The Article

Each semester there is a question that catches Assistant Professor Laura Apol by surprise. During lively discussions in teacher education classes focusing on children’s literature and literary theory, a student inevitably asks, “But what does this have to do with kids?” In this article, Apol gives us her answer. In a full account about the role literary theory plays in the children's literature classroom, she addresses the gap that often exists between emphasizing a “correct” understanding of the text and focusing simply on how students react to a piece of literature. In doing so, Apol outlines an approach that combines both the theory and the practice of teaching literature to children.

Discussion

In recent years, classroom approaches to sharing literature with children have undergone significant change. Teachers have shifted from skills-based reading instruction to lessons using “real” books. Conversations about those books have shifted from straightforward comprehension questions to more literary and interpretive questions that allow students to weave together literature and the experiences of their own lives. But between these two approaches remains a rift, a lack of looking at texts critically and seeing the messages beneath the surface of stories, or delving more deeply into the meaning the stories contain. For example, in the story The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, a close reading of the text reveals the following layers: the explicit message is that good bunnies (or children) are obedient, and naughty ones are disobedient, while the implicit message is that girls are compliant and obedient, while boys are adventurous and mischievous.  Apol points out that the starting point for helping students notice these layers of messages is for them to become critical readers, and for teachers to be critical readers themselves. To that end, the understanding of multiple literary theories is crucial for teachers on all levels. Apol offers teachers numerous prompts to help students explore the relationship between the text, the author, the reader and the world. She suggests asking children about what the text does not say, what voices are not heard in the story and what might these voices say if they were included. Another approach is to get students thinking about what the author assumes the reader believes and values, and then to ask whether or not they as readers are willing to go along with those assumptions. Apol concludes that the study of literary theories deserves a central place in the children’s literature classroom as teachers themselves learn to evaluate the messages of a text and their own stance in regard to literature.

What It Means To You

Literary criticism can fill the gap between textbook comprehension and students’ open-ended responses. When students are taught to read critically, they not only become grounded in understanding of the text and the reader’s experience, but also in the ideologies and cultures of which both text and reader are a part. By combining “theory” and “practice” in the study of literature, teachers can find a meeting place that engages both text and reader, criticism and pedagogy in a way that has much — that has everything — to do with children.

For More Information

Apol, L. (1998). “But what does this have to do with kids?” Literary theory in children’s literature in the children’s literature classroom. Journal of Children’s Literature, 24(2), 32-46.

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