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 Analyzing Potter’s Illustrations
Compare photographs of real rabbits with Potter’s 
illustrations in
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
. Read a biography of Potter, such as
At Home with Beatrix 
Potter
(Denyer), and discover why she was able to draw the animals with such anatomical accuracy. 
T
he Genres of Literature 
Many thousands of good children’s books are available from libraries, stores, and 
book clubs, so people often do not know how to begin learning about literature. Liter-
ature is best studied if it is organized into categories called genres (zhän
′
r
∂
z). Genres are 
groupings of books with similar style, form, or content. The term genres also applies 
to other types of media, such as music, movies, plays, television shows, and artwork. 
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8
P A R T I :
Entering the World of Children’s Literature
Although one can classify and study literature according to genres, not all books 
fit into one and only one category. Some books fit well in two categories, and some 
books fit into none! For example, I am never sure whether to shelve my copy of The 
Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle) with animal fantasy or counting books. And my 
copy of Miss Nelson Is Missing (Allard) has been moved several times because it has 
aspects of both realistic fiction and fantasy. 
Not everyone organizes literature genres in exactly the same way, but a com-
mon organization is outlined in Box 1.2 along with the chapters in which the 
 Literary Genres of Children’s Literature 
Early Childhood Books ( Chapter 4 ): 
Books 
written for children birth through age 6