Tentative topics list

Guidelines

• The purpose of this project is to engage in a critical analysis of some component of children's literature.
• Your essay should be approximately 7-10 pages (typed), standard MLA or APA format.
• So that it helps you acquire a broader base of knowledge about works of children's literature, the project must involve some books we have not covered in class.
• Please submit a written proposal describing your plan (in as much detail as possible) by Tuesday, February 23. Earlier submissions are welcome. If you are planning something radically different from the ideas suggested here, it's best to consult with me as early as possible. I will respond to your proposal and we will finalize detailed plans by Monday, March 1 (by which time you will be into your research.) Your complete draft is due April 20, and the final project is due no later than Tuesday, May 4 at 5 p.m.
• Plan to have at least one conference with me and/or with Phil Christman to discuss your work-in-progress.
• I encourage projects that involve working directly with children. Consider a project that dovetails with a service-learning project at a school or daycare center. Collaborating with the experts (in this case, 4-year olds or fifth graders) can be illuminating.

• Study and compare several versions of one story or collection: the Bible (or a single Bible story, e.g. Noah's Ark), Aesop's fables, Arthurian legends, other well-known folk legends (e.g., Little Red Riding Hood), biographies of a well-known individual, or any clearly established classic.  Evaluate the collections and write about how socio-economic factors (target audience/consumer, time and place of production, political and social agenda, and so forth) shape each version of the work you are studying.
• Research and report on a single author or artist, a production method, an editor, a publisher, or some other aspect of the children's book industry.  (This is a traditional research paper, for which I would expect an engaging and stimulating thesis.  What would you like to prove about your subject?)
• Write a thoroughly-researched argumentative paper on the teaching of literature in elementary schools. What interests you about teaching books to children? What worries you? What would you like to understand better? (Possible issues: censorship, whole-language reading instruction, integrating literature with other teaching areas.)
• Research, compile, and describe a substantial thematic unit or annotated bibliography of children's literature on a particular topic (e.g., the Middle Ages, soccer, ballet, death and dying, little brothers, newts, moving to a new place, toilet-training, dealing with bullies, dyslexia). Preface this unit or bibliography with an introductory essay justifying the collection and describing its possible use.

English 325B: Children's Literature
Contact Karen Saupe (ksaupe@calvin.edu)
2/5/99