“Role of Books in the Development of a Modern Child“ - PowerPoint Presentation

“Role of Books in the Development of a Modern Child“ Comedy in Children’s Books: Carnival, Censorship, and Critical Thinking John D. Beach, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Literacy Education, St. John’s University, New York City, USAECCE/Early Childhood Care and Education Conference 18 May 2018 | Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, RussiaFor a copy of this presentation, please e-mail: beachj@stjohns.edu

Abstract & CaseABSTRACT THE CASE FOR COMEDYComedy’s potential for developing critical levels of comprehension is significant because of its inherent play with incongruities, trickery, parody, satire and the subtleties of nonsense (Bakhtin, 1984; Frye, 1957; Jolles, 1929; Bloom, 1994). This presentation makes the case for featuring comedy in the classroom as a means for engaging children with literature they truly appreciate and which offers sufficient intellectual challenge to foster inferential and critical thinking transferable to other literacy activities. A content analysis study that compared annual “best book” recommendations of adults (American Library Association “Notable Children’s Books”, chosen by librarians) and children (International Reading/Literacy Association “Children’s Choices”) for a thirty year period (1975 to 2005) revealed significant divergences. Instead of a hypothesized 50% overlap of titles, less than 10% was found (Beach, 2015). This study was extended to bring findings up to date (Beach, 2017). To engage children in reading, motivation and interest must be factored into the educational and developmental plan.Comedy literature offers a vivid example since it is largely neglected by adults yet very popular with children (Beach, 2007). Comedy is consistently cited as children’s favorite literature category. Yet, despite recognition by philosophers (e.g., Bergson and Freud) and literary theorists (e.g., Frye and Bakhtin ), comedy is not addressed by major children’s literature textbooks, reference books, or awards committees as a domain comparable to tragedy, fantasy, or realism. Comedy engages children in what Bakhtin terms carnival, but adults concerned with child rearing tend to avoid comedy and censor it rigorously. An analysis of comedy itself reveals its significant potential for developing critical thinking skills. To advance children’s literacy development, books in the comedy category offer an important corpus of reading matter that should not be neglected. Critical thinking skills are required to understand and appreciate comedy (e.g., rhetorical devices, subtext, analogy, logical fallacies, oxymoron, exaggeration, sarcasm, understatement, overstatement, etc.) and the potential of this genre warrants the attention of all those who work with young children and literacy. Suggestions are offered to engage children in the higher order thinking required to appreciate comedy and similar material. Comedy is an ancient and important domain of story (Bergson 1900, Freud 1905, Frye 1957, Bakhtin 1984). Tragedy instills morality (fear to pity); Comedy inspires resiliency and creativity (scorn to joy). Epic/Romance cultivates hope (hope to rue); Experience cherishes memory (doubt to pride) Comedy is often hidden under the label of fantasy (e.g., Charlotte’s Web ). Fantasy is not a genre, but a method or mode. Comedy is a favorite with children. Comedy cultivates creative and critical thinking. To develop critical thinking, discuss comic situations in stories, how characters react and differ, and what ramifications are implied. Create comic stories that express ideas and opinions and that utilize comedy’s rhetorical techniques.

Initial Study Book Choice Findings Hypothesis: Overlap Titles = 50% Data: significantly < 50% in all but one cell. Librarians, Teachers and Reviewers Agree; Children Differ. Refereed Article | Beach, J. D. (2015). Do children read the children’s literature adults recommend? A comparison of adults’ and children’s annual “best” lists in the United States 1975–2005. New Review of Children’s Literature and Librarianship, 21(1), 1-25. DOI: 10.1080/13614541.2015.976075Paper | Beach, J. D. (2006, August 8). Do children read children’s literature? The curious divergences between adults’ and children’s “best” book choices in the United States 1975 to 2005. International Reading Association 21st World Congress, ELTE University, Budapest, Hungary.List Titles N = 7,024 On CC Children On ALA Librarians On HBF Reviewers On TC Teachers IRA-CC 1975-2005N=3,385 | Children choose100%ALA –NCB 1975-2005N=2,024 | Librarians choose236 (7%)100%HBF 1975-2005N=855 | Reviewers choose92 (3%)457 (23%)100%IRA-TC 1988-2005N=522 | Teachers choose41 (1%)123 (6%)49 (6%)100%ALA AwardsN=238 | Librarians choose34 (1%)238 (12%)119 (14%)22 (4%)CC = IRA Children’s Choices, ALA = Notable Children’s Books, HBF = Horn Book Fanfare, TC = IRA Teachers’ Choices, ALA Awards = Newbery, Caldecott

Choices for Young Adults 1987-2016 Hypothesis: Overlap Titles = 50%Data: significantly below 50% in all but one cell.Conclusion: Adults Agree; Young Adults Diverge ListNumber of Titles Young Adults’ Choices Librarians’ Choices Reviewers’ Choices Teachers’ Choices ILA-YAC 1987-2016 Young Adults N = 899100%ALA-BBYA1987-2016LibrariansN = 2,198205 (22.8%)100%HB Fanfare1987-2016Reviewers N = 83024 (2.66%)160 (7.27%)100%IRA-TC1988-2016Teachers N = 85329 (3.22%)72 (3.27%)68 (8.19%)100%ALA awards: NewberyLibrarians N = 12514 (1.55%)125 (100%)52 (41.6%)21 (16.8%)ALA = American Library Association, CC = Children’s Choices, HB = The Horn Book Magazine, IRA = International Reading Association, NCB = Notable Children’s Books, TC = Teachers’ Choices; ALA Awards (includes both medal and honor books) = Newbery (writing), Caldecott (illustration)5/17/20184

The “Great Divide” – Is Youth Literature for Us or for Them?”

Texts, Senders, Receivers 5/17/20187TEXT LEVELS AND VALUESEIGHT LANGUAGE ARTS

Comedy’s Dimensions Folly slapstick Scorn ridicule Joy paradise Wit wordplay

COMDEDY’S METHODS & CHARACTERS COMEDY’S METHODS CORE COMIC CHARACTERS

Comic Text and Comprehension Foci 5/17/201810TEXT FOCI (from Jolles Einfache Formen, 1929)COMPREHENSION FOCI

Learning through Comedy

ReferencesBakhtin, M. M. [ Бахтин, М. М.]. (1984). Rabelais and his world [Творчество Франсуа Рабле и народная культура средневековья и Ренессанса] (H. Iswolsky, Trans.). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. (Original work published Moscow, Khudozhestvennia literatura, 1965).Beach, J. D. (2006, August). Do children read children's literature? The curious divergences between adults' and children's "best" book choices in the United States 1975 to 2005. Paper presented at the 21st biennial World Congress of the International Reading Association, Budapest, Hungary.Beach, J. D. (2007). Checkpoint comedy: Children’s literature’s hidden treasure. Proceedings of the 15thEuropean Conference on Reading, Berlin, Germany: IDEC. Beach, J. D. (2015). Do children read the children’s literature adults recommend? A comparison of adults’ and children’s annual “best” lists in the United States 1975–2005. New Review of Children’s Literature and Librarianship, 21(1), 1-25. DOI: 10.1080/13614541.2015.976075 Beach, J. D. (2017, July 4). Children’s and young people’s literature preferences:Research findings and a theory for encouraging equity through literacy communities . Paper presented at the 20 th European Conference on Literacy and 6 th Ibero-American Forum on Literacy and Learning, Madrid, Spain. Bergson , H. (1900). Le rire: Essai sur la significance du comique [Laughter: An essay on the meaning of the comic]. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.Bloom, H. (1994). The Western canon: The books and school of the ages. New York: Harcourt.Freud, S. (1963). Jokes and their relation to the unconscious [Der Witz und seine Beziehung zum Unbewussten] (Standard Ed.; J. Strachey, Trans. & Ed.). New York: W. W. Norton. (Original work published 1905).Frye, Northrop. (1957). Anatomy of criticism: Four essays. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Jolles, A. (1929). Einfache Formen: Legende, Sage, Mythe, Rätsel, Sprach Kasus, Memorabile, Märchen,Witz. Tubingen: M. Niemeyer.Nilsen, A. P., & Nilsen, D. L. F. (1999, March). The straw man meets his match: Six arguments for studying humor in English classes. English Journal, 88 (4), 34-42.Norvell, G. W. (1958). The reading interests of young people. Boston: D. C. Heath.Sebesta, S. L., & Monson, D. L. (2003). Reading preferences. In J. Flood, D. Lapp, J. R. Squire, and J. M. Jensen (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching the English language arts (2nd ed., pp. 835-847). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.12