Course Syllabus
ENGLISH 391
Children’s Literature
Summer Session 2012
April 30—May 18th
8:30—11:30 a.m.
Instructor: Dr. Monika B. Hilder
Office: Lower SNC # 20 (Office Hours after class and by appointment)
Tel. Extension: 3335
E-mail: Monika.Hilder@twu.ca
The child is not meant to die, but to be forever freshborn.
George MacDonald, The Princess and Curdie
Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me
in my childhood than in the truth that is taught by life.
Friedrich Schiller, The Piccolomini
Course Description:
In this course we will examine children’s literature from the seventeenth century to the
present, analyzing representative texts and changing attitudes toward children and their
books. Beginning with early didactic stories and traditional folk and fairy tales, and then
moving on to British, American, and Canadian novels, we will focus on questions of
history, philosophy, authorship, readership, and genre. Our emphasis will be on close
critical readings of the texts.
Prerequisites:
9 Semester Hours of English or 3rd or 4th year standing.
Course Objectives:
1. To gain a historical perspective of Children’s Literature and the changing attitudes
towards childhood.
2. To examine conventional allusions, figures, and motifs in Children’s Literature.
3. To explore the psychological and spiritual foundation of Children’s Literature.
4. To reflect on Children’s Literature as social commentary.
5. To consider the nature of the heroic vision in these various works and its implications for
ethical education.
6. To appreciate the challenge and freedom of “other-worldliness.”
7. To consider various Christian readings with a particular eye for literature as theological
text.
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Required Texts
Clemens, Samuel Langhorne (Mark Twain). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. 1876.
Toronto: Puffin Books, 2008.
Demers, Patricia and Gordon Moyles. From Instruction to Delight: An Anthology of
Children’s Literature to 1850. Third Edition. Toronto: Oxford University
Press, 2008.
Hallett, Martin and Barbara Karasek. Folk & Fairy Tales. Fourth Edition.
Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2009
L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wind in the Door. New York: Bantam, 1973.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 1950. New York: HarperCollins,
1978.
Little, Jean. Willow and Twig. Toronto: Puffin Books, 2000.
MacDonald, George. The Princess and the Goblin. 1872. Toronto: Puffin Books, 1996.
Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables. 1908. Seal Books, 1996.
Paterson, Katherine. Jacob Have I Loved. New York: HarperCollins, 1980.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. 1997. Vancouver: Raincoast
Books, 2000.
Recommended Text (Optional)
Russell, David. L. Literature for Children: A Short Introduction. Seventh Edition.
Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012.
Bibliography: to be posted and put on reserve (indicating also which books are on
reserve in the library).
Course Requirements:
1. A careful reading of all works and assigned critical material is essential. Because
discussion is a significant component in this course, attendance is extremely
important.
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2. Students will give a 15-20 minute presentation in class. Topics will be suggested.
(See me if you have an idea for an alternative topic.) The presentations must be
both scholarly rigorous and entertaining. The presentations will be graded on the
substance of the argument and the creativity of the presenters – use overheads,
video excerpts, musical interludes, and drama as possibilities. Involve class
participation. Stay precisely on topic. Create a handout for the class, complete
with thesis statement (very important), and submit detailed notes on the day of
your presentation.
3. Write a 500-word analytical response paper on one text on the syllabus. This may
contribute to your term paper, and in that sense will allow me to help with the
writing process. Ideas: choose a particular episode, character, motif, or stylistic
feature from one of the works. A great rule of thumb is to choose something that
either really moves you in a positive way or that annoys you. Be very specific,
cite from the text, and engage one secondary source (cited in a footnote). Due
Thursday May 10th.
4. One term paper (3,000 to 3,500 words) will be due on August 14th. Use 5-8
secondary sources. Please use in-text documentation (MLA). Please note that late
papers will be penalized, except in cases of illness or when an extension has been
granted. Plan ahead!
5. There will be a final examination on Friday, May 18th; this will be 2 hours in
length.
Evaluation
Class Presentation
Analytical Response
Term Paper
Final Examination
20%
10%
40%
30%
100%
Proposed Course Outline
Mon. April 30
Course Introduction.
Selections from Instruction to Delight:
peruse Ch. 1; Ch. 2, Bradstreet, Janeway, Bunyan; Ch. 3 Watts;
Ch. 5 Little Goody Two-Shoes; Ch. 6, Day, Wollstonecraft,
Edgeworth; Ch. 7, Sherwood; Ch. 8 Sinclair, Lear, Hoffmann.
Tues. May 1
Instruction to Delight cont.; Selections from Folk & Fairy Tales:
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Little Red Riding Hood (Delarue; Perrault; Grimm; Chang; Carter);
Sleeping Beauty” (Basile; Perrault; Grimm; Owen);
“Cinderella” (Perrault); “Snow White” (Grimm); “Rapunzel”
(Grimm); “Beauty & the Beast” (de Beaumont); “East of the Sun
& West of the Moon”(Asbjornsen & Moe); “The Brave Little
Tailor” (Grimm), “Molly Whuppie” (Jacobs); “Bluebeard”
(Perrault); “The Emperor’s New Clothes” (Andersen); “The Happy
Prince” (Wilde); “The Goose Girl” (Grimm) and “The Tale of the
Handkerchief”.
Thurs. May 3
Friday May 4
Mon . May 7
Tues. May 8
Wed. May 9
Thurs. May 10
Friday
Mon.
Tues.
Thurs.
Friday
May 11
May 14
May 15
May 17
May 18
Folk & Fairy Tales cont.
The Princess and the Goblin
no class: change in schedule
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Anne of Green Gables
Analytical Response due May 10th
A Wind in the Door
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Jacob Have I Loved
Willow and Twig
Final Exam
Plagiarism
Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism at TWU
As Christian scholars pursuing higher education, academic integrity is a core value of the entire
TWU community. Students are invited into this scholarly culture and required to abide by the
principles of sound academic scholarship at TWU. This includes, but is not limited to, avoiding
all forms of plagiarism and cheating in scholarly work. TWU has a strict policy on plagiarism
(see academic calendar, pp. 37-38). Learning what constitutes plagiarism and avoiding it is the
student’s responsibility. An excellent resource describing plagiarism and how to avoid it has been
prepared by TWU librarian William Badke and is freely available for download (PPT file) or
used as flash (self running tutorials) of varying lengths from:
http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/plagiarism.ppt
http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/Plagiarism.swf (14 minute flash tutorial)
http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/Plagiarism Short.swf (8 minute flash tutorial)
Definition of Plagiarism:
“To steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one's own; to use another's production
without crediting the source; to commit literary theft; to present as new and original an idea or
product derived from an existing source” (Merriam Webster Dictionary, 11th edition).
NOTE: Students are reminded that essays written for this course may be subject to
scanning by a plagiary detection service employed by the university.
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Late Paper Policy
Late assignments will be penalized at the rate of two percent per day, including the weekend. The
penalty will not be imposed if the assignment is submitted after the due date because of a
debilitating illness; however, a doctor’s note must be provided to substantiate the illness. You
may in an exception also submit electronically to meet the due date; however, you must submit a
printed copy next class.
CAMPUS CLOSURE POLICY
In emergency situations, please listen to CKNW (980 AM), CKWX (1130 AM), or
PRAISE (106.5 FM) by 6:30 AM or to the announcement on the university “snow
number” (604-513-2147).
Perhaps it is only in childhood that books have any deep
influence on our lives . . . . But in childhood all books are
books of divination, telling us about the future, and like the
fortune teller who sees a long journey in the cards, or death by
water, they influence the future.
Graham Greene, The Lost Childhood
Perhaps we may be asked why we are looking for a
theology in children’s books rather than in learned
volumes of theology.
And the answer is a story:
Once there was a very wise rabbi. A young student came
to see him and said, “Rabbi, in the old days, there were
those who saw God. Why doesn’t anybody see God
nowadays?”
And the rabbi replied, “Oh, my child, nowadays nobody
can stoop so low.”
Madeleine L’Engle, Trailing Clouds of Glory
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