Thesis advisor: Susan A. Michalczyk / Children's literature possesses the power to crumble walls of prejudice, open the mind to unlimited possibilities and perhaps most importantly, entertain children whatever their race, age or social status. Many people have such fond memories of the books they read as children that, should you demand of any American college student what his favorite book was as a child, and he will find it difficult to narrow his selection down to just one. Ask any American child what her favorite movie during childhood and inherently nine out of ten children will choose a movie made by Walt Disney. Indeed literature and the stories of childhood play an important role in the intellectual and psychological development of human beings. During childhood, the literature children read and have read to them often lay the seeds for their future views of themselves and the world. If this were the case, then how much caution should be taken with the themes of these books? Children's literature is defined as "books that are good for children, written with their general necessities and entertainment in mind." The “goodness” of these books is determined not only in their vivid creativity and wildly imaginative stories, but as well in the long lasting lessons they impart upon the children who read them. These books give a child a glimpse into distant lands far away from the suburb they live in or the city in whose parks they play every day. As well, literature can also cultivate cultural prejudices and stereotypes that can either damage a child's developing psyche or improve it. From its inception, children's literature has always been meant to shape and mold children to the will of society. The questions remains to be answered, if literature holds such power over us, then what control should responsible publishers, teachers, librarians and parents exercise in determining what their children should be reading? Where does one draw the line between education and politics in the world of children's literature? In order to fully examine this question and comprehend its implications, one must first examine the history of children's literature and what it originally desired to achieve. Then, once the evolution has been traced, one can analyze the future and determine where the shifts that have occurred in children's literature throughout the eras are leading us in the years to follow / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2003. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Education, Lynch School of. / Discipline: College Honors Program.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_102104 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Serock, Erica |
| Publisher | Boston College |
| Source Sets | Boston College |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, thesis |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. |
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