Children's Literature In Action »

SYLVIA M. VARDELL is a Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman's University. She holds a B.S. from the University of Texas in Elementary Education and a PhD from the University of Minnesota in Curriculum and Instruction, Children's Literature, and Language Arts. She has been President of the U.S. Board on Books for Young People.

School and children's librarians and faculty teaching students who are studying to be school and children's librarians will be pleased to find this book written especially for them. This is an activities-oriented survey of children's literature for undergraduate and graduate students seeking licensure and degrees leading to careers working with children in school and public libraries. It fits the specific needs of librarians while similar texts on this subject are designed for teachers. All the pieces are there, the explanations of the genres, introductions to the authors and illustrators, the use of specific titles with their audiences, carefully linking literature with active practice. Chapters are enriched by brief insets of authors comments, collaborative activities, selected awards and celebrations, historical connections, recommended resources, issues for discussion and assignment suggestions. The unique contributions of this textbook are three-fold: designed for use by librarians, an emphasis on actions and library applications, and brevity for an affordable text.

1 An Introduction to Children and Their Literature 1

2 Picture Books 39

3 Traditional Tales 75

4 Poetry for Children 107

5 Contemporary Realistic Fiction 139

6 Historical Fiction 175

7 Fantasy 203

8 Informational Books 233

References 265

Bibliography of Children's Books Cited 279

Credits 299

Index 303