Children’s literature has evolved and will continue to do so based on societal change. The expectations and demands from children will form the direction in which this goes, new genres and formats will be introduced. Already the traditional picture books has evolved into e-books and interactive apps.
Recently, There has been debate over an intention to have Roald Dahl’s books re-worded due to censorship issues with some language and themes. The world has changed and opinions & attitudes toward some themes in books may now be seen as sexist, racist or disrespectful. What does this mean for literature of our future….?
I believe certain genres will become more centralised, ones that focus on real life complex issues. Our world and its people are being encouraged to speak more about issues such as mental health, sexuality, abuse etc.
The demand for graphic novels in my school library has increased hugely. Is this because comics are cool again? Graphic novels provide an opportunity for lower reading abilities in the middles grades also.
Lastly, the accessibility of literature is bound to evolve also…. technology is always showing us new ways of accessing and doing things that we never thought of. How will Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ChatGBT create change in this area?