What do I know about Children’s Literature?
Books have always been a part of my life. My earliest memories of reading, are my parents sharing picture books with me as a young child. I can recall the wordless picture book The Snowman by Raymond Briggs with a warm glow in my heart, with it’s soft imagery and the beautiful music that followed in the animation. Today, this is one of my favourite books to share with my own children as it evokes a fondness in the memories it has created and continues to create.
The little blonde girl in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, mirrored my own child self inside and out. As I read this narrative over and over again, I wondered at Alice’s character, as she impulsively followed the white rabbit on an extraordinary journey, experiencing dreamy beings and nonsensical situations. This story taught me that with risks comes rewards. This ignited a fire inside me; to always be faithful to myself in following my dreams. I have continued to take risks throughout my life and just like Alice I have continued to explore who I am.It was in my later single digit child years, that Seussian verse inspired my talent for verse speaking and I developed a love for poetry and rhyme. I still enjoy the sheer fun of Seuss’ rhyme. Roald Dahl was always a winner, with belly tickling Revolting Rhymes being my favourite chuckle. Admirable characters like Miss Honey who inspired me to be a teacher or Charlie in the Chocolate Factory who reminded me to be thankful for what all that I had in this world.
As I continued to grow into a young adult, reading was often my escape from other pains in my real teenage world. Some stories devastated me, some horrified me, and others filled me with love in my heart. I could walk in another’s shoes, live in another world, and indulge in another place. The series fiction of the Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal was my all time, easy read favourite, however it was the tough reads that have remained with me. The heartbreaking first person account of a 13 year old living through the holocaust in Elli: Coming of Age in the Holocaust, by Livia Jackson, left a stain on me, so strong that I can remember the graphic language, the haunting staccato, over 20 years on. The public library became a regular weekend haunt for me, and I gathered up everything from the latest edition of Jackie to Tolkien’s Hobbit.
It wasn’t until reading and performing theatre scripts in my first university years, that my true admiration for literature was vigorously ignited. The dark complexity of Wilde’s Salome, and the stark vulgarity of Sarah Kane’s Blasted were a few titles amongst many, that continued to awaken my creative senses. The nostalgic beauty in Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa left me begging for more and more Irish Drama reads. That incredible moment of the clatter of the feet of the sisters as they start to dance to the sounds of the radio compelled in me; a splendiferous wild freedom that came with entering my early twenties. I think the dual sense of nostalgia and dislocation towards Ireland in this story, personally resonated with me. Even the disliked reads, such as the frustration of experiencing the hopelessness in Beckett’s Endgame, have had a notable impact in shaping me as an adult going out into the world and trying to make my mark.
As a fully grown adult, I still love to read, and of course as a parent of three young children, I am always wishing for a bit more time to myself to do so. Reading everything from Delia Owens to Robert Galbraith, I always find time to pick up a good read. My childhood experiences allowed me to develop as a confident reader and my connection with books has also transpired into other representations of the literature such as through film and theatre.
Since embarking on my teaching journey, I have grown to appreciate the impact literature can have on children and young people; my reading identity has grown to include two strands – personal and professional. My observations as a TL , have led me to witness how some students form the opinion that reading literature as an undesirable task, a homework, a chore. I believe it is the TL’s role to try change this perception of those students, by finding reading material that they can relate to and personally enjoy; with a true diversity in Children’s Literature, there should be something for everyone. An effective TL will have the knowledge and skills to find such books and match them to the student. This is where both the challenge and the joy lies within the role. I feel an ongoing commitment to be a reader in front of the students I engage with, as this will impact on their motivation to read.
Strategies I could use to increase my knowledge of Children’s literature include:
- Continue to read what I enjoy and gain satisfaction from.
- Reading aloud to my children.
- Keeping a reading journal, logging what genres I am reading, so I am aware of my reading preferences and patterns and what I need to experiment with.
- reviewing other author’s works through written and verbal reviews
- Talking about the books I read – with friends, work colleagues, in book clubs.
- Writing about what I read