Disability in Modern Children's Fiction PDF Download

Author: John Quicke
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040029671
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 163

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Book Description
First published in 1985, Disability in Modern Children’s Fiction presents a case for the inclusion of a planned element in the mainstream curriculum, specifically designed to encourage positive attitudes and actions towards children with special needs, and for utilising the possibilities inherent in fiction for helping all children to explore their thoughts and feelings in this area. The central chapters of the book are concerned with a critical examination of specific texts, focusing on how they deal with disability in a story context. Books are grouped for discussion under common themes which have been teased out according to their contemporary relevance: the effects on the family of a severely disabled child; the struggle of a child with a disability for personal identity in oppressive social circumstances; the interaction between disability, race, gender and social class; the different reactions of ‘normal’ children towards disabled peers; the failings of the medical approach to disability; love, sex, adolescence and disability; the relationship between children and handicapped adults. The penultimate chapter is concerned with an evaluation of picture books and quasi-fiction for younger children. This book will be of interest to students of disability studies, pedagogy and literature.

Author: Lois Keith
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 9780415937399
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Heidi, The Secret Garden, and Pollyanna are all classic "girls' books, " featuring a miracle cure of an invalid character who literally gets up and walks away from illness or paralysis. Such stories were common in Victorian novels and they implicitly conveyed the idea that disability and physical suffering were punishment for wrongdoing: unruly girls could not enter womanhood unless they were tamed, and an accident was the perfect plot device for this transformation. Other characters, like Helen Burns in Jane Eyre or Beth in Little Women, were just too good to live, and died so that another character could be redeemed by their example. Lois Keith points out in this study that the temptation to either cure or kill off disabled characters has surprising tenacity. The widespread belief that a disabled life isn't a full life and that patients can cure themselves through force of will endures to the present day. In Take Up Thy Bed & Walk, Lois Keith brings her lively and observant eye to the classic books of childhood from Jane Eyre, Heidi, and Pollyanna, to modern American classics such as Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie and Judy Blume's Deenie. Keith explores the recurring images of impairment and ill health in literature and asks the reader to reconsider the messages they send to a devoted young audience. This book is also a testament to the singular passion with which these books are read by younger readers and reminds us of the intensity of our own reading experience as children.

Author: Tina Taylor Dyches
Publisher: Council Exceptional Children
ISBN: 9780865863675
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
This volume is third in a series of 10 publications intended to provide practical or trend-oriented information related to serving children and youth with mental retardation, autism, and other developmental disabilities. Chapter 1 discusses the history of characters with mental retardation or developmental disabilities in children's literature. Chapter 2 highlights the positive portrayal of characters with mental retardation or developmental disabilities in quality children's literature. Current trends and values are discussed, as well as general aspects of quality literature and illustrations in children's books. Chapter 3 discusses strategies for using children's books that include characters with mental retardation or developmental disabilities, including concept infusion and guided discussion techniques. The rest of the book includes appendices with annotated bibliographies of fictional picture books and fictional chapter books, activities for using children's literature including characters with mental retardation or developmental disabilities, and an explanation of the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award. Annotated bibliographies include information on the content regarding mental retardation or developmental disabilities and content regarding other curricular areas. Each book is rated in its quality. (Contains 10 references.) (CR)

Author: Miles Beauchamp
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
ISBN: 1627345302
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This book, by Beauchamp, Chung, Mogilner and Svetlana Zakinova examines how authors have used characters with disabilities to elicit emotional reactions in readers; additionally, how writers use disabilities to present individuals as "the other" rather than simply as people. Finally, the book discusses how literature has changed, or is changing, with regards to its presentation of those with a disability.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780946581115
Category : Children with disabilities
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description

Author: Abbye E. Meyer
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1496837606
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Uses of disability in literature are often problematic and harmful to disabled people. This is also true, of course, in children’s and young adult literature, but interestingly, when disability is paired and confused with adolescence in narratives, compelling, complex arcs often arise. In From Wallflowers to Bulletproof Families: The Power of Disability in Young Adult Narratives, author Abbye E. Meyer examines different ways authors use and portray disability in literature. She demonstrates how narratives about and for young adults differ from the norm. With a distinctive young adult voice based in disability, these narratives allow for readings that conflate and complicate both adolescence and disability. Throughout, Meyer examines common representations of disability and more importantly, the ways that young adult narratives expose these tropes and explicitly challenge harmful messages they might otherwise reinforce. She illustrates how two-dimensional characters allow literary metaphors to work, while forcing texts to ignore reality and reinforce the assumption that disability is a problem to be fixed. She sifts the freak characters, often marked as disabled, and she reclaims the derided genre of problem novels arguing they empower disabled characters and introduce the goals of disability-rights movements. The analysis offered expands to include narratives in other media: nonfiction essays and memoirs, songs, television series, films, and digital narratives. These contemporary works, affected by digital media, combine elements of literary criticism, narrative expression, disability theory, and political activism to create and represent the solidarity of family-like communities.

Author: Arpita Sarker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Children's literature in India has evolved in the last two decades. It has begun a journey towards challenging our perspective of the ideal or perfect child represented in many stories pre- and post-independence. The new wave of children's literature in India strives to be inclusive and widen the scope of childhood experiences portrayed through children's literature. Authors and publishers incorporate diverse characters and include topics and issues earlier considered taboo. Disability is one such topic that found minimal representation in children's literature in the past. Authors and publishers have come forward and attempted to tell stories about children with disability and represent their diverse experiences of childhood in India in these stories. Children's literature work as a mirror, window, and sliding door for child readers. Representation of disability in these stories can help children feel acknowledged, understand other experiences, and sometimes offer interaction with disability in different ways. But this world for children is created and nurtured by adults. They write, publish, buy, and teach these books to children. It is essential to understand how adults approach children's literature and the world they create for children with/without disabilities through their representation of disability. Through this dissertation, I aim to understand adults' perspectives by collaboratively working with adults (authors, publishers, parents, and teachers) in four groups engaged in creating, circulating, and consuming children's literature. I use qualitative methods to work collaboratively with my participants to understand their politics, intentions and experiences engaging with children's literature. As some of my participants identify as disabled, I engage in learning about their experiences of disability and discuss children's literature texts through individual interview and focus group discussion. The conversations have introduced me to their pedagogic practices, which present issues and discourses that define the everyday experiences of disability. Basing my study on the idea of "Nothing about us without us," I work closely with persons with disability and highlight the loopholes in the representational politics of disability in children's literature and publishing. I spend time understanding the representation of disability in children's literature. This work suggests that, however, the representation and creation of characters, even from a well-intentioned perspective, often fail to comprehend the complexities of the experience. In the process, such representation has the potential to suggest ableist views. Most writers are able-bodied writers, so they are unaware of the effect specific, realistic representation can have on the readers. My findings suggest that stories about disabled childhood should be written in collaboration with persons with a disability, offering a realistic and timely representation of the experiences. Apart from the representational politics, the study confirms that perspectives about disability in India is more rooted in local and community understanding of disability rather than governmental or institutional. However, it is also noted, that governmental and institutional understanding and labelling of disability affect the lives of people with disability as they move away from the comfort of their community. The research also cautiously attempts to explore the politics of disability in Indian society by delving into the accessibility and materiality of the texts addressing the geopolitical and economic effects of accessibility of texts. The politics of publication and circulation of texts contradict each other. The stories of marginalized children with disability remain accessible to a large section of child readers belonging to marginalized sections of society. My study focuses on disability in South Asia specifically, India. The intention behind situating the work in India and working with persons with disability from India was to participate and attempt in the decolonizing process of knowledge and ableism. By engaging and collaborating with my participants who self-identify as disabled or have identifiable disabilities I attempted to understand their experiences of disability rooted in local, indigenous, communal as well as colonial perceptions of disability. The work when situated within local knowledges and experiences, addresses the many complex intersectionalities such as caste, class and gender with disability offering a wide range of experience specific to India. These interactions and findings make the work go beyond Western and Eurocentric ideas of disability and redefine disability from an Indian perspective. My study deals specifically with adult pedagogies and does not expand or include children and their perspective of stories representing disability. Due to the time, accessibility, and Covid-19 pandemic's limitation, I was unable to interact with children in India and hence, focused on adults. This study can be seen as a multi-phased study where my dissertation is part of the initial phase where I work with adults and the second phase will be working and reading these books with children. This study can initiate an important conversation about disability representation and understand the role stories play in children as well as adults understanding of the world and disability. As children's literature is an essential resource for dialogue with children, authors, publishers, teachers, and parents must be more mindful of their discourse and politics in creating this world. The disparity in politics and reality reduces children's readership and access to a world they should be a part of. Adults' continued investment in children's world should bridge this gap. However, attempts are being made, but it remains minimal in the scope of the population of children in India. The stories we create and circulate for children need careful development to ensure it offers empowering stories which celebrate the experiences rather than overcoming narratives of disability. We also need to include more authors and publishers for better representation and accessibility of children's literature to authentically widen the world of these stories and widen the readership through accessibility.

Author: David Waugh
Publisher: Learning Matters
ISBN: 1473993954
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
How can you help children to develop a love of reading and books? Which books are the best ones to use in primary teaching? How do you make the most of children′s literature in teaching across the curriculum? Trainee and experienced primary school teachers need an advanced knowledge of children′s literature. This is your guide to the range of and scope of children′s literature for the primary classroom. Through the exploration of different genres it covers a wide range of literature and helps you to consider what we mean by literature. Case studies that model good practice are included with suggestions for practical activities using literature to enhance teaching across the curriculum. Throughout, book recommendations show how specific texts can be used for teaching in exciting and innovative ways. What′s new to this edition? - updated in line with the new Primary National Curriculum - includes new content on supporting children for whom English is an Additional Language - an extensive list of book recommendations for primary teaching - how to get more out of classic texts - introduces new texts and new children′s authors

Author: Susan Baglieri
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415993725
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
This work's mission is to integrate the fields of disability studies and inclusive education. It focuses on the broad, foundational topics that comprise disability studies (culture, language, history, etc.) and moves into the more practical topics normally associated with inclusive education.

Author: Linda C. Salem
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0897899350
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
This supplement to standard children's literature textbooks will be a help to instructors as they engage their students in discussions about selection of materials, censorship, dealing with curricular issues, the need to understand administrative policies, community beliefs, and their responses to these issues. It is designed to help instructors discuss books in ways that inspire collegiality, collaboration, and scholarship in book evaluation and selection. Using actual case studies, resource reviews and/or scenarios of censorship, religion, violence, ethnicity and other issues, the instructor will be able to encourage discussion and reflective thought about real issues faced by teachers and librarians as they select materials for classroom or school library use. This supplement to standard children's literature textbooks will be a help to instructors as they engage their students in discussions about selection of materials, censorship, dealing with curricular issues, the need to understand administrative policies, community beliefs, and their responses to these issues. It is designed to help them discuss books in ways that inspire collegiality, collaboration, and scholarship in book evaluation and selection. Using actual case studies, resource reviews and/or scenarios of censorship, religion, violence, ethnicity and other issues, the instructor will be able to encourage discussion and reflective thought about real issues faced by teachers and librarians as they select materials for classroom or school library use. Guides for possible resources for help in researching situations will be included. This will prove a very valuable resource in teaching children's literature courses in schools of education and library schools, and useful to practicing teachers and librarians as well. Though the book is slanted toward the use of books as classroom materials, it will be a valuable asset to a school library's professional collection and certainly valuable to the training of pre-service teachers and school librarians. Each chapter begins with a bibliographic essay that introduces the topic to the reader. The essay is designed as a starting point for further discussion and research. A list of references for each chapter is provided at the end of the chapter. These references represent sources teachers can use to conduct further research to find multiple perspectives about books.