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    ENG 271: Literature for Young Children

    Syllabus for Spring 2022

     French Fairy Tales.

    Read these in M. C. Waldrep's Favorite Fairy Tales. Or, if you do not have that book, the following online texts correspond to the Waldrep versions.

    Also everyone needs to read this French fairy tale, which is not in Waldrep:

    German Folk Tales.

    Read these in M.C. Waldrep book or read online

    Also every needs to read these three German Folk Tales not in Waldrep.

    Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales 

    Read these in Waldrep book or read these online:

    Also read in Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid and Other Fairy Tales

    English Folk Tales

     Read English Folk Tales in Waldrep or read these online

    Aesop's Fables

     Joseph Jacobs' The Fables of Aesop.  Here is an electronic version of the texts we are using:The Fables of Aesop on Internet Archive

    Leader of the Chorus. By God, I never knew that before! 
    Pisthetaerus. That's because you are ignorant and heedless and have never read your Aesop”
    -- from Aristophones' "Birds"

     African-American Folk Tales

    • "How the Sky God's Stories Came to Be Known as Spider Stories" and "The Talking Skull" from The Annotated African American Folktales 
    • "Doc Rabbit, Bruh Fox, and Tar Baby" From The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales told by Virginia Hammilton. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
    • "The People Could Fly" and "John and the Devil's Daughter" from The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales told by Virginia Hamilton. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

    Read Margaret Wise Brown's introduction and her adapted version of "The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story" in .pdf

    Walt Disney Film Adaptions of Fairy Tales

  • The Walt Disney Story video 
  • "Whistle While You Work" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • Little Mermaid "Kiss the Girl" with words
  • Cinderella "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo"
  • Aladdin "Friend Like Me"
  • Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's The Stinky Cheeseman

    Fractured Fairy Tales: "Sleeping Beauty"

    Fractured Fairy Tales: "Three Little Pigs" on YouTube

    Disney's "Big Bad Wolf" (1934) on YouTube. 9:03

    Muppets' Classic Theatre "Elves and the Shoemaker"
    Muppet's Classic Theater "The Elves and the Shoemaker"  9:27
    Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre "The Frog Prince"part 3/6
    Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre.  Introduction on YT 1:26
    Into the Woods by Stephen Soundheim. "Agony"performed by the princes of Cinderella and Rapunzel.  Greenville Little Theater 2006.  "Agony Reprise"
    Green Jelly "Three Little Pigs Official Video"

    Early Readers: Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad

    frogandtoad.jpg

    Mother Goose Rhymes

    The Only True Mother Goose: Mother Goose Melodies by Unknown. On Project Gutenberg.

    Poetry for Children

    Philip Smith, ed. Favorite Poems of Childhood. This is only a preview. Please purchase and read the entire book.

    Proposal information

    Sample Proposal

    Paper Proposal Information

    How to do Research and MLA Style

    Watch these videos from the Milner Library Help Videos section.

  • Finding items in the catalog
  • Advanced Catalog Searches
  • Find Articles (watch video called How to use the combined search box)
  • Find Databases (watch video called How to find a database by title)
  • Teaching Materials Center (TMC) (watch video How to find TMC Books using the Milner Library Catalog)
  • Using NovelList Plus (watch video NovelList Plus Overview)

  • Milner Library also has information on how to cite sources. Read this information and watch the videos on MLA Style, which is what we will use to cite materials in this course. 

  • MLA Style
  • How to Use MLA Style: Guidelines for MLA Style
  • Examples
  • MLA 8th Edition Quick Guide, in .pdf
  • Formatting Your Paper

  • MLA has an online style guide at style.mla.org

    Read this: "Starting the Research Process and Searching the Internet" Link to .pdf file of an MLA document

    If you need help using the Milner Library website, contact Jean MacDonald, English Stdies Subject Library. jmacdon@ilstu.edu

    Music for children

    Perry Nodelman's "The Relationships of Pictures and Words"

    Read this essay: A .pdf of Nodelman's essay from his book Words About Pictures

    Picture This by Molly Bang

     A .pdf of Molly Bang's book, if you are unable to purchase it.

    Beatrix Potter

    Read Beatrix Potter The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit. if you do not have it, read these versions on project gutenberg.

    Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown 

    Crockett Johnson

    Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat

    Comics: Easy as A B C! by Ivan Brunetti 

    Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak 

    Book censorship & Book challenges:
    Politics of Children's Literature/Politics in Children's Literature

    Top 10 Most Challenged Books for 2019 at the ALA 

    Diversity in Children's Books

    The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

    Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

    A Fine Dessert by Emily Jenkins 

    If you don’t have book, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OP9kKuan2Y

    And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell 

    If you don’t have book, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgN0d9eAYIA

    The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley and Brian Selznick

    A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh 

      Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary

    More help for writing your paper

    Click here to link to the American Library Association's list of Caldecott Medal Winners.
    Link to .pdf of Mark I. West's "Key Reference Works Related to Children's Literature" from Everyone's Guide to Children's Literature. Ft. Atkinson, WI: Highsmith Co., 1997.
    Research & Writing Resources for Children's Literature.  A list I've compiled to help you on your research papers.  Includes links to online resources, journals and more, plus a list of books.

    If you are struggling to write a literary analysis paper, read "How to Write a Research Paper in Literature" by Geoff Baker at Chico State University (.pdf format)
    Check out the 60Second Recap video page on How to Write a Paper.  Informative, lively points about writing academic papers. Can your paper pass all the tests?  

     

    The following materials are links for previous versions of this course.

    Children's Music

    tmbg-catalog_1988_2108634.jpeg

    They Might Be Giants, including links to podcast and videos.

    Ralph's World website (from Chicago's famed Old Town School of Folk Music)

    Dan Zanes website.  YouTube video of "All Around the Kitchen" (popular on Disney Chanel)Dan Zanes sings American music for families

    Trout Fishing in America website (also check out the cool treehouse)

    Little Richard in YouTube video of "Rubber Duckie

    Laurie Berkner's video on YouTube of "Victor Vito" (she once entertained for Madonna's children)

    RaffiNews.com  Site for music and news about children's singer Raffi.YouTube video of Raffi singing "Baby Beluga"  A kindergarten class singing and moving to "Baby Beluga"

    Collection of children's music from the 1950s & 1960s originally on record albums, now available via mp3s.  Includes covers of albums. 

    KiddieRecords: a similar sight with hundreds of children's albums, including covers, details about music and mp3s

    National Children's Folk Song Repository.  Looks like the website has good intentions.  You can record yourself singing a folk song.

    Best Children's Music. com  Website with good collections (for sale) of children's music.  Includes mp3 samples.

    FreeKidsMusic.com  Good selection of mp3s of up and coming singers/songwriters for kids.

    Songs for Teaching. "Using music to promote learning"  Songs about atoms, multiplication, phonics & history.

    Instruction with delight: An educational revision of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" to "Scholar Ladies"  Sweet. For Hope Christian schools in Milwaukee.

    Alphabet Books

    Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book in song format

    "Alphabet of All Nations". performed by They Might Be Giants.

    50 Alphabet Books for children reviewed.

    Common Core lesson plan for Alphabet Books for first graders

    Pop up alphabet book, show in video

    Video of numerous alphabet books. 3 min 

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Series books: Time Warp Trio Not So Jolly Roger. Tim Warp Trio

    Time Warp Trio website

    Kidsread.com information about Time Warp Trio

    The first Time Warp Trio television show about the Not So Jolly Roger. YouTube segment. 10 min.

    Jon Scieszka's website

    Fanfiction.com related to Time Warp Trio

    "The Boys Have Fallen Behind" column in March 2010 by Nicholas Kristof in the NY Times.  Books for Boys: Confessions of a Reluctant Reader blog.

    Series books: American Girls

     American Girls official website

    Link to Jan Susina's article "American Girls: Barbies with a sense of history" in Children's Literature American Girl MollyAssociation Quarterly. Fall 1999. In Project Muse.  (Accessible through Milner Library with ISU ULID)

     Flavorwire essay on "What your American Girl doll says about you" Fun, slightly silly on how the dolls have changed.

    Essay by Elizabeth Marshall "Marketing American Girls" in rethinkingschools.com (winter 2008/2009)

    "American Girls taking over the country" by Rachel King in Fast Company (April 2009)

    Notes and photos of a girls' book club that discusses and dresses up like the American Girls

    Madison Davenport, Abigail Breslin, and Brieanne Jansen in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl 

    Preview of Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. YouTube video

    Clip from Molly: An American Girl on the Homefront. YouTube

    A girl browses an American Girl store.  YouTube video.  An English girl goes to the American Girl store in New York. YouTube video. 

    Babymouse by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm

    Babymouse by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm

    Babymouse official website, housed at Random House

    "The Classroom Cast" Babymouse video. YouTube

    Bringing up Baby Mouse, a video by Katie Davis

    Jennifer Holm's website. a co-creator of Babymouse 

    Matthew Holm's official website. a co-creator of Babymouse 

    Interview with Jennifer and Matthew Holm about their Babymouse series.  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 24, 2008

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

    Official website of Diary of a Wimpy Kid 

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid website.  Funbrain.com site begin here with FAQs WimpyKid_cover.jpg

    YouTube mashup of funny cartoons from Diary of a Wimpy kid accompanied by appropriate music. 

    A Fourth Grade play of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  short and cute. 

    Blog of Jeff Kinney. Diary of a Wimpy Kid's creator. 

    Jeff Kinney interviewed Oct. 22, 2009 on NPR.  He answers kids' questions.

    Washington Post article on how Jeff Kinney wrote and published the Wimpy Kid series. (March 3, 2009)

    YouTube interview of Jeff Kinney from Barnes & Noble.  YouTube interview with Jeff Kinney on first two books at Borders.

    Trailer for the Dairy of a Wimpy Kid film (2010).  YouTube. :30 TV promo on YouTube

    Jeff Kinney at a Borders pulling out books that he likes and talking about them, including Scott McCloud's book on comics. 3:30 min on YouTube 

    Children's Websites

    Club Penguin enables kids to be virtual penguins

    Club Penguin, the virtual realilty world, now owned by Disney, with flocks of penguins 

    BrainPop is the household's favorite educational program.

    Webkinz World, the popular virtual site connected to the fuzzy animals 

    Millsberry, popular virtual children's site owned by General Mills 

    Nick.com, Nickelodeon's website.  Note: This site takes a lot of bandwidth, so may download slowly. Videos run automatically and can annoyingly slow site.

    PBS Kids, website for public television's children's shows

    Lego.com.  All things Legos, including games and product promotions.

    BBC Children's site.  Very detailed site, click around.

    Fun Brain, home to The Wimpy Kid and many other interesting kids' things

    Disney.com. Website for all things Disney.  One option is ToonTown, a game to download and interact in virtual reality.A Neopet

    Dav Pilkey's extra-crunchy website o'fun.  Captain Underpants and beyond. 

    GirlTech.  A Mattel site for girls that's connected to high-tech toys.

    Kidsreads. A website about kids' books, with reviews. 

    Neopets.  Online pets and more that are linked to toys. 

    J. Otto Seibold site. Author's own site. Search around for games. 

    GigglePoetry.  Hundreds of silly poems for children.  Includes information about authors, poetry theater, etc. pledge_allegiance_coloring_page_600.jpg

    Jan Brett's website.  Children's author has created many web-based and printable activities for children and teachers related to her books.  "4,173  pages of free activities, coloring pages, and projects."

    Webbliword.  A newer site for children with avatars.  somewhat educational. 

    Time for Kids, website for children of Time magazine 

    Litle Clickers, a website with links to many educational sites.

    Major League Baseball Site for Kids. 

    Monterey Bay Aquarium.  site for the ocean-based aquarium in California.  great example of a non-fiction science site. 

    Villainy, Inc.  Thwarting World Supremacy Through Mathematics.  Maryland Public TV site with math story. 

    Previous verions of this course

     Course guide for Spring 2018

    Syllabi for ENG 271 - Spring 2020 (original. will be updated)

     Syllabus for Section 1

    Syllabus for Section 3 

    Section 1 

    Section 2

    Research paper links

    MLA Style Guide

     

    Resources about children's literature for research 

    Link to .pdf of Mark I. West's "Key Reference Works Related to Children's Literature from Everyone's Guide to Children's Literature.
    University of Michigan guide to Children's Literature research
    Online Children's Literature Journals
    Children's literature book awards and Victorian Literature resources on this website.
    MLA Guide, in .pdf format.  How to write and format your papers.  Important to look at before you hand in the final version of your research paper.