In this paper, two children’s books will be analyzed and reflected on: Essentials of Young Adult Literature, presented by Carl M. Tomlinson, and Entering the World of Children’s Literature, written by Nancy Anderson. As a kindergarten teacher, I find these two readings very helpful and really captivating. It is not always very easy to get a clear understanding of the child literature content, this is why the ways of how the authors of these books explain the content of children’s books turn out to be useful and comprehensive.
These books help to find out what kind of literature has to be chosen for beginners and young students: children should have a chance and time to evaluate new material and realize why the chosen source is necessary and even interesting. The major point of the discussion this time is to provide beginning readers with the necessary support and help with the understanding of picture books and genres, this is why the works by Tomlinson and Anderson are considered to be a good choice to start presenting the world of literature to the beginners.
During the discussion this week, we concentrate all our attention on how to create a proper plan and introduce genres to young students, how text layout may support beginners, and how it is necessary to consider student interests while picking out literature for the school library. To find out proper answers to these questions, two books by different authors were used. The key points of Entering the World of Children’s Literature are all about the explanation of numerous literary elements like style, plot, characters, themes, and tone. The author also concentrates on several visual elements of artistic design, style, and techniques: they help to make the comprehension of the content quicker and clearer (Anderson, 2006).
The major issue of another book, Essentials of Young Adult Literature, is to present reliable information about fiction format and elements, and ideas for realistic fiction and fantasies. With the help of these readings, it becomes much easier to pick out proper picture books for a library: I get a chance to realize which visual elements have more effect on children and why. To my mind, space and color should be taken into consideration at first, because the beginning readers should already know something about colors and distinguish where something big and small is. This is why the big space between words and colorful pictures will certainly influence children’s perception of the book.
Tomlinson explains to his reader how the properly chosen topics of realistic fiction may influence students’ comprehension of the world and own place in it. Picture books are significant due to their illustrations, and it is crucially important to pick out the books, the illustrations of which are appropriate for the student age (Tomlinson, 2006).
The readings of this week provided considerable insight into the topics under discussion. First of all, full-color illustrations may help to evaluate students’ interest and choose picture books for the library. Second, end-of-chapter summaries present one more chance to concentrate on the major issues and comprehend their significance for study. And finally, a clear explanation of the essence of the plot, theme, and style of the story helps to explain why a student should pay attention to this very issue and when their attention should be paid to its full extent.
My thinking of the topic under consideration has been changed a bit. First, I comprehend that such details like size, space, and color play a very important role in any book for children. Second, I find out that design and text layout usually support beginning readers, however, the support from the teacher’s side is also important. And, of course, I realize that it is impossible to explain all the material to a young student within a short period of time, and each step has to be planned and approved by the professionals.
Works Cited
Anderson, N. A. (2006). Entering the World of Children’s Literature. Elementary Children’s Literature. New Jersey: Allyn & Bacon, Inc. Web.
Tomlinson, C. (2006). Essentials of Young Adult Literature. New Jersey: Allyn & Bacon, Inc. Web.