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Children's Literature
3 articles on Children's Literature
Children's Literature, African American
Source: Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Second Edition
Word Count: 978In 1919 African American intellectual W. E. B. Du Bois announced his plans to coedit a new magazine, The Brownies' Book, intended especially for black children. In his announcement, Du Bois outlined three main purposes for the new publication: (1)To help black children realize that being Negro is both normal and beautiful;(2)To familiarize them with the history and achievements of the Negro race; and(3)To help them know that other black children have become important and famous people.Du Bois understood that black children needed literature of their own that would offer these lessons, which were not to be found in mainstream children's literature. The Brownies' Bookwas rare for its time, but in the decades of its publication, more and more black authors—including some of the best-known writers of African American ...
Read full articleChildren's and Young Adult Literature
Source: Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Second Edition
Word Count: 7651Literature by African American authors intended for children and young adults. The American Library Association makes formal distinctions between children's literature and young adult literature as distinct categories, although they overlap. Literature for children commonly refers to illustrated books designed to be read aloud to nonreaders and those with text suitable for elementary school children. Literature for young adults includes books designed for readers from approximately ten through eighteen years old and deals largely, but not exclusively, with coming-of-age and identity issues. These categories are not always strict. Preadolescents often enjoy young adult titles and adults often enjoy illustrated texts. For example, Tom Feelings's Soul Looks Back in Wonder (1993), winner of the ...
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Source: Black Women in America, Second Edition
Word Count: 9073 Includes: Tradition | Expansion and Early Attempts to Institutionalize | A New Tradition: Black Children's Literature | Acceptance and Criticism of the New Black Aesthetic | An Emerging Renaissance | BibliographyAt the beginning of the twenty-first century, the achievements of black women authors who create children books have been nothing short of remarkable. Virginia Hamilton and Angela Johnson received the MacArthur Foundation's Genius Award, and Mildred Taylor continued to win Newbery Honor Medals for her historical fiction series, The Land. A dozen new writers were routinely published. Two authors, Connie Porter and Deborah Gregory , entered the lucrative world of television movies and sidelines—products based on a literary character, such as dolls, CD-ROMS, and clothing—with series fiction, Meet Addy, an American Girl product, ...
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