Module The theoretical foundations of children's literature Topic Introduction to course children's literature

This dissident aspect of the academic field of children’s literature references its origin. Books and texts for children attracted scholarly attention at a transitional moment in education, during a time of strenuous academic debate about the value of hierarchies, such as the literary canon. The field of children’s literature retains in varying degrees some measure of the revolutionary spirit of those teachers who pointed out the inseparability of universal standards and systems of canonization from ideological and historical bias. Through engagement with literary works of outstanding merit that tend to be marginalized by the traditional academic model or in traditionally based curricula, students are introduced to competing narratives of literary history and to divergent views about the social and personal uses of reading.

Who invented children's literature?
Charles Perrault began recording fairy tales in France, publishing his first collection in 1697. They were not well received among the French literary society, who saw them as only fit for old people and children
Since the beginning of time, adults have entertained children with stories and fables. From these folktales developed an elaborate tapestry of children's literature. Today children's literature encompasses multiple genres and appeals to readers of every age. Let's take a look at a brief history of children's literature.
Just as other forms of literature, children's literature grew from stories passed down orally from generation to generation. Irish folk tales can be traced back as early as 400 BCE, while the earliest written folk tales are arguably the Pachatantra, from India, which were written around 200 AD. The earliest version of Aesop's Fables appeared on papyrus scrolls around 400 AD.
In Imperial China, story telling reached its peak during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). Many stories from this epoch are still used to instruct students in China today. No such equivalent exists in Greek and Roman literature. However, the stories of Homer and other storytellers of the era would certainly have appealed to children.
As Europe became a cultural center of the world, instructive texts became increasingly common. These books were mostly written in Latin, with the purpose of instructing children. During the Middle Ages, very little literature was written for the sole purpose of entertaining children. Hornbooks, textbooks containing basic texts like the Lord's Prayer and the alphabet, would not appear until the 1400s. Alphabet books began popping up around Russia, Italy, Denmark, and other European countries roughly a century later.


Questions.
1.What is children’s literature?
2.Why Study Children's Literature?
3. Who invented children's literature?
4.What differentiates between children and adult literature?

Literature

1.Bloome, 1976, 1985; Danehower, 1993; Hall, 1989; Hollins, 1993;
2.Knapp & Turnbull, 1990; Lozanov & Gateva, 1988;
3.Marzano et al., 1988; Marzano et al., 1992; Palincsar & Klenk, 1991;
4.Palincsar, Ransom, & Derber, 1989/1990; Resnick, 1987; Richardson, 1988; 5.Rowan, Guthrie, Lee, & Guthrie, 1986; U.S. Department of Labor, 1992; Walmsley & Walp, 1990.