Children’s literature is a vital part of education and should be in every classroom. Children’s literature is a tool that can be used to make learning more interesting and personal than textbooks, basal readers, and basal reading programs. In the classroom, children’s literature will liven up student learning and build vocabulary and syntax, stimulate cognitive development, bring subject areas to life, stretch attention spans, expand imagination, and enrich lives (Anderson, 2010).
Who knows children’s literature and the current issues and trends affecting children’s literature and how it applies to the classroom teacher better than the local librarian? Librarians have to stay current on trends in books and informed on issues of children’s literature that effect the local community and the motivational strategies to get children reading.
During a brief interview with a local librarian of a small
rural community, insight and diligence becomes apparent to keeping a local library
current on what everyone wants to read.
Here
is one librarian’s take on the current issues and trends of children’s
literature and how it compares to other librarians, agents, and leaders in the
children’s literature community:
1.
What kind of effect has the Common Core State Standards
had on the trends or demand for children’s literature?
The Common Core
State Standards has influenced an increase in the demand for non-fiction books.
Teachers, schools, and students are reading more non-fiction as the demand for
meeting standards is of high priority.
The Common Core Standards seems to be the common issue
addressed when experts and educational professionals are discussing current
trends in children’s literature. As Common Core becomes more prominent in our
education system, so will it become “an emphasis area for children’s book
publishers,…” (Kennedy, 2014, para. 4)
2.
What seems to be a popular theme, subject, or genre
with preschool through teen readers?
With younger
children, the popular genre is basically what the theme of the month or week is
and what is being read to them. In preschool, children seem to enjoy animal
themed books.
With
Kindergarten through first grade, the popular choice in book is normally
anything that is an easy leveled reader.
In second
through third grade, children choose easy chapter books with realistic fiction
as the genre, and books in series.
Fourth through
sixth graders enjoy realistic fiction chapter books series and graphic novels.
Teenagers enjoy Dystopia,
or Science Fiction, such as The Hunger
Games by Suzanne Collins and Divergent
by Veronica Roth. They also tend to follow authors’ lines of work.
Just as vampire and werewolves became a trend with sagas
such as Twilight by Stephenie Meyer,
with the shifting of forbidden romance to the societal controls of the future,
the shift is quick and can change at any given time, the more standing trend is
“a strong voice and a good hook” (Corbett, 2013, para. 7).
3.
What are parents of these children selecting or
requesting?
In the younger
children, parents seem to choose easy readers for their children to read on
their own. They also like interactive books such as Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems where their young
children can participate with the reading.
Parents also
seem to look for or request books they remember reading in their childhood.
Parents must be readers to know what books to request for
their child. Parents who are not readers, do not know where to start looking
for books for their child (Anderson, 2010).
With e-books, it
will depend of the type of reader. Most e-book readers are children that rather
read from an electronic device than pick up a book.
Tumble books, an
online collection of animated talking picture books (Tumble Book Library, n.d.), seem to be of
interest to young children.
If parents are readers, children will model their parents.
If parents are e-readers, children will be e-readers as well (Kennedy, 2014).
5.
Are audio books being used, borrowed, or requested?
There is no significant increase in
trends of audiobooks. Audiobooks are being used mostly for families that are
traveling. They will request an audiobook and play the audiobook while driving
long distances.
In addition,
audiobooks are mostly used for children that struggle to read by themselves. It
is used as a tool to help them follow along as it is read aloud to them.
“Audiobooks
can also be a key to the improvement of a child’s listening skill. Audiobooks
(in whatever format) provide an additional learning tool for young people”
(Kennedy, 2014, para. 8).
6. Have you seen a decrease or increase in interest or
the amount of children in the library searching for, reading, or requesting
books?
There has been
an increase of interest in reading and more children seem to be reading,
searching for, and requesting new books.
Children will visit libraries, browse bookshelves, and read
what interests them as their literary parents do (Kennedy, 2014).
7.
Have you noticed a gender or demographic gap in the
amount of children’s literature available or the desire to read books?
There is a
significant amount of strong female characters in trending and current books
and it seems that more girls in the high school setting are reading books than
boys, but there is no push or support for strong male characters. This is a
significant gap that should be addressed or there is potential for negative
effects on male students.
There is also a
significant gap between educational level of students as well as their wealth
level. For instance, children in poverty rarely borrow or read books for
reasons such as if they lose the book or are late bring it back they have no
money to pay the fines.
It also depends
on parental influence in reading. If parents are readers, children will more
likely be readers as well.
Boys may be resistant to reading because of a lack of interest
in the topic and content. They may also feel it is too passive and quiet when they
crave activity and interaction. Making connections to their interests and male-geared
reading can encourage more boys to love reading and become avid lifelong
readers (Short, Lynch-Brown, & Tomlinson, 2014).
8.
Has the issue of diversity or multicultural
education changed or influenced the trends or selection of children’s
literature by schools, teachers, parents, etc.?
In a small
community, diversity and multicultural books are offered but there is no
significant demand for it nor a big push for more placement of these books.
One
Spanish-speaking mom, read a multicultural book and commented that it was
nothing like the real thing.
"Cultural authenticity is important to ensure the book “reflects
the core beliefs and values and depicts the details of everyday life and
language for a specific cultural group” (Short, et. al., 2014, p. 220).
9.
Has technology and/or technology advances had a
positive or negative impact on children’s literature or more so the placement
of children’s literature into the hands of children?
Children read
differently because of the influence of technology and a fast-paced society.
Children have a shorter reading span, and they want the information fast.
Children will
read books related to the trending Internet game, TV show, or block-buster
movie.
There is however
a trend in non-fiction how-to books as there are more children interested in
how-to use technological advances such as the 3-D printer.
“Libraries are
trying to find space for all of these things because they realize that having
digital media is something they need to stay relevant” (Maughan, 2014, para.
8).
10.
How has the Internet affected children’s choices of
books and genre?
The Internet
creates a lot of visuals for students, which may or may not be a positive
effect. The Internet also has search engines, which make researching and
reading quick and focused to what they need.
In addition, whatever games or
interactive websites children are interested in is what they are willing to
read. An example is Minecraft, an interactive online game that allows the
player to build, destroy, create, and interact with other online players in a
pixelated 3-dimensional world. Children will pick up and read books related to
or about Minecraft.
There is some relevant concern that online media and
interactive gaming is so readily available in the same place where children
should be getting their “weekly allotment of books” (Maughan, 2014, para. 18).
As
children’s literature is important to make learning more interesting, so is the
content of the literature important to gaining student interest and keeping
them engaged in the reading and learning experience. As a teacher, it is
important to know the issues and trends of children’s literature and to keep
informed of what students’ interests are as well as what works in tying
literature to curriculum and the inescapable matter of the Common Core
Standards.
References
Anderson, N. A. (2010,
July 10). The value of children’s
literature. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/value-childrens-literature/
Corbett, S. (2013,
September 27). New trends in YA: The
agents’ perspective. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/59297-new-trends-in-ya-the-agents-perspective.html
Kennedy, E. (2014). Current trends in children’s literature:
What to expect in 2013. Retrieved from http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/readingresources/a/Current-Trends-In-Childrens-Literature.htm
Maughan, S. (2014,
February 17). PLA 2014: Seven Trends in Children's and Teen Library
Services. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/conferences/article/61101-pla-2014-seven-trends-in-children-s-and-teen-library-services.html
Short, K. G., Lynch-Brown, C., & Tomlinson, C.
M. (2014). Essentials of children’s
literature (8th e.d.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Tumble Book Library.
(n.d.). About the Tumble Book Library. Retrieved
from http://asp.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/home_tumblebooks.asp
