Undergraduate

Children's literature

On this page

• Summary
• Course content
• Entry
• Qualifications
• If you have a disability or additional requirement
• Course materials
• Teaching and assessment
• Students also studied
• Future availability
• How to register

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This course is available for study in the countries shown.

Summary

This course provides a broad introduction to the vibrant and growing field of children’s literature studies. You will study children’s literature in English ranging from its beginnings in eighteenth-century chapbooks and fairy tales, through seminal nineteenth-century novels, to contemporary examples of fiction illustrating current trends. The course also includes the study of picture books old and new, stage performance and film, storytelling and poetry. You will learn about the distinctiveness and purposes of children’s literature, its prestigious and popular modes and its different representations of children’s worlds.

Course content

The study of children’s literature is fast becoming established at both undergraduate and graduate level with its own academic journals and critical literature, and collections of children’s literature are held in many major libraries and museums. In addition, the success of authors such as J. K. Rowling or Philip Pullman suggests that children’s literature is thriving and developing in the twenty-first century. In short, children’s literature matters; it is significant to parents, educators, librarians, psychologists, literary students and – most importantly – to children themselves.

In this course, you will study key examples of novels, picture books, poems and creative performance produced for children aged from 3–18 years old. These examples are drawn from different periods of Anglophone children’s literature. Alongside the study of these texts and performances, you will read a selection of related critical material and consider major themes, issues and debates in the field. These include the question of whether children’s literature should instruct or delight, the tension between popular and prestigious literature for children, the relationship between oral, written and visual modes and the relationship of children’s literature to conceptions of childhood.

The course is organised in six blocks.

Block 1: Instruction or Delight? gives an overview of the field and raises questions about the nature and purposes of children’s literature, focusing on some contemporary best-sellers and the reasons for their importance. It also traces how fairy stories have changed over the years, in response to different anxieties and concerns.

Block 2: Books for Girls and Books for Boys looks at how children and young people’s worlds are constructed differently in two seminal nineteenth-century novels, and examines fictional techniques used to present ideologies in children’s literature.

Block 3: Poetry and Performance introduces a selection of poetry used and performed with children, from early nineteenth-century classics to examples from the present day. You will also consider a variety of narrative performance in storytelling, on stage and in film.

Block 4: The Prestigious and the Popular: 20th Century Children’s Fiction includes the study of a number of twentieth-century children’s classics, a sampling of the world of children’s comics and a consideration of the controversies around popular authors. The block raises questions about the quality and value of different kinds of literature for children, and the ways in which it is judged.

Block 5: Words and Pictures focuses on the use of images in children’s books – from traditional illustrated books, which grew in popularity through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to more modern picturebooks, where the images are so central to the story that they often take on a narrative role.

Block 6: Contemporary Trends explores recent examples of different kinds of contemporary children’s fiction, considering changes and continuities in the mood and tone of children’s literature, the media mix from print to electronic in which literature is experienced and the markets through which it is distributed and consumed.

Audiovisual material relating to each of the six blocks is presented through two DVDs. This material includes theatre and storytelling performances, interviews with children, authors and publishers, mini-lectures and discussions. In addition, a DVD-ROM provides introductory activities on literary, stylistic and multimodal analysis of children’s literature, to support your work on the set texts.

Vocational relevance

The course is particularly relevant for teachers and children’s librarians.

Entry

This is a Level 3 course. Level 3 courses build on study skills and subject knowledge acquired from studies at Levels 1 and 2. They are intended only for students who have recent experience of higher education in a related subject, preferably with the OU.

Children’s literature is an interdisciplinary course primarily designed for students who have studied English, literature or childhood studies at Level 2. Exploring the English language (U211), Approaching literature (A210), and Childhood (U212) are all excellent preparation for this course. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

Preparatory work

It will be to your advantage to read some of the set texts before starting on the course.

If you have not previously studied a second-level literature, childhood studies or English language course you may find it helpful to work through some or all of the Approaching Literature (A210), Exploring the English Language (U211) and Childhood (U212) modules on our OpenLearn website.

Qualifications

EA300 is an optional course in our

• BA (Honours) Literature (B02)
• BA (Honours) Humanities (B03)
• BA (Honours) Humanities (B03) (with Literature)
• BA (Honours) Childhood and Youth Studies (B23)
• BA (Honours) English Language and Literature (B39)
• Diploma in Literature (D65)
• Diploma in Literature and Creative Writing (E25)

It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.

If you have a disability or additional requirement

Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Large print versions of the course materials can be provided on request. Other alternative formats of the course materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.

Block 5 examines the role of images in children’s literature and students are expected to carry out visual analysis of illustrated books and picturebooks. Assessment of this block will be based on the visual material and although there will be an option which allows you to discuss these issues more broadly, some understanding of visual qualities will be expected. The course team do think that it is possible for a blind or visually impaired student to complete the course, but if you have a severe visual impairment you are encouraged to contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service for advice before registering.

If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.

Course materials

What's included

Study guide, two readers, assignment booklet, course guide, two DVDs, one DVD-ROM, play text of Peter Pan.

You will need

A DVD player.

We recommend you buy the editions of the set books listed below as the course materials make reference to page numbers in these books.

Computing requirements

This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. Some of your course software will be provided on disk.

You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you cannot use an Apple Mac or Linux computer unless it is running windows Boot Camp or similar.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and who you can ask for advice and guidance. We may also be able to offer group tutorials or day schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course.  Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.

Assessment

The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.

You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper. The end-of-course assessment (ECA) must be submitted online through the eTMA system.

Students also studied

Students who studied this course also studied at some time:

• Approaching literature (A210)
• Creative writing (A215)
• Exploring the English language (U211)
• The nineteenth-century novel (AA316)

Future availability

The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2010. We expect it to be available once a year.

How to register

To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.

About this page

An undergraduate course in Arts and Humanities and Childhood and Youth.

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