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EDU 334 Literature for Children: Overview: Genres

EDU 334 Literature for Children

This course is taught by professor Richard Giso. Students study classic and contemporary literature for children in grades one through six. Emphasized in this study are the origins and genres of children’s literature; literary elements; strategies for teaching children’s literature; and key issues in the field, such as cultural and gender stereotyping and the treatment of sensitive subjects

Children's Literature

This library guide is a starting place for resources and information about children's literature genres. Use the tabs below to  explore genres: biography, fantasy, folklore & folk tales, historical fiction, realistic fiction, and non-fiction. Find some of these titles in the Education Resource Area Collection, Berry Library, 2nd floor. How to find Children's books in the library video shows how to find books using the SSU library catalog. Check out for more Education Resource Area video tutorials here

Picture Books:

  Interdependence of art and text. Story or Concept presented through combination of text and illustration. Classification based on format, not genre. All genres appear in picture books.
Poetry & Verse   Condensed language, imagery. Distilled, rhythmic expression of imaginative thoughts and perceptions.
     

Folklore & fairytales 

  Literary heritage of humankind. Traditional stories, myths, legends, nursery rhymes, and songs from the past. Oral tradition; no known author.

Fantasy

  Imaginative worlds, make-believe. Stories set in places that do not exist, about people and creatures that could not exist, or events that could not happen.

Science Fiction

  Based on extending physical laws and scientific principles to their logical outcomes. Stories about what might occur in the future.

Realistic Fiction

  "What if" stories, illusion of reality. Events could happen in real world, characters seem real; contemporary setting.

Historical Fiction

  Set in the past, could have happened. Story reconstructs events of past age, things that could have or did occur.

Biography

  Plot and theme based on person's life. An account of a person's life, or part of a life history; letters, memoirs, diaries, journals, autobiographies.

Non-fiction

  Facts about the real world. Informational books that explain a subject or concept.

Chapter Books and Easy Readers

   

Graphic Novels

   

Challenged and Banned Books

   

Adapted from Ashland University Libary's LibGuide to children's literature..LibGuide links created by Rukmal Ryder

Genre Resources

Childhood Education and Care Research and Instruction Librarian

Need help with Education databases or finding age appropriate children's books? Reach out to Rukmal Ryder: Reference Services and Childhood Education and Care librarian. She is available for library instruction sessions in the Childhood Education and Care department and for research assistance. Schedule an appointment here. 

email: rryder@salemstate.edu

phone: 978-542-6767

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