of the texts analyzed focus on the journey in search of a safe place to live, whereas very few focus on the complexity of making a life in a new place. The findings highlight the importance of identifying texts that provide complexity, dimension, and specificity in depicting experiences of refugee‐background characters across settings. Opening classrooms to texts about the diversity of refugee experiences invites teachers and their students to critically explore the important global issues of migration, equity, and ways of being human.

Despite the ruling of Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, segregation in schools is still quite visible with suburban schools educating a student body of more than 70% White and urban schools comprised of mostly Black, Hispanic, and Asian students. Ideally, a school should dispel social and structural inequities through curriculum and quality resources, but fallibly, schools continue to be the vehicles to maintaining the status quo. Students who develop critical awareness and cultivate a critical literacy stance can become agents of change toward a more democratic society. In the current study, urban upper-elementary-age students were asked to engage in a critical literacy event by critically examining the power positions of characters in books that depict historical social injustice. The six female participants met in several sessions to read books and a newspaper article, use a critical reader response tool, and then engage in critical conversations about the books' characters. Their dialogue was recorded and analyzed using a critical discourse qualitative methodology. The findings show that older elementary students are capable of seeing multiple perspectives of an issue and can explain characters' power from born from privilege and fueled by fear and how a shift in power may occur through solidarity. The findings suggest school curriculum enhanced by media narrows the students' view of discrimination as being targeted mostly towards African-Americans, but those experiences through literature have the potential to expand the students' views to include other cultural groups. Subsequently, there is a need for broader teacher preparation using books that enhance students' views of social injustice.

This paper is a study of a series of books known as the Winston Adventure Books, published by the John C. Winston Company. Each of these books, recommended by the publishers for children ten years of age or older, is based on little-known incidents in the life of an unsung hero who helped shape history. The editors of the series have planned these books to deal with events and personalities not adequately described in history. The various books in the series cover civilization from 1300 to World War II in 1942. This series is of sufficient importance to justify a study to determine the content and quality of the individual volumes in the series and their acceptance by professional librarians and reviewers. The characteristics of the series as a whole will be analyzed. Such a paper may prove to be useful to those interested in the study of children's and young people's literature and a valuable bibliographic source for a librarian interested in identifying books appropriate for slow or reluctant readers in high schools and in becoming familiar with books potentially valuable for supplementary reading in the social studies. / Typescript. / "January, 1960." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Sara Krentzman Srygley, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-108).

"The purpose of this paper is to draw together in one place an account of the life of this popular author-illustrator, sketches of the books which she has written and illustrated, and critical comments on her works as found in contemporary reviews. Although Marguerite de Angeli has illustrated stories written by other authors, they will not be discussed in this paper as this study is limited to the books both written and illustrated by Mrs. de Angeli. A listing of these stories, however, may be found in the Appendix"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "May, 1956." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: Agnes Gregory, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-51).