Children's Literature

It's been a while since I've posted anything-- not that I haven't been reading or thinking about stuff, but now isn't the time to catch all of that up.

Jack Zipes, and others--Beverly Lyon Clark, like to point out that there is no such thing as Children's Literature. Children's Literature should be literature by children for children. But, children aren't published writers. I think this is an interesting thought because I've been questioned when saying that I want to do childist criticism-- but really that's what people who look at books who are written by adults with child protagonists are doing. We cannot regress to the status of child again-- so we don't really know how children will perceive a certain text-- and good writers for children don't write thinking only a child will read the book. So, I think looking at the role of the child in the book is a good way to discuss what has popularly been termed children's literature.

In a different direction-- although related-- Zipes also says that children can't produce their own culture--they can only respond to things adults create for them-- but I think that is starting to change. In music now, there are kids singing, doing remakes of popular songs, on CD's. This is kids doing art for kids-- but it is still controlled by adults--who gets to decide which music is being played, listened to, recorded-- who decides which kid gets to make an album-- that is still adults. Whether or not we like it, adults control the culture of children. Maybe that is why teenagers like the web so much-- it gives them an opportunity to write their own story. Just a thought.