children's lit

Page 1: Introduction

Quote from Sheila Egoff: Picture books create significant social and aesthetic tension.
Focus on multimodality in children's literature, emphasizing the role of images alongside written text.
Acknowledge the channels through which children engage with information in the 21st century (text, images, multimedia).
Develop vocabulary and tools for evaluating and critiquing modes of representation in literature, with emphasis on printed books.
By course end, articulate how images and text create complementary or contested meanings and interact to generate diverse interpretations.

Definition challenges: Suggests differentiation between good and bad books based on ambiguous standards.
Aim: Introduce issues in the debate about children’s literature standards and foster informed participation.
Key question: How do children derive meaning while reading picture books?

Familiar categories: fiction, poetry, nonfiction—ranging from memoirs to instruction manuals.
Each genre has its own expectations and implications for understanding children's literature.

Requirement: Create your own children's picture book, applying learned concepts on multimodality and representation.

Introduction of character: Aleister, an owl enamored with shiny objects.
Central theme: Aleister’s fascination with the Moon, highlighting the importance of this object in his life.

Introduction of a problem: Aleister perceives something unusual occurring with the Moon as time passes, suggesting plot development and emotional stakes.

Note on university policy: Use of generative AI tools requires PSIA approval; only Type 1 data permitted.
Unique logins necessary; cannot use Laurier credentials.

Definition:
1. Linguistic expression of relationships to reality or truth (LINGUISTICS).
2. Channels of representational signs (oral, gesture, visual, written) (SEMIOTICS).

Representational: Creates a narrative through verbal and visual depiction of people and events.
Interactive: Establishes relationships between narrative elements or between text and image.
Compositional: Constructs meaning through the arrangement and significance of text and images.

Representational structures: Aim to accurately depict story elements (icon).
Interactive relationships: Imply connections between story elements (index).
Compositional meaning: Expressed through the comparison of text to image (index).

Example: Using a block of wood as a phone showcases symbolic play in children.
Language as a symbolic system; connecting meanings is foundational for early literacy and numeracy.

Mimesis: Accurate representation of reality by author/illustrator.
Symbol: Use of alternate images/ideas to enrich meaning beyond mere imitation.
Concept books: Designed for young children to illustrate symbolic thinking by linking ideas, words, and numbers to objects.

Shift in children's literature over centuries: Empowering children to interpret and evaluate their readings.
Reference to Alice in Wonderland: Highlighting philosophical explorations through narrative and visual logic, created by Lewis Carroll.

Didactic: Understanding the nature of learning—passive reception vs. active engagement.
Semiotics: Study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior.
Mimesis/Mimetic: Pertains to the representation of reality in art.

Experiment with various image generators (including provided links) to cultivate creativity and application of learned concepts in children's literature.

Note that most illustrations will exhibit characteristics of representational, interactive, and compositional semiotic modes.