We are surrounded by narratives, in fiction and in our everyday lives. In this colorful collection of ideas, the author argues that understanding the components of our favorite children’s stories can lead to a lifetime of critical thinking.
Beginning with the elements of the universal coming-of-age narrative, “Kid Lit” shows young readers and general readers alike how to recognize story structure, class, gender, symbolism, trauma and Orientalism in children’s narratives.
Of value to all teachers, students, librarians, readers, literature lovers, and moviegoers.
Tom Durwood is the best English instructor I have seen in my thirty-two years of teaching.
— Professor Patrick Murray, Valley Forge Military College
Inhoudsopgave
Author’s Welcome Introduction Overview: A Brief History of Kid Lit PART ONE: YOUR LIT CRIT TOOLBOX The Coming-of-Age Matrix 23 Identity and the Other 32 The Building Blocks of Literature 37 Gender 42 The Three-Act Structure 47 Class and Trauma 50 Billy Wilder’s Rules 56 Images of War in Children’s Literature 60 Empire 64 PART TWO: IN-DEPTH STUDIES “The Lion King” and Its Message of Social Darwinism 72 Star Wars and Government 82 How We See ‘The Other’ in Tintin 92 Imperialism in the “Tarzan” Franchise 103 Empire and Higher Education in Nnedi Okorafor’s “Binti” 113 Phillip Pullman, Polar Bears and the Real Arctic 124 Pixar Gender, Pixar Rules 136 Philosophy in Comics 147 PART THREE: RESOURCES Nine Things to Know About Prof. Durwood’s EN 210 Class 159 Our Mission 162 Index 204
Over de auteur
Todd Whitaker is a professor of educational leadership at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. He is a leading presenter in the field of education and has written more than 40 books, including the national bestseller, What Great Teachers Do Differently.
He regularly presents at conferences such as the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the Academy of Management Learning and Education, and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP).