Vision for the future of children’s literature

Barone (2010) defines children’s literature simply as “literature written for children” (p.6). Barone does not define children’s literature as being a physical printed book, the definition talks about the writing for children, the authors who choose to write for an audience of children and young adults.

When you view children’s literature in light of Barone’s definition the impact of the technological environment does not impact upon the future of children’s literature negatively, which is what many librarians have feared. In fact it gives the audience (children) many options in how they want to consume their chosen literature. Hateley (2013) identifies the digital generation as being one who loves to play online in any capacity and even if they choose to read literature on a device, through an app or online we need to view ‘reading as a meaninful experience” (p. 6). Showing that if children are reading, no matter how they are accessing it, it’s a positive for the future of children’s literature.

The future of children’s literature is in the hands of the consumers and in this case is more often than not the children themselves. Children are more capable of being consumers today than those of previous generations. The ability to purchase an app of choise on an ipad or to download a book from the comfort of their own home sees a new way for children to participate in the purchasing of their own literature, however Harvery (2015) states that print is still alive in the children’s space, showing that both print and digital books for children have seen an increase.

The future vision for children’s literature seems to be one where children can consume literature in a variety of different ways but one that should hopefully continue to grow as authors tap into the trends of what children want and make their products easily accessibly for all.

References

Barone, D. M. (2011). Children’s literature in the classroom: Engaging lifelong readers. Retrieved from Proquest Ebook Central.

Hateley, E. (2013). Reading: From turning the page to touching the screen. In Wu, Y., Mallan, K. & McGillis, R. (Eds.) (Re)imagining the world: Children’s literature response to the changing times (pp. 1-13). Retrieved from Springer Link.

Harvey, E. (2015, December 8). Five trends affecting children’s literature. In Book Business. Retrieved from https://www.bookbusinessmag.com/article/what-we-learned-from-the-top-trends-in-childrens-literature-webinar/