Holiday Work: On Writing for Children and for the Academy

There are numerous academics who have also been novelists, including several prominent writers of children’s literature. Yet the relationship between academic writing and the writing of fiction has not been systematically explored, nor have the kinds of knowledge gained from the experience of writing fiction always been easy to incorporate into the scholarly and institutional contexts of academic criticism. The author discusses some of the ways in which academic and fiction writing can complement and inform each other, drawing on his own experience in both fields. He also argues that ‘the act of writing’ needs to be far more thoroughly integrated into English studies at both a practical and a theoretical level. Charles Butler was a fiction writer before he was an academic, writing his first novel before he went to London University to study English Literature. He readily admits that his first and second novels remain deservedly unpublished, the influence of other authors hanging too heavily over them. The Darkling (1997) was the first of his six fantasy novels published to date and, as he relates in this article, he has also written a number of critical works. As Charles is one of that rare breed of writers who have managed to combine these two careers (though he has some illustrious precursors, in Tolkien, of course, C.S. Lewis and Ursula Le Guin), we invited him to share his views on both the rewards and possible pitfalls of trying to keep both activities buoyant. Charles Butler is a Senior Lecturer at the University of the West of England, Bristol, where he specializes in children’s literature. He is author of Four British Fantasists: Place and Culture in the Children’s Fantasies of Penelope Lively, Alan Garner, Diana Wynne Jones, and Susan Cooper (Scarecrow/ChLA, 2006), and editor of Teaching Children’s Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). He is also the author of six children’s fantasy novels, of which the most recent are Death of a Ghost (HarperCollins, 2006) and The Lurkers (Usborne, 2006). His web site is http://www.charlesbutler.co.uk     

Harry Potter and the Terrors of the Toilet

The Harry Potter series focuses upon the toilet as a site for heroic action and a threshold between worlds as well as a more traditional place for boys to be bullied and girls to weep. This article offers a Kristevan reading of the toilets as abject in Harry Potter, and shows how this concept helps us make sense of wider issues within the series, especially Harry’s uneasy relation to the maternal. Alice Mills is associate professor of literature and children’s literature at the University of Ballarat. She has edited two collections of scholarly essays, on the grotesque and the unspeakable, and a number of anthologies of children’s literature. Her research interests lie mainly in the psychoanalytic and Jungian interpretation of fantasy and the picture story book. Briggs, Fungus the Bogeyman Holzwarth and Erlbruch, The story of the little mole who knew it was none of his business Griffiths, The Day My Bum Went Psycho Griffiths, Zombie Bums of Uranus     

Going to school with Madame Curie and Mr. Einstein: gender roles in children’s science biographies

One of the first places children encounter science and scientists is children’s literature. Children’s books about science and scientists have, however, received limited scholarly attention. By exploring the history of children’s biographies of Marie Curie and Albert Einstein, the two most written about scientist in children’s literature, this paper taps this unutilized resource to cultivate a unique perspective on the history of gender and authority in science and science education. Through analysis of explicit discussions of womanhood and science and implicit gendering of Curie and Einstein’s school experiences within these books, this study demonstrates that while much has changed in how these stories are framed the gender of the scientist is still central to how they are represented in children’s literature.     

Early Childhood Teachers as Socializers of Young Children’s Emotional Competence

Young children’s emotional competence—regulation of emotional expressiveness and experience when necessary, and knowledge of their own and other’s emotions—is crucial for social and academic (i.e., school) success. Thus, it is important to understand the mechanisms of how young children develop emotional competence. Both parents and teachers are considered as important socializers of emotion, providing children experiences that promote or deter the development of emotional competence. However, compared to parents, early childhood teachers’ roles in socializing young children’s emotional competence have not been examined. Based on the findings from research on parental socialization of emotion, in this theoretical review we explore possible teacher roles in the development of young children’s emotional competence. Additionally, we suggest future research focusing on early childhood teacher socialization of emotion, and discuss theoretical and practical benefits of such research.     

Picture Partners: A Co-creative Journey into Visual Literacy

This article describes an integrated art and early literacy project entitled, ‘Picture Partners’. The main purpose of the project was to explore how young children create and express meaning through art. Children’s responses, both written and spoken, were included because accompanying modes of expression expand the nature and content of their drawings and inform teachers about children’s intentions and processes of thinking. A secondary purpose was to investigate how children use illustrations from familiar picture books as models for their own creations and whether children’s responses to stories might be enhanced through their collaboration with peers. Partnerships were formed and participants worked in close proximity as they drew pictures in response to a teacher directed prompt. Using qualitative, interpretative analysis, a small subset of drawings produced by kindergarten and first grade children was examined. The results revealed that the process of drawing was influenced by illustrations in picturebooks, peer interactions, and the artwork of partners in close proximity. The shift in emphasis away from the interpretations of visual realism in children’s drawings towards their own purposes allowed readers to focus on the way drawings represent meaning within children’s socio-cultural worlds.     

“A Constant Transit of Finding”: Fantasy as Realisation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pan’s Labyrinth</Emphasis>

This article considers Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth as a text which utilises key codes and conventions of children’s literature as a means of encountering the trauma of Fascism. The article begins by placing Pan’s Labyrinth at a contextual crossroads involving fairy tale and a Spanish cinematic tradition and considers the significance of the text as a hybrid creation. It then explores some of the tropes and motifs that are re-imagined within the narrative. There follows an investigation of the film as a testament to the importance of fiction and fantasy when faced with the very real consequences of war, oppression and trauma. Finally, Pan’s Labyrinth is considered alongside a heritage of children’s literature whose motifs, symbols and figures are remarkably available for appropriation, re-invention and renewal.     

Fathers’ roles in the process of talent development

In the process of children’s talent development, fathers have been largely ignored compared to mothers who are mostly identified as the initial and primary influence for their children. Though modern fathers are becoming more engaged in childrearing and interacting more with their children and changes in family systems lead to new challenges and demands for defining parental roles today, fathers are still predominately portrayed as the principal breadwinners of families. Literature including both empirical and anecdotal data has documented positive and promising outcomes of paternal involvement for children’s talent development though fathers’ roles are not always differentiated from mothers’ roles and little research studied fathers and gifted children, exclusively. This paper includes a comprehensive review of fathers’ contributions to children’s talent development and discussion about issues and suggestions for research involving fathers and talent development.     

Bully/Victim Problems Among Preschool Children: a Review of Current Research Evidence

Bullying in schools has been identified as a serious and complex worldwide problem associated with negative short- and long-term effects on children’s psychosocial adjustment (Smith 1999; Ttofi and Farrington, Aggressive Behav 34(4):352–368, 2008). Entering kindergarten is a crucial developmental step in many children’s lives mainly because it is within this context where they participate, for the first time, as members in a stable peer group and well-organized team activities. Consequently, preschool may be the first context beyond the home environment where children’s difficulties in social interactions with peers can be primarily detected and assessed by adults and professionals. This paper reviews recent empirical evidence over the nature and different aspects of bullying among preschool children. Recent findings concerning the development of preschool bullying and its prevalence, family and genetic factors, gender and age differences, participant and peripheral roles, school context, methodological issues, and prevention policies are reviewed while directions for future research are addressed.     

Alcatraz and Iser: Applying Wolfgang Iser’s Concepts of Implied Reader and Implied Author and Reality to the Metafictive Alcatraz Smedry Series

As a narrative series, Brandon Sanderson’s humorous, middle grade, Alcatraz Smedry novels display some of the arguably vague concepts of Reader Response theorist Wolfgang Iser as accessible themes that encourage a critical understanding of the stories. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (2007), Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener’s Bones (2008) and Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia (2009) are the supposed autobiographies of 13-year-old Alcatraz Smedry, who regularly pauses the narrative to comment on the nature of reality and fantasy and on his state as a hero. As the implied author, Alcatraz directly addresses the reader to describe characteristics of the implied readers and to note gaps in the narrative and aspects of the story’s structure. The metafictive techniques incorporated throughout Sanderson’s fantasy parodies guide readers to ask critical questions of the books, the fantasy genre, reality and Alcatraz’s characterization of himself. Examining the Alcatraz series with the lens of Iser’s concepts displays their use in children’s literature and demonstrates how issues of the implied author and implied reader may stretch beyond the scope of an individual narrative into questions and critiques of genre, parody, metafiction, reality and the reliability of a narrator.     

教育期望中的社会阶层差:父母的社会地位和子女教育期望的关系

To achieve the overall goals and purposes of education is closely related to the living environments of students. Different family backgrounds will put children into a situation where they face unfair competition. According to a survey conducted in China’s Urumqi and Changchun about parents’ awareness of educating their children, this paper will suggest that families with different backgrounds have different expectations for their children’s education. Moreover, it suggests that parents’ social status is related to their children’s education expectations. Therefore, we can find that parents’ social status influences their children’s education, and their positions in social class are related to education. __________ Translated from Qinghua Daxue Jiaoyu Yanjiu 清华大学教育研究 (Tsinghua Journal of Education), 2006, (4): 71–76     

Raising critical issues in the analysis of gender and science in children’s literature

Trevor Owens’ paper provides a critique of the role of gender and authority in selected children’s books that presented biographies of Albert Einstein and Marie Curie. In the context of discussing Trevor’s (2009) article about children’s literature, this forum explores issues related to the (a) representation and construction of gender, science, and childhood in literature for children; (b) the need to consider socio/historical/cultural contexts in analytical and theoretical frameworks; and (c) the importance of fostering critical literacy perspectives in pre- and in-service science teachers and the children whom they teach.     

Teachers and children’s loneliness: A review of the literature and educational implications

The present study is a critical review of the research literature concerning the links between the teacher and children’s loneliness. More specifically, the issue of children’s loneliness in the school is summarized. Research data documenting that loneliness is a risk factor in children’s development are briefly reviewed. Next, hypotheses and research data are reviewed on the following aspects: (I) the association between children’s loneliness and the quality of the teacher-child relationship from the viewpoint of attachment theory; (II) the teacher’s attitude toward children’s loneliness and his or her perceptions of his or her effectiveness in dealing with it; (III) the teacher’s ability to identify lonely children; and (IV) the children’s perceptions of the role of the teacher in the emergence and alleviation of their loneliness. Finally, on the basis of the existing data, critical questions are formulated, suggestions for future research are made, and educational implications for teacher training and school-based interventions are discussed.     

Monet, Malaguzzi, and the Constructive Conversations of Preschoolers in a Reggio-Inspired Classroom

This study was conducted in a Reggio inspired child care classroom of 4-year olds where the fundamental principles of Reggio Emilia preschools are interpreted for a Canadian context. Qualitative case study methodology was employed to investigate how social interaction plays a role in young children’s learning processes. Drawing on social constructivist views of children’s learning and socialization, children’s discussions and interactions within a preschool learning group were examined. Examination of children’s discourse is valuable not only for understanding individual and group learning experiences but also for illuminating children’s agency and their active roles in their own learning. The study focused on the in-depth study of six children’s activities during a ‘Shades of Pink’ project. As the project, ‘Shades of Pink’ unfolded, the children faced cognitive conflict while they were talking about the details of Monet’s painting, but worked toward building common understandings. In this study, children are considered to be meaning makers and active participants in their own learning processes. In addition, the relationships between children became a context in which the co-construction of theories, interpretations and various understandings of reality took place. Small group work became a basis for creating unity, a space in which thoughts took shape as well as a way to compare interpretations; with the result that new thoughts and meanings were produced.     

Rethinking historical and cultural source of spontaneous mental models of water cycle: in the perspective of South Korea

This review explores Ben-Zvi Assaraf, Eshach, Orion, and Alamour’s paper titled “Cultural Differences and Students’ Spontaneous Models of the Water Cycle: A Case Study of Jewish and Bedouin Children in Israel” by examining how the authors use the concept of spontaneous mental models to explain cultural knowledge source of Bedouin children’s mental model of water compared to Jewish children’s mental model of water in nature. My response to Ben-Zvi Assaraf et al.’s work expands upon their explanations of the Bedouin children’s cultural knowledge source. Bedouin children’s mental model is based on their culture, religion, place of living and everyday life practices related to water. I suggest a different knowledge source for spontaneous mental model of water in nature based on unique history and traditions of South Korea where people think of water in nature in different ways. This forum also addresses how western science dominates South Korean science curriculum and ways of assessing students’ conceptual understanding of scientific concepts. Additionally I argue that western science curriculum models could diminish Korean students’ understanding of natural world which are based on Korean cultural ways of thinking about the natural world. Finally, I also suggest two different ways of considering this unique knowledge source for a more culturally relevant teaching Earth system education.     

Lying in Children’s Fiction: Morality and the Imagination

The telling of lies is significant in fiction written for children, and is often (though not in all cases) performed by child protagonists. Lying can be examined from at least three perspectives: philosophical, moral and aesthetic. The moral and the aesthetic are the most significant for children’s literature. Morality has been subtly dealt with in Anne Fine’s A Pack of Liars and Nina Bawden’s Humbug. The aesthetic dimension involves consideration of lying’s relation to imagination, fantasy and creativity; Richmal Crompton’s William: the Showman and Geraldine McCaughrean’s A Pack of Lies show this at a complex, metafictional, level.     

Three Walks Through Fictional Fens: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gaffer Samson’s Luck</Emphasis>

The paper discusses the children’s novel Gaffer Samson’s Luck (1984), by Jill Paton Walsh, from three different perspectives; those of a cultural geographer, a literary scholar and an English teacher. It is part of a larger research project on children’s perception of their place-related identities through reading and writing. The novel is used as a case study to develop a multidisciplinary approach, drawing upon theories of literature and reading, and a conceptualisation of space in cultural geography. Employing ideas from different disciplines, the paper offers an original interpretation of the text as well as innovative analytical tools for future research and for classroom application.     

Simultaneous Emotions: Entwining Modes in Children’s Books

Critics and teachers tend to pay attention to genre and ignore mode as an area of consideration. This study examines three novels for young readers that are comparable in terms of their entwining opposing modes (irony and romance, comedy and tragedy) as a successful crossover strategy for appeal to readers young and old. I share implications for this phenomenon in terms of the novels themselves, crossover books, course design, and the notion of general audience appeal. Mike Cadden is an associate professor of English at Missouri Western State University where he teaches children’s and adolescent literature. He is the author of Ursula K. Le Guin Beyond Genre: Fiction for Children and Adults (Routledge, 2005).     

Towards a Culturally Situated Reader Response Theory

This article describes a theory of how culture enables literary interpretations of texts. We begin with a brief overview of the reader response field. From there, we introduce the theory and provide illustrative participant data examples. These data examples illustrate the four cultural positions middle grade students in our research assumed when responding to salient textual features embedded in African American children’s novels. Our theory suggests that because a range of cultural positions factors into students’ meaning making, we should mine texts more carefully for cultural milieu as well as find acceptance with a broader range of literary interpretations. We conclude by discussing implications for literary researchers and practitioners who study or use multicultural children’s literature.