This book is a historical, literary, and critical analysis of the portrait of the black that emerges from children's books published between 1827 and 1967. The early books studied were listed in Jacob Blanck's "Peter Parley to Penrod: A Bibliographic Description of the Best-Loved American Juvenile Books, 1827-1926." The later titles are from the…

This document is the instructor's guide for teaching a learning module on literary analysis of children's stories. Its purpose is to provide suggestions for administering the module and to point out the flexibility with which instructor and student may approach the activities and assessments. The terminal object of the module requires that…

The document is a student manual, which presents a learning module on literary analysis of children's stories, and is concerned with the ability to distinguish and identify theme, plot, and characterization. A concomittant purpose is to familiarize teachers with a number of classic children's stories in which theme, plot, and characterization are…

Written for teachers, for students who intend to be teachers or librarians, and for storytellers in general, this book interprets the familiar legends and tales (Greek, Scandinavian, German, and Celtic myths and legends; Arthurian romances; the Old Testament; and fairy tales) and describes how they can best be told to children. Parallel accounts…

Reports a study undertaken to analyze the ways in which the primary school experience is portrayed in stories for American children between the ages of three and seven, focusing on the roles of minority group members in the stories. (Author/JM)

In recent years, children's trade books have included a growing number of stories that negatively portray the well-known adults in a child's world--parents, teachers, and librarians. This paper examines children's and adults' reactions to such negative characterizations and defends their presence in children's literature. It then lists and…

This study examines the portrayal of sex-roles and the representation of males and females in selected preschool level picture books. The analyses include 125 picture books representing the work of 100 authors, randomly selected from a collection of approximately 1,000 picture books available in the children's department of the Mishawaka, Indiana…

This annotated bibliography lists 820 literary works by black African authors south of the Sahara writing in English and in French. Reference material, critical works, and anthologies (many by non-Africans) are also included. The bibliography--excluding reference and critical works and anthologies--is divided into two sections. "Writings in…

Examines three survival stories involving Inuits: Harpoon of the Hunter (Markoosie), Tikta'Liktak (Houston), and Julie of the Wolves (Craighead). Focuses on the difficulties involved in using a literary form of Anglo-American-European culture to deal with events and attitudes from a culture as different as the Inuit. (JHZ)

Discusses the opportunity to unite readers of all ages by encouraging reading and discussing books on a given topic. Outlines possible topics and gives book-starter suggestions that are likely to spark broad interest such as the 1940s, World War II, or Growing Up. Suggests preparations that may be made for those who are unaccustomed to book…

Efforts to ban the "Little House on the Prairie" series because of racist depictions of American Indians seem a knee-jerk reaction to a complex text. Teachers can use the books to develop an appreciation of American Indians and their history and to promote understanding of the disparate and conflicting attitudes of the nation when the…

Pointing out that influential movements in psychology, reading instruction, and curriculum development have greatly altered the terrain formerly occupied by the "teaching of literature," this literature review outlines the different ways education researchers have examined the following questions about literature instruction: (1) What…

This paper reports findings from a detailed critical analysis of commonly used curriculum materials and assessment devices for the study of literature in kindergarten through sixth grade. The paper provides descriptive information and suggestions for improved design and use of curricula available to classroom teachers, especially with respect to…

The articles in this journal issue suggest techniques for classroom use of literature that has "withstood the test of time." The titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "The Storytelling Connection for the Classics" (Mary Ellen Martin); (2) "Elizabeth Bennet: A Liberated Woman" (Geneva Marking);…

Designed to give children a sense of the cultural heritage that fairy tales represent, this instructional unit was originally developed to motivate eighth-grade low-level readers and was later adapted for English as a second language classes and for a variety of elementary and secondary school learning levels. Objectives of the unit are to help…