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UCLA DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION STUDIES

IS 234: Contemporary Children's Literature

Fall, 2004 – Tuesday, 1:30 to 5:00
Professor Virginia Walter
310-206-9363
vwalter@ucla.edu
www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/walter/

Office hours (220 GSEIS Building): Tuesday, 9:00 to 12:00, or by appointment. Contact pat payne (310-825-8799 or payne@gseis.ucla.edu ) for appointments outside of regular office hours. Please confirm whether your appointment is in the GSEIS office or in the Dean's Suite on the second floor of Moore Hall.

Learning objectives:

Students will acquire a basic knowledge of:

  • The structure of the contemporary children's literature field,
  • Major contemporary authors and illustrators of children's books and their works,
  • Current trends and issues in children's literature,
  • Children's reading interests and abilities, and
  • Library approaches to children's literature, including evaluation and selection issues.


Required books:

Kathleen T. Horning. From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books. HarperCollins, 1997.


Children's books:

Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850.

Patricia C. McKissack. Goin' Someplace Special.

Linda Sue Park. A Single Shard.

J.K. rowling. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Pam Munoz Ryan. Esperanza Rising.

Gary Soto. Chato and the Party Animals.

Mildred Taylor. The Land.

David Wiesner. The Three Pigs.

Note: all of the children's books except the Harry Potter title were ordered through UCLA Textbooks and should be available in LuValle Commons. Harry Potter is available wherever children's books are sold. Howeer, it is not necessary to purchase any of these if you prefer to borrow them from a library. Please read them and bring them to class on the day they are scheduled for discussion.


Course Outline

Tuesday, October 5, 2004

  • Introduction to the course.
  • The children's literature community.
  • Awards and prizes.

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

  • Evaluating children's books.
  • Collection development issues.
  • Guides to children's literature.
  • READ Horning, p. 1-21.
  • READ AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS Goin' Someplace Special .

Tuesday, October 19, 2004.

  • Realistic contemporary fiction.
  • READ Horning, pp. 142-175.
  • READING LOG 1 DUE.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

  • Historical fiction and fantasy.
  • READ AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS A Single Shard amd Esperanza Rising.
  • WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE.

Tuesday, November 2, 2004.

  • Picture books and controlled vocabulary readers.
  • READ Horning, pp. 87-142.
  • READ AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS Chato and the Party Animals.
  • READING LOG 2 DUE.

Tuesday, November 9, 2004.

  • Folklore and poetry.
  • READ Horning, pp. 46-68.
  • READ AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS The Three Pigs by Wiesner.
  • READING LOG 3 DUE.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004.

  • Informational books.
  • READ Horning, pp. 22-45.
  • READ AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS Black Potatoes.
  • READING LOG 4 DUE.

November 23, 2004 – no class

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

  • Multicultural children's literature.
  • READ AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS The Land.
  • READING LOG 5 DUE.
  • AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR PRESENTATIONS.

Tuesday, December 7, 2004

  • Children's reading interests.
  • READ AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
  • WRITING ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE.
  • AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR PRESENTATIONS.

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

  • Issues and trends.
  • AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR PRESENTATIONS.


Assignments 

Reading Logs

Five reading logs are required. Each reading log is worth 200 points, for a total of 500 points. All reading logs must be turned in on or before the day they are due. Please do not submit them electronically.

Reading log 1. Due October 19, 2004.

  • 3 contemporary realistic novels
  • 1 historical novel
  • 1 fantasy novel

Reading log 2. Due November 2, 2004.

  • 2 picture books for preschoolers (two- to four-year-olds)
  • 2 picture books for grades K-3, ages 5 to 8
  • 1 picture book for children age 9 or older
  • 2 controlled vocabulary “easy readers”
  • Note: the picture books should be original fiction stories, not illustrated folktales or nonfiction.

Reading Log 3. Due November 9, 2004.

  • 2 illustrated picture book editions of single folktales
  • 1 folktale collection or anthology
  • 1 poetry anthology
  • 1 book of poetry by a single author

Reading log 4. Due November 16, 2004.

  • 1 biography
  • 1 science book
  • 1 sports book
  • 1 hobby book
  • 1 sex education book

Reading log 5. Due November 30, 2004.

  • 1 novel or short story collection about African-Americans
  • 1 picture book about African-Americans
  • 1 novel or short story collection about Latinos
  • 1 picture book about Latinos
  • 1 novel or short story collection about Asian-Americans
  • 1 picture book about Asian-Americans
  • 1 book, any genre, about Native Americans
  • 1 nonfiction book that is relevant to cultural diversity

General directions for reading logs:

Unless otherwise specified, books chosen should be appropriate for children ages twelve and under. All books read must be from one of the following categories:

  • Newbery or Caldecott medal or honor books from any year
  • ALSC Notable Books for children since 1990
  • Pura Belpre award winners from any year
  • Coretta Scott king award winners from any year

If you are unable to locate a book from these four categories, use the eighteenth edition of Children's Catalog and its supplements and find a book published since 1990.

Format for reading log entries:

  • Category (“picture book for preschooler”, or “sex education book”
  • Author, title, illustrator, publisher, date
  • Source (i.e., ALSC Notable Book, 1994, or Caldecott Honor Book, 1988)
  • Age range of intended reader
  • Brief (one-sentence) assessment of the book's quality (its literary and/or artistic merit)
  • Brief (one-sentence) assessment of the book's potential use with children (storytime, homework, curriculum support, book talk, free voluntary reading, etc.)
  • Brief (one-sentence) assessment of the book's child appeal

 

Writing assignments

There are two writing assignments.

Writing assignment 1: Due October 26, 2004. 150 points.

  • Select a children's book that you really like. Write a two-page essay review, a short (150 to 200 word) professional review, and a one-sentence annotation for the book.

Writing assignment 2: Due December 7, 2004. 150 points.

  • Make a bibliography of the “top ten” children's books on a specific topic. Assume that the audience is either children or adults who will share the books with children. Select an appropriate bibliographic format. Write a one-sentence annotation for each book. Make enough copies to share with your classmates.

 

Author/illustrator presentations.

Due November 30, December 7, and December 14. 200 points.

  • Students will form teams with three or four people. Each team will select an author or illustrator from the list provided by the instructor. Each team must select a different person.
  • Prepare a fifteen minute presentation on the author or illustrator for the class, emphasizing his or her contributions to children's literature.
  • Prepare a handout for the class that can be used as a reference guide or pathfinder to the author/illustrator's work.

Note: assignments turned in late will be subject to a reduction in points. No assignments will be accepted electronically.

 

Assignment summary:

  • Reading logs 500 points
  • Writing assignments 300 points
  • Author/illustrator presentations 200 points
  • Total 1000 points
  • 925 to 1000 points A
  • 800 to 924 points B
  • 700 to 799 points C
  • 699 and under F