"One of the major professional responsibilities of a school librarian is that of book selection. From the great volume of publications issuing from every publishing company the librarian must choose, within the limitations of his budget, books that meet the needs of his clientele. To select wisely from this wealth of material is not an easy task for it requires a wide knowledge of authors who are acceptable to both adults and young people. To gain this knowledge the librarian must not only read widely but evaluate what he reads as well. He must learn to separate the good from the worthless, always striving to raise the reading levels of the students under his supervision. As a step in the direction of this acquaintance with authors the writer has chosen to study the life and works of one of today's most popular authors of books for girls. Phyllis Whitney is a prolific writer of juvenile books and her contribution to good writing is such as to merit recognition from adults as well as young people"--Introduction. / "August, 1958." / At head of title: Florida State University. / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Agnes Gregory, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-43).

Tamora Pierce’s work has been cited by many Young Adult fantasy authors as a major influence in recent years. Despite this, her work remains relatively obscure among librarians and readers of Young Adult literature. This paper examined one of Pierce’s Young Adult fantasy series, Protector of the Small, by comparing the series to existing works of Young Adult fantasy literature commonly accepted as classic or canonical literature. Among the comparative works were titles authored by C. S. Lewis, J. K. Rowling, and Philip Pullman. Comparison was character-focused, with emphasis on the representation of parents, other sympathetic adults, peers, and family units. Some comparison was also focused on the representation of antagonists in the selected works. The aim of the comparative analysis was to serve as a guide for librarians, teachers, and readers of Young Adult literature to better understand potential target audiences for the Protector of the Small quartet. It was found that target audiences for the series would likely seek or benefit from the Protector of the Small quartet’s inclusion of supportive parental and mentor figures, strong familial bonds, and supportive and communicative peers. Target audiences would also seek literature with nuanced antagonists capable of character growth. Most prominently, target audiences would seek Young Adult fantasy literature that addresses real-world issues and challenges for young women, including sexism, puberty, and reproductive healthcare.

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses.

When looking back through the last eighty years, one thing is certain: the socio-political climate has changed dramatically. From the beginning of the 20th century where racism and sexism was rampant to the beginning of the 21st century where equal rights and acceptance of all is becoming the norm, the climate has flipped throughout the last one hundred years. The question to then ask is how does the climate impact literature, specifically children’s literature. Research shows that children’s literature is impacted, but research does not describe how it is impacted. This thesis will work to qualify the quantitative research by explaining how the socio-political climate impacts children’s literature. By looking at three texts over the past eighty years, the qualitative analysis shows how children’s literature is impacted by the socio-political climate. The three texts that will be analyzed are And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss (1937), Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1963), and Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty (2016).

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Literature for children does more than simply entertain, or create fantastical spaces for children to occupy—children’s literature is instructive. I argue that didacticism in literary tales for children works according to the two main ideologies of childhood, which Marina Warner refers to as “myths” in her essay Little Angles, Little Monsters: Keeping Childhood Innocent (1995). This study analyzes the two main nineteenth-century attitudes regarding childhood and their presence in literary tales—childhood innocence and inherent naughtiness. I argue that these ideologies reveal the struggle to accurately and collectively define childhood. In particular, I discuss naughty children in selections from Heinrich Hoffmann’s Struwwelpeter (1845), and innocent/good children in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, including The Emperor’s New Clothes (1837), The Snow Queen (1844), Dance, Dolly, Dance (1871), etc... In addition, I argue that these attitudes from the Victorian era are still present in today’s discourse surrounding childhood and in the literature of today, which I demonstrate through Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book (2008) and Alvin Schwartz’ In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories (1984). / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

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No description available.

It is the purpose of the present investigation to make an examination of the moral content of literature taught in the schools from 1600 to 1800, from 1800 to 1900, and from 1900 to 1940, and to draw conclusions as to the values of such literature. In the literature examined in this study, both the moral content and the methods used in presentation will be considered.