Approaching language, literature and childhood

Studying children's literature allows us to learn not just about the books that children are reading, but also about what role reading plays in childhood, and how our ideas about childhood affect the books that they read. In this free course, you will be introduced to some of the key questions that the study of children's literature raises, such as: how do children acquire and use languages and literacies? Why (and how) is language important in children’s literature? Why (and how) is literature important for children and young adults? How is childhood socially constructed? And how is the child represented in literature?This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course L301 Language, literature and childhood.

• 1 Reading as a child and as an adult
• 2 Instruction or delight?
• 2.1 The key questions
• 2.2 Defining children’s literature
• 2.3 Content, censorship and understanding
• 3 Constructing a world of fantasy
• 3.1 Marianne Dreams and Tom’s Midnight Garden
• 3.2 Direct and indirect speech
• 3.3 A text of its time?
• 4 Visibility and inclusion in children’s books
• 5 Bringing it all together
• 6 Summary