Brief 4 – Children’s Books

Once given the brief for our final project which included creating a children’s book surrounding a contentious subject matter, I decided to look into common themes explored within children literature to give me some inspiration with my subject matter.

Childrens literature can act as:

• A mirror to enable readers to reflect on life problems and circumstances
• A source of knowledge
• A source of ideological challenge
• A means to peer into the past, and the future
• A vehicle to other places
• A means to reflect on inner struggles
• An introduction to the realities of life and death
• A vehicle for the raising and discussion of social issues

Some common themes that children’s books explore include issues surrounding –

1 – THE AGED – ‘Remember Me’ (Margaret Wild & Dee Huxley)

 

‘Can you do this old badger?’ (Eve Bunting)

2 – THE PERSON OF DIFFERENT RACE OR ETHNICITY – ‘The Burnt Stick’ (Anthony Hill & Mark Sofilas) – ‘The Sneetches’ (Dr Seuss)

3 – UNDERSTANDING THE OTHER GENDER – ‘Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley’ (Aaron Blabey)