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Limited Omniscient.
When a story is narrated through a limited omniscient point 
of view , the story unfolds through the viewpoint of only one of the characters. How-
ever, the story is told not by the character but by the omniscient narrator, who 
enters the mind of this character and reveals her or his experiences, actions, speech, 
thoughts, and history. The reader knows only what that particular character can see 
and understand. An example is Little House on the Prairie (Wilder).
Objective.
In the objective point of view, the reader learns about characters only 
through their actions and speech. The narrator does not enter the minds of any of 
the characters, but rather takes a reporter’s view, presenting only the facts. The nar-
rator tells but does not comment on or interpret what is happening in the story. The 
reader learns nothing about characters when they are not in the author’s narrative or 
dialogue. Their actions must speak for themselves as they unfold in the story. Frog 
and Toad All Year (Lobel) is an example of a book using the objective point of view. 
First person and omniscient are the two points of view used most often in chil-
dren’s fiction. One way to help distinguish them is to think about which characters 
are being described. When a story is told by an omniscient narrator, all the charac-
ters are described through the perspective of the narrator. However, when a story is 
told in the first person by one of the characters, he or she fully describes the other 
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C H A P T E R 2 :
Elements of Quality Children’s Literature

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characters but is not likely to describe himself or herself. Rather, the reader begins 
gradually to understand the narrator by what he or she says and does. 
Some nuances of point of view can even be revealed through illustration. In Why 
Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (Aardema), artists Leo and Diane Dillon show the 
frightened monkey leaping through trees to warn the other animals. A dead limb 
breaks and falls, killing an owlet. However, four pages later, when Mother Owl 
(who did not witness the accident) gives her account, the illustrations depict a vicious 
killer monkey standing on the nest, clutching the baby owl, and beating it with a 
stick! This book is a great vehicle for showing children how the retelling of a real-life 
experience changes when it is told by more than one person.
Responding to Literature