English 228 - Children's Literature

Shapes speak to us. Prose shapes us. From the picture book to the chapter book, we will explore the ways in which literature for children invents the child reading that literature. And we will attempt to break through our natural nostalgia for works we know to rediscover their innovative and experimental nature. In so doing, we will see these works work their magic on themes that will become familiar throughout the semester: identity, nostalgia, interiors and exteriors, authority, independence and dependence and, of course, the nature of wild things. Works may include Peter Rabbit, Where the Wild Things Are, Winnie-the-Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Secret Garden, The Giver.