A studyof Fifty Years of NewfoundlandChildren's Literature and the compilation of an Annotated Bibl iography,
1940-1990
by
Gillia n Ma rti nNoonan, B.A. (Hons . ), B.Ed. (Prim.), M.L .loS.
A Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the reqv.irementsfor the degree of
Master of Education
FaCUlty of Education Memo r i a l university of Newfoundland
1993
st. John's Newfoundland
11+11
NalionalLibraryot caoaoa B,blio!hequc l...11101l.11e
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AcquisitiOnsand Direction desaC<1u1sil'0I1S01 BibliographicSevcesBranCh des serviceslllbllO{lrapl\l qll C'S
3!lSWoI."I¥on5t<ool 3<JS."",Wcl''''!l!OIl
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The au thor has grant ed an irrev oc able non-exclusivelicence allowing the Nation alLibraryof Canada to reproduce, loan, distribute or sell cop ies of his/herthesisbyany means and in any form or format,making this thesis availabl eto interested person s.
The au thor reta insownership of thecopyright in his/herthesis.
Neitherthe thesisnor subst anti al extracts fromitmay be printed or otherwise reproduced without his/herpermission.
L'auteur aaccor deune licen c e irrevoca bl e et non exclus ive permett ant
a
la Bibliothequ e nationale du Canad a de reprcduire ,preter,distrlbuer ou vendre des cop ies de sa these de quelque manlere et sous quelqueforme que cesoit pour mettre des exem pla iresde cette these it la disp osition des personn oslnteressees .L'auteur conser ve la proprtetedu droit d'auteur qui protege sa these. Nila thes enidesextraits substantiels de celle-ci ne doivent etre impnmes ou autrement reproduits sans son autorisa ti on.
ISBN0-3 15 -91631-1
Canada
Abstract
The purpose of thisstu d y wastoexamine cri tically Newfoundlandchildren'sliterature fro n: 1940to199 0 to as c e r t a i n the quantity and the quality of these books, and to provide usars of the literatu re\<litha sel e c ti o n tool in the form of an an n ot a t e d bi bliography. Newfoundl an d ch i l d r e n ' s literature wasdefined asbe ingthosebooks written by Newfoundland e r s , published in Newfound land (excludingbooks whose rightswere purchased from the internationalmarket), or containingasig n ific a nt Newfoundland theme. Anthologies and bookswrittensolely fo r informational purposes have been excluded. Eighty ti t l es were located through searches of the catal ogues of the Curriculum Materials Centre in the Faculty of Educat i on at Memorial Universityof Newfoundland, the Newfoundland Room of the Queen Elizabeth II Library at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the Newfoundland Publi c Libraries; and examination of available publishers' catalogues, a number of standard referenceand bibliographic aids, and eve published annotated bibliographies of Newfoundland materials. sixty-eightbooks were found for personal review and were evaluated followinginternati onally accepted guidelines for excej.jence. A unified narrative discussionof books for readers under 8 years, readers aged 9 to 12 years, and readers aged 13 to 18 years was prepared.
A separatedescriptiveand critical annotated bibliography
i i
with ac c ompa nyingre c o mme nd at i on swa s providedfor ready refe r e nce . Ba sed on the exa minati on andevaluati o nof the sixty-eigh t book s , anumberof co nclus i on sweredra wn regarding thequant i tyof book s ava il a ble :the qual i tyot text, illustr llti on. and techni c al prod uct i on : as well as the ST-a teof Newfou ndl and chil d r e n ' s booksas a bodyof lite r a t u r e. A number of recommendat i o n s weremade in th e in t ere s t of ins u ringth e continuedde velop mentof a Newfou ndlandchildren 'sli teratur eot excell ence wit h appeal both in Newfoundlandand in the wider communityof re a d e rs.
iii
A.cknowledgements
Many heartfelt thanks are expressedto my parentsand my brotherfor their cont in u e d supp ort ,enc ou ragemen t, and conf idencethrough outmy education,and especi allyduring the writing of this thesis.
Thanksare alsoextended to PattiLynnandCh ri sto p her for al lthe li t t l e but very importantthingsthat they did throug ho utthis undertak ing .
To the ladies in the CUrriculu m Ma t er i a l s centre, Memorialuniversityof Newfoundland, my gratitudeand thanks for theirhe lp,courtes y, interes t , and understanding.
To Dr. Betty Bret t forhe r helpandcr i t ici s m in completingthis thesis,my thanksand appre ciation forall her wor k.
TO MaureenKent for looking after the finaltypi·...g and printingof my wor k, my sincere thanks.
And finally tomyhusb a nd, Pad dy, my deepest thanksfo r his patienceand understand i ng as I workedtowa rds completingal l thelit t l e bits tha t needed to be done.
iv
DEDICATION
To myson , Matthew Al wa y s strive for excellence
butre me mlJe r to gi ve your roots rain.
Tab le of Con t e nt s
Pag e Abstract ... .•. . .•...•.... . .... ...•.•... . . i i Acknowledgelle uts•... . ... .. • •... ... ... ... . ... tv Dedi cation ..•...•...•. ...•• . . ...•.• •... ...
CHAPl' ERONE•• ••••• •••• •••••••••••••••• •••••• • • •• •••••
The Study .•• •..•. .•.•• ... .•.•.. •....•. .•. • ...
Sta t e me n t of the Prob l e m .
Purpo s e .•.. . . • . . ..• . •. ... . ..• ... . ...•. significance of the Study ..•....• . .... . .. . . Defin it i on •. .•.•.••...•...••.•....•.... .. Lim i ta t.io ns ..• •. •.. .••• •..•....•... . ... ... . orga ni za tio n•.••.•...•.. ...•... ... .... . ..
ClIAPT ER TWO ••••• •••••••••••••••••••••• •••• ••••••••••• Methodoloqy.•••..•••... .•. .•••••••.• •.. •. .•.. .•.
Esta b lis h i ng st an d ards •••.•.• . . .. ..•.. . .. .. Ide nti fi c at i o nOt"apreliminary List .. •.. . • Exa mi na tionofthe Ma t e rials •••.•... .. .•. .. 14 Examina tion of Publish ed ReviewlI•. .• •. ... 15 Prep a r atio nofaDes cr i p tiveandcri tical
Ana l ysi s •. • . • • ..• ...•.•• •.. .•.. . . • . 16 Prepa rat ionof the Anno t a ted Bibliography .. 16
vi
Page CHAPI' ER THREE•• . •••.• •.•.• •• •••••••. • •.••• ••••••••••• 18 Backgroundto the study••... •.•.•••. ..• •..•.• 18 The Nature of Children 'sLite r a t u r e . .... . .. 18 Elementsof Exc ellence inChildren's
Li t e r a t u r e •••••• •••••••.•••• • • ••••.•• • 25
CRAPI' ER FOUR. .. ... ... . ... ... .. ... ... . .. ... . . 35 Books for the Ycunger Readers •. • •• • ••• .•••..•••• 3!;
CHAPI'ERFIVE.. . . ... ... ... ... . ... ... ... 57 Books fortheMi ddl e Gr ad es •••• ••• • ••• • • • •• •• ••• 57
CRAPI'ER SIX...•••• ••.•••••• • ••• • • • ••• •• ••• .••••• • •••• 86 Books for Ol derReaders•••• • ••••• •.••••• • • ••••.• 86
CHAPI'ER SEVEN•. .•• .•• ••••• ••• ••• • ••••••• ••••• •••••••• 132 Summary, Co nc lusionsand Recommen da tions . ... .. 132 Summary •• •• ••••• • •• •• •• ••••••• • ••• •••••• ••• 13 2 Co nc lus i o ns ••••••• • •••• • •••.• •. •• ••• ••••• • 138 Recom.mendations•••• ••••••.•• •••••••••••• • • • 147
References .••• •••••••• •••••••• •• • •• •• • ••.•••••••.••• • 15 0
vii
pa q e
PART II
An Anno tatedSibliography of Newfoundland
Children's~iterature . 1940 -19 9 0 •••. ... . 157 Int roduct i o n •• •••• • • ••••• ••••• • • • • •. . • . . . .. 158 Books tor Yo u n<;;"e r Readers •• ••• •••• • •• • . • ..• 163 Booksfo r the Mi ddl e Grades ••• • ••••.• ••• • • • 17 2 Books forOlde r Readers •••• ••••• • •••••••••• 180
APPENDIX A•••••••••••• •• •••• •.• •• ••••• •• •• •• • • . .•.••• 19) Guide l ine s fo r Eva luat ing Ch ild re n'sLi t e rat ure 194
APPENDIXB •••••• •• • •••••••• • •• ••• • •• •• • ••• ••••••••• • • 19 7 Ann otations ofRevie wi n g Pe riodicals
"8
APPENDIX C •••••• •• •••• •• ••••• ••••• •• ••••• •••••••••••• 199 Titles Found, No Book Loca t e d ... . . .. .... 200
vi i i
CHAP'1:'ER ONE Th e st'ldy
In he r landmark wock, The Unrelu ctan t Years (1953 ), Lil lianSmith wrotethat "goodchildren'sbooks givetho s e who enjoy them a st eadying powe r, li k e a sheetan c h o r in a high wind, ..•somp.thingtohold on to". (p. 16) Good ch il d r e n'sliterature supports and en hancesa child's perr.:eptionsof reality, for not only should it acknowledge what a child knowsaboutthe worldbut also it must build.
uponthis kn owle dg e . Newfuundlandchildren'sliterature , li ke any children'sliterature , shouldenrich itsreaders' li v e s asit expj.oxe s the human experience. It may also ill umi n a t e their understanding ofth e~eWft;drldlan-l_
experience , past,pr e s e n t an dfuture, thu s , providing for the child-readera sense of belongingand identity . Inany case,the literaturemust measureup to the standards sel by scholars in the field of literature generally and childrenIs literature, inpa r t i c u l a r.
NeWfoundland 'schildren'sl iterature ha s developed considerably over thepast fifty ye a::s , bot h inquantityand quality. Theune v enne s s of thequality, however,mustbe acknowledged. Critica l exami nation mustbeund e rt a ke n so that the excel lencewh ichdoes exis t inNe wf oundla nd ' s children'sl iteratu rewill berec og n i z e d and so that all authors in fut u re work s will st rivefor ex c e llen c e.
§.t.atement of problem
ReC-2ntly educators have given inc r e a s e d attent ionto both children'sI iterat u reandthe child ren's own envi r onment andcu l t ure. The reBu l t has been an tnc ru aac in theuseof child r e n's literature in thecla ss roo m and a strongpreference on th~ part of classroomtea che r s tousc local materialwherever possible. So that childrenmay have access to books of excellence,both local and otherwise , carefulselection is critical. with the large and gr owing nu1'\ber ofch i l d r e n'sboo k s available , such sel ec t i o n has become increasinglydifficul t. Professionaltoolsforth e selection of children'sbooks existin the form ofcritic a l articles, reviews, recommended lists of titles, and other such bibliographic aids, both current and retrospect-ive.
Few such comprehensive selection aids are available fo r Newfoundland children'sbooks,however, slnc e those books have not generally been subject to rigorous critic i smand evaluation.
~
The purpose ofth i s study, based on th... prob lem identifiedabove, is a three-foldone. The purpose of the st u d y is:
a. To compilea listinq, as complete as possible, of those books which have beenidentified as Newfoundland
childr e nIs boo ks , accoz-df.nq to the definitionadopted for the study.
b.To examine andto applyacceptedstandardsof excellenceto thisbody of lit e rature, so tha t a critical perspective....ill existfor professionals interestedin the use of Newfound landchild r e n's li t eratu r e.
c. To offer some guida ncein the useand promotion of the best inNe wf oun d l a nd1s childrenISli t e r ature , primarily throughanannotated bibliogra phy.
Significanceofth eStudy Wi th the inc reas ing interestinand us e ofloc a l chiLdr-enss lite ra t ure bycl as sroom teachers and withthe increasein the amount of local mater ialavaila b l e , th e ca r e f ul selection ofwork of high qual i t yha s taken onadded significance. Unfort unately, guida ncein selectingand promotingsuch materi alis limited. Some assist ance is provided bythe Depar tmen t of Educa tion, whic h supp lie s sc hoo ls wit hloca l material. Bibliograph i c co nt r ol inthi s area is, ncvevex, ina de quat e. Witho ut suc h co nt r o l , it is of t en difficul t forcreeercen teachers and teacher librer.ria ns todi s c o verwha t is er.ver.ilabl eand to ma ke informed de c i s i o ns about what topurchase. Thi s lac k Of bibliog rap hiccont r olhasundo ub t e d ly be en one ofthe contri bu tingfactorsin the d.isappearan c e of some worthy mate rialfrom publishe r sI in-print lists.
At present, the re is a pressingneed for an inf o rme d crit ica l ana lys isof local material, not onlyto aid those resp onsiblefor its se l ectio nin the school s , butalso to encou ra ge the hig h e s t li te r a ry and aestheticstandardson the partofthe au thors andillustrators th e ms el v e s. As we l l, a strongcri t icis mmayserve to encouragehigh sta n da rds intex tual, i l lu stra ti v e , and ph y s icalqua l ity of thema te r i al from the pu b li sh ing indus try. Ahealthy criticismof Ne Wf o u nd l a n d ' s children'slite ratu reis also vit alto ensure th a t thechildrenin Ne wf ound landschools have exposu retothebest.
For pu rposesofthis study , Newfo und land childr en's lit erature wi ll be ide n tified and defined by thegu ide lines outlinedbelo w:
1. Bo okswhicharefictional in con t ent . Wo r k swhi ch aredesign e d pu rel yfor informat iona l purpo s es wi ll be exc lude d ;
2. Books wh i ch have bee npub)Lsh e d inNewfoundland. Booksoriginallypubli shed eLe ewheze hut fo r which a local publ i sherhas purchas ed publishingri gh t s fromthe internat ional ma rket will be incl uded onlyif they fi tinto cate gory J or 4 below;
J. Books whichha vebeen published els e whe r ebut ha v e bee nwr i t ten byNewfoundl anders;
4. Books which have been published elsewhere , and are notwrittenby Hewfoundlanders, but have a significantHe....foundland theme. Anthologies, even if theyinc l ud e d a story or poemvith a Newfoundland theme, are not includedbecause the major ityof them have themes broader than Newfoundland.
~
To be effective ,a study of this nature should be as exhaustive as possible. Limitations ,however, are unavoidable. This study will attempt to examineall boo ks pUblished between1940 and 1990 that meet the definitionof Newfoundlandchildren's literature, as set out above.
While an attempt will be made toinc l ud e all published ....orks in the period under stUdy, some books Illay bemi s s e d.
There areci r c ums t a nc e s Which make i t difficulti fnot impossible to loc a t e all pUblications. Some books may be out of print . A lack of standard bibliographic sources in this area may mean that no formal record of a particular work exists. conversely, the record of a book may exist but a co py of the book lllay not be available. Books published outside of Newfoundland ....ith a significant Newfoundland theme may provedifficult to find, considering the vast numbers of books published within the period.
Qrga nh a tioo
Thi s workiareported in twosec tions. Part One presentsa re port ofthe actua l study. Part Two co ntainsan ann o tat ed bib liography ofNewfoundlandchildren's literature. Part One ismadeupof sevenchapter s. Chapter1 prov idesan introductionto thestudy, inc ludinga statementof the pro blem, the purposeof the study, the signi fi c an ceofthe st ud y, the definitionof the study, and th e limitations of the study . Cha pte r2outlinesthe m....thodoloqy of thest udy. Chapter 3,Which exa mi ne s the natureof child renly li t e r ature and the elements of excellencein childre nIS l iterature,providesthe backgro und tor the stUdy. Chap te r 4, Books forYounlJer Readers, providesa cri t ical re v lew ofbooksappropri ate for childre n und e r 8 yearsof eqe, Cha p t e r S. Boolts for theKiddI e Gr a d e s, providesa critical revie wofbooks appropriate fo r childrenfrom age s8 to 12. Chapter6, Books forOld e r Readers. provide sa critical revie wof books appro pr i a tefor children fromages13 to 17. Cha pter7prov i desthesumma ry of the stUdywith a nWlberof re e eeeeneaetee e, A bibliograph yof wo r k s citedis also incl uded.
PartTwo , wh ich ispr i mar il yinte ndedto be a usefu l bibl iograph i c tool an d select i onai d, Icru ceean int rodu c tio nto r te a chers , and an annotatedbibliogra phyof Newfoun d l a ndchild ren 's literaturewith recommend a tio ns.
CHAPTER TWO Methodology
In attemptingto fulfil the purpos e s ofthis study a numberof steps were followed. Inthis chapter ,thesesteps
identifiedand de s c r i bed .
Establishi ng sta nd a rds
In order to establishsome evaluativestandards whi ch might be adopted in the examinationof the body of work whichcan be considered Newfoundland ch ildre n ' s li t e r atu r e , ast Ud yof related lite r a t u r e was undertaken. Since the literaturepertaining to excellenceinchildren'sli terature is large, the studywas limi ted. Works publishedsince 1970 dealing with the philosophyand criticism of Children's literature,with special at tentionto those elementswh i c h cont r ibuteto excellence , we re examined . Two exceptions were made inthe exami nationof PaulHazard'sBooks Children
~ (19 60 ) and Lillian smith's The UnreluctantYears (1953). Exceptions were made in the case ofthe s e la ndma r k worksbecauseofthe notableinf luenceHazard and Smithha v e had upon >.he developmentof a criticismof children 's literature. Pa r t i c ula rat t e nt i o n wasgiven to works by Canad ianssuch as Egoff , Brett, Smith, Saltman , and Sloan becauseof the sUbject of thestudy.
The philosophical underpinningsof the crite r iafor jUdging excellenceinchildren ls lite r a t u reweregenera lly
agreedupo n inthe literatureexamined. Thest a te mentof enese cr ite ria , however, diff eredwith eac hind ividua l aut ho r. The wr iter , there fore , ee e aeeeto usethe comp r e he ns i v e statementofcr i t e r i a devel op ed by Huck. (Jrd ed;, 1979, pp. 16- 17 ) Permissionto dosowas so ug ht and gr ant e d. (see AppendixA) Reference is madeinth i s state mentto the foll owingarea s ofconce r nin the evaluationof children'sliterature.
Plot -- Is the plot well constructed, plausible and cr e d i b l e ?
Setting-- Whereand when does th e storytak epl ace?
Is it an aut he ntic setting?
Theme -- Isthe themeuniversalin na t u r e? Is it worthy of imparting to children?
Characterization -- How are the characters rev ealed?
Are the characters convincingand cr ed i b l e ?
style -- Is thest y l e of writing appropriate for the story? How does the authorcr e a t e mood?
Format -- Do the illustrat ions extend and enhancethe story? How sturdyis the bindi ng?
The literatu research,which provided the general background forthe study of Newfoundlandchildren's li t e r a t ur e, is reported 1ndetail in Chapte r J. specific details related to partiCUlarliterarygenr es , also a pa rt of the litera turesearc h , appearintheappropriatesections of chapters 4, 5, and 6.
Ident i ficatiQn Qf a Prelimi naryList The books examined in the study wereidentif iedin several....ays.
a) The cata logues of the Curriculum Materia lsCen tre in the Fac Ul tyof Educa tionatMe mo r i a l unive rsityof Ne....foundland, theNe wf o un d l a nd Roomat the Queen Eliza beth IILibrary of theMe mor i al Univer sityof Ne wf oundl a nd, and ...he Ne wf ound l a nd PublicLi brarieswe r e examinedto compile a pre l i mi na ry list of books. The sea r c h ofthe holdings of the Curricul ulllMateria lsCentre was the most suc c e s s f ul. Thisis not surprising , howeve r , since i tLsagene r al pOlicy or t.he Ce ntretoinclud e in its hold ings at le a s t one copyof all Newfo undla nd pub lications fo r childr en.
Eighteenof thetwe nty titlesidentifiedfor you nge r readers, twelve of the fiftee n titl e s identi f iedfor th e middlegrades ,and ei ght e e n of the twenty-four ti t le s identified for olde r reade rs, were loc a t e d in th e hol di ngs of the Curriculum Mat eri als Ce nt r e .
Man yof the titl e s foun d inthe CUr ricu lum Mate r ials Cent re we re alsoincludedin the hold i ng s of the Ne wfo un dla ndPublicLib ra ries. Sevenadd i tiona l titl e s pub l ished fr om1940-199 0were fo und in the Ne wfoundla nd Publ ic Li brari e s ca t a l og ue.Th e re wa s jus t onetitleof ....hichno copy could be foundafter severalsearc hes. Thi s particular ite m,Melville Th i stle1s Pete r theSeaTr out , was publi shed by Ryersonin19 54 . Itis inc l ude dinAppe n dixC
10 withten other titles forwh i c h no copy was available for personal examination.
The catalogue of the NewfoundlandRoomat the Queen El izabethII Library contained many of the same titles that had al readybeen identified. Threeadditionaltitles fo r old e r readers,however, we r e added.
The searchesof these th r e e catalogues identified above yielded fifty-nine t i t leswhich comprised the prelim inary list.
b) An examinationof all availableNeWfoundla nd PUblishers' cat a logues....as then undertaken to supplementthe preliminary li s t.All availablecataloguesof Breakwater Books, JespersonPress, and Harry CUffPublications we r e examined. One newtit l e was found inthe BreakwaterBooks catalogue. No new titl e s were foun d in the others.
cj An exa mi na tio n of a nutnber ofst a nd a r d ref e r ence andbibliogra phicaids was made. Th issearch pr ove d to be difficul tfo r two reasons. First, "Newfoundland" was no t amo ng the sUbject headingsincluded. Second, the vast numbers of books pr-Lnt.ed in Englishmadeth e reading of all individ ua l an notatio nyimpractical , if not impossible. The wr i te r, the r e f ore, decided to limit th issearch to Canadian referenceand bi bl iogr a ph i c aidshe l d by theCurr icUlum Mate r i al s Cent re. Inmakingthisde c is i on, thewri t e r was acutelya....are that material publi s h e d outside of Newfou ndland, butwi th some Newfoundlandconnectioncould
11
ea sily be lost. The writerwasconfident, however, that the holdingsof theCent r e would repre sent areasonably comp r e he ns i v e collection ofCanadian referenceand bibliograph ic alds. Inthi s se a r c h, the following works were examined:Children'Schoicesof CanadianBooks (1980- 1991) , Vo l u me s1-7; Canadian Books for Young PeopleI Livres ca n a d i a ns pour10 ieunesse (1988); AtlanticBookCh o i c e.
~e nd e d Canadianand Regional Titlesfor an Elementary Sc h o o l Library Collec t i o n (1983 ) : Atlan t i c BookChoice Recommende dCanadi a nand Regional Titlesfor a Juni or-Se nio r HighSchool I,ibraryCQlle~(1984) ; Animal World in CanadianBooks for Children andYo u n g people I I.e mande animalda n s les llynsde ieunessecanadiens (1983 ) ; ~ and Adyenturein CanadianBooks for Children and Young Peop1 e I Romans pol iciers et histoires d'aventures sanautsna poyr 1a jeunesse(1 9 8 3 ) ; and Picturesto Share: Illu s t r a t i o n in Can adia nChild ren'sBooks I Imagepourtou s '
Illustrationde livres canadiens po u r enfants (1987) . In Children'sChoices of CanadianBooks,Volumes1-7 . twen ty-seventi t l e s were identified. Fourofthe s e titles were additions to the pre lim inary li st. only Pau lKropp's
~ (Collier Mac mill an , 1988) could notbe foun dfor exa:nination.
In Ca nadia nBOOks for You ng Pe o pl e I Livrescanadiens pour 121 jeu nesse, thi rt e e nti t l e s wereidentified . Oneof theseti t le s wasanaddition toth e preliminary l i s t.
12 In AtlanticBook Choice: Recommended Canadian and RegionalTi t lestor an Elemen tarySchgol library Coll ection , thr e e titles were id e n t if i e d . No addi t ionswere made tothe preliminary list.
InAtL;DtiC Bo o k Choice' Recommended Canadianand ReglondTi t lesfo r aJu n i g r-s enio r High scho ol Library
~. seven titleswe r e iden tified. No additionswe r e madeto the prelimi nary li s t .
In AnimalWor ldinCanadian Books for Childrenand YoungPeople II.e Mondeanimal da ns le s Bvres dejeune-sse
~, no titles were id e n t i f i e d.
InMy stl! ry and Adve ntu re inCanadian Bo oksfor children and young pe o pl e I Ro ma n s po] feie nat histoiresd' <;! v e n t u r e s canadianspo u r18 je un e s se, one titlewas identified. No additions were made toth e prelim inarylist.
In .fi..£.tures to Share' Illustra tion in cana!ili!n Children's Books I Imag e s po urto u s' Ill ustrationde livrea canadiens po ur en fllots, two t itles wereid e nt i f i e d. No additIonswe'remade totheprel i llll na ry list.Whe nitwas later d!scc)Veredth a t Leg saisonsde lamer had ceen tran sla t ed intoEnglish, it wasincluded.
Thepreliminarylist nowcontained 66 titles.
d) 'r'ne Annota t e d Bibl i og raph yof Ne wf ou ndl a nd l:lrt§J:ials fo r School Libraries Put I --Print (1980) compi ledby Audrey Hisco ckand Li ndaBrai ne wastheonl y existing bib liog raphy of Newfou nd landma teria ls with
13 relevance tochi l d r e n that ....as initiallylocated. As a consequence of anexaminationof this referencesourc e, eleve ntitles wereidentified and added to the preliminary list. Oftheseel e ven, twowere located. One vas~ forLabrador, previously inc l ude d on the preliminarylistas
~. The other was Lukey Paul From Labrador.
At thi s pointin the search, the writer felt that all obvious sources had been examined and the resultinglist was ree;,sonablycomplete. The preliminary list nowco nt a i n e da totalof 76 titles.
Later, the writerdiscovered another annotated bi~lioqraphyof Newfoundland books. Simpson's "A sefeee bibliography of Newfoundland children's books, 1970-1990"
(1992) was published whle this enudy was in progress. Three additional titles were added to the list,bringing the total to 79 titles. All threeof these t i tleswere located.
e) Initially, a division of the preliminarylistinto in-p r i nt and out-ot-printli s t s was planned. The writer now decidedthat such a division wouldse rve no usefulpurpose, si nce so many of the books on the preliminary list were out- of-print , even though they werereadily availablefor examination. Instead, the list was roughly divided into three categories: books for younger readers, books for thp middlegrades, and books for older readers. The prel iminary divi sionswert:made using information ascertainedfromthe cataloguesor bibliographies in which the boo'cs were
14
orig inally found. The placement of each. item Wo u l d be testedla t e r whe n allavailable materialwas personally examined.
Examination of theMa t e d al5
since the majority of thebooks on the prel iminary list hadbeentra c e d throughthe catalogues of threelibraries, they we r e easilylo c a t e d andread. Only one t i tlecouldnot be found. Thisti t l e, Peterthe Sea Trou t , was added to the li stof titlesof booksloc a t e d inbi b liog r a phi e s or referencee Lde,but of whichno copy could be locatedfor examina tio n. (see Appe ndixC) The remair,ingbooks on the li s t werelocatedeitherina titlesearch of one of the threelibrary cataloguesor found by chancein t.he private collections ofth e writer's colleagues . In all, 68 of the 79 titlesonthe preliminary list werefound . The eleven titles whi c h were notloca t e d have been included inApp e nd ix C. Since the ywerenot avail ab lefor personalass essm ent, the writerhasno t incl uded th e m in the narrativediscu ssion ofNe wf o und l a nd ' s children'Slite r ature.
Af t e r eachit e m had beenread, itsplacementin tho!
appr-cpz-Lam, category was verified. There were SOIDa itl-illS which couldlegitim",telybe included in moreth a n one category. This wa s done. Tom Dawe's Londwash pa y s,
Angisho re B~~ ,and Alley-Coosh Bibby and
15
~,for example, couldjustifiablybe included in all three categories.
Ex a mi n a tio n of PublishedReviews A searchof pubLf ahe d reviews for all titleswas cc nd o c t.e d• Thisse a r c h was intended to be representat i ve rather thanexhaustive. It was zeat.rIcrt.ed to the following journals:
Canadian Children's Literature,
eM-A Rev iewingJournal 9fMa t e ri al s for you ng
~,
The Horn BookMa g a z i ne.
The firs t three journa ls were selectedbecause of their Canadian focus. Theyre v i e w onlyCanadian materialsand theyhave been a significantsource of critical revie.... for CanadianpUblications for children. ~, the oldest ofthe th ree ,ceasedpUb l i c a t ion in 1976. 'l'he fourth journ."l wasincl uded be c au s e of itslonqev i tyand its comprehensive coverageof American publications. Aswell, in the last decade TheHor nBook Ma ga z i n e has inclu ded rev Leva of distingu ishedCana dian book s withgreater frequency. Indeed, in its coverageof Canadianbooks it has added a re g u l arre v i e wi ng ar t i cle , "News from theNo r t h".
At lea s t one re v i e w, not neces sarilyinagreementwiththe writer 'sopinions, wa s found for many ofthe books onth e
16 preliminaryli s t; for ecae , no revie wsweree Lsccverec, Slnce the Cana dia n pe r i od i c al s sea rched ha v e only beenin exis tencesin c e thelate 19 6 0 5 , themo r e recentthe pUblicatio ndate ora bookthe greaterwereth echa nc e s of findi ng a rev r e v. Some re v i ew s were located subsequently in random sear c hesof non-scho 13rlypUblications but these were not included. While pUb lis h e dcr i ti c a l evaluationof Newfoundlandchild ren'slite rature ha a increased,there rema ins a si g ni f ica n t needfo rlIlorecriticism.
Preparationof a pescriptiyeandCr i t i c al Analys is A descriptiveand crit icalanalysis of eachwo r k was writ t £:nfo l1 0....109 Huc k' s criteria for excel l ence. These ana lysesconstitu te the majo r compone nts of a unif ied narra tivediscussionof books in par ticu largenres. This discus sion fo rms the ba s isof Cha pters4, 5,and 6.
Prepara tionof theAn notatedBibliography Thepurpose ofthe anno t ated bibliogra ph ywas to pro vidaa re f erenc e aidfor thos e inte res ted inusing Newfoundlan dchil dren' s lite ra t ure. A de s cript i ve and criticalan no tati onwa s pre paredfo r eac h it e m included.
Each annouat iedbib liogretphic re f e rence is ac c o mpa n i ed by a reco mmen da tio n. The four ca tegories ofre c ommenda t i o ns with arecommendation codetobe usedwere : recomme nd ed (R), recommendedwithr'ee ervat.Icn e (RR),marg inal (M), andnot
17 recommended (NR). To these categories, the recommendation ofhighlyrecommended was added. A decision was made, also, to abandon the use of the letter code in the ·cecommendation and to usein s t e a d the full ....ord,so that users of the annotated bibliography would be more readily aware of what the ....riter'srecommendations are. The five categories of recommendation were defined as follo....s:
Mighly Recommended -- Books which demonstrate excellence in content according to Huck's criteria.
Recommended -- Books which are generally of a high literaryquality.
Recommende.,J with reservations -- Books which are of a high standard with regard to content but which may ccnce Ln objectionable material in language and/or Subject,or materialof conce rn as expressed inthe annotation.
Marginal -- Books which have slight content, and are ....eax in....riting style.
Not recommended -- Books not recommendedfor reasons stated in the annotation.
In all five categories artistic as well as literary excellence was a consideration. This annotated bibliography, along with a br i e f introduction to the user, constitutes Part II of this report.
CHAPTERTHREE BaCkgroundto the Study
Th@ Nature ofChildn n's Jit e ra tu r e Webster's Dict i ona ry(1 9 8 8 )descr ibes lit e r a tu r e as
"the body of wri t ten worksprod uc e d in a particular langu a g e , country , or age",llIoreparticularly as "writings havingexcellence of formor expressionand expressi ng ideas of permanent or universalinte rest". (p. 698) Huck (19 1 9 ) furt h e r expandsonthis de fi n i tion:
Literature is the imagi native ahapi ng ofli fe and thought into the fo rm.s and structur e sof languag e. Thepr ov i nc e of literatureisthe human condit i o n. life with allitsfee li ngs, thoughts ,and insigh ts . The experie nceof literatu reis always twodime ns i on al , for it invol v e s boththeboo k and th e reader. (p.4)
Itis Huck's latter statemen t that cl ai .s a separate plac e for therealmof ch il dh o od wit hin thewor l d of literature.
She writes:
the uniquenessof childr en 'sliterature,.•., lie s in the audiencethat it add r e s ses. Autho rs of children's booksarecirCUDls c ribe donl y by the experiences ot childhood, but these areva s t and complex. (Huck,1979,p. 6)
Whilechildren 'sli t e r ature canbeviewedasa distinct br a nch of literatureingeneral,the differencesbetwe en it andadu lt li t e ra tu r e must heexploredto fully ap preciate theuniquecha racter of ch ildre n' s l it erature.
Bawden (1976) allUdes to the par tic ula r cha r ac teristics ofliteratu r e for child renne cessitatedbythenature of the
19
children who are the audience of that 1it~rature....hen she states:
A good book for children, like a good book for adults, should hold an honest mirror up to life;
reflect the emotional landscape they move in, tell them what they want to know. And what they want to know, what they want to understand, is their own situation. (p.lO)
Karl (1970)affirms that children's books should be vie...ed in the same way as are adult books in that they are " •••a packaged expressionof some aspect of life asi tis.•." but that all good works of literature also should be something more Ii •• •an idea, a viewpoint, a starting point. Itisnot a finished,complete, didactic expression, but a beginning to be thought about and built on."(p. 6) As Egoff (1973) aptly puts it:
The role of literature is to develop the individual and it takes a good book to do this. A poor book takes a child and puts him back a step or two, a mediocre book takes a child end leaves him where he is. A good book promotes an awareness of the possibilities of life, the universality of life, the awakening of response. (p.7)
Just as all excellent works of literature, whether they be for adults or for children, strive towards these ideals, the works written for children have certain restraints placed upon them because of the nature of their audience.
Books intended for children should never dampen their spirit and their belief in the goodnesl;: of the human heart. Hazard (4th ed., 1960) writes that ".•. instead of pouring out so much material on aci.il d ' s soul that it is crushed, (the
20 authors of children's literature] plant inita seed that will develop from inside•••"", (p. 43)
Sincecertain emotional and psychological responses are outside those experienced by children, they are
inappropriate for inclusion in a children's bo o k. These responses include the feelings of nostalgia,cynicismand despair. (Huck, 1979, p. 8) Each of thesefeelings ca n be deeply experienced by adultsand areof t e n found in adult literature. Adults often reflect upon their past, particularly their childhood, but not so the child. For chi ldren, hope must remain a constant within their li v es. Cynicism and despair are not na t ur a l characteristicsof childhood. This is not to say that children's booksmust always have a happy ending, sincesa d ne s s is ind e e d aco mmo n experience for many children. A feeling of profound sadness, however, does not exclude hope in children's literature.
Childrenlsli t e r a t u r e is different from adult li t e r a t ur e because the members of the audience i t addresses havethei:- own particular types of experiences. Children' s literature, nevertheless, fulfils many of the same functions for its audienceas does adult literature.
Children's li t era t u r e helps young readers to more fully understand theirpr e s e nt selves and their possibleplace in the broader world around them. Bawden (1987) affirms this belief, when she ....rites:
21 St o r i e s that operate on a number of levels-- ....hich is only tosa y all good stories -- help them to understand theirown nature,the confusion they maybe feel ingabout the confli c ting imp ul ses and emotionsthey are aware of within themselves, and helpthem to underlltand theworld they are growing up into. (p.68)
Karl (1970)obviouslyhela.the same opinion as did Bawden.
She observed:
•••the author creates an experience, he shows how thingsare, how they come to be and feel and grow, in an atmosphere open to examination. Good books of all kinds become for their readers a dimension of lifeit3elf , a searchfo r both inwa r d and outward discoveries . (p.6)
As Huck (1989) succinctly puts it, "whether for adults or for children, great literature illuminates living ..•". (p . 25 6 )
In providing perspective to our fragmentedexperience , thestudy of literaturewhether as an adult or a child
It•• •givesshape to human experience". (Sloan, 1975, p , 7) Butin this process of providingperspective or
"i l l umi na t i ng " the world and the experiences it provides, it mustbe remembered that a function of literature is to illuminate the conflictsand the ambiguitiesof life. That is, as Llvel yaptly puts it, "we read to find out more about what it islike to be a human beIng, not to be told how to be one". (1987, p,15)
Good books have the inherent ability to developcomplex ideas andcha r a c t e r s because of the depth of thought and emo tio n that theyca nco nv e y . (Egoff,1973, p. 7) Even though theyare not alwaysse r i o u s in nature, they mayma~e
22 profound statementsabout universal truths with integr ity andhone sty. (Bret t, 19 8 9 , p, 18 ) Hazard (1960) also talks of children's bookscontaining certain truths thatare wo r th y ofla s t ing fo r e v e r . (4t h ed.• 1960, p.44) The s e truths, hebe l iev e s, inspire ".•.cners whole inner lif>:!;
(a nddemon stra te) thatan uns el f i s h and fa i t h fu l love always endsbyfindingitsreward ,beit only in oneself...
(Hazard,4thed . , 1960 , p, 44) Smi th(197;> ~ cites Hazard'sview on the importa nce of universal trut hs and expands onit by saying :
To write for childre ninth is way demands a great de a l fromthe writ et"; a senae of the import anceof un i v e r s a l moral andspiritual values, creative and imaginative powers , and st re ng thof expression,of langua g e. (1973, p, 399)
Itis there c ogn i t i oPl. of the s e universaltru t hs wi th all thatthe yeng e nd e r ....hi c h hel psto developthe "humanness"of there a de r.
Sloanlikensthe reading of li te r a t ure to"..•a conti n uous jour na l of ma n 'ssearch fo r id e nt ity••.». (1975, p,19 ) It is throu gh thi s jou r nal , or pe r ha psthis journey, thatchildre nsee k ideasandtruth s , discover ne wpa t t e r ns ofex p e r ienc e , and find emotionalsatisfactions tha t will hel pthem developintori c her, eo re completepe o pl e. (Karl, 1970, p. 5) ~hesecond rate piece of children's literature does l i t tle tohe lp childre n'semot ional andintellectual de velopme nt . Thes e books,....hi ch Egoff (1973) re f e r stoas th emedioc r e, do littlemore tha nlea ve the childrenwhere
23 the yare,sin ce they offer no challenge orin sigh t intothe workings of either the real or thefa nt ast i ca l. (p . 7) But bycomingint o contactwith "genuinelymemo ra bl e liter a ry expe riences", in some measurethere a de r is"nev erquite the same " . (Rosenhelm, 198 0,p , 47)
Children'sliteratureshouldhelp the reader imagine the possib ilities thatlife holds. In support of this view, Hickman andCUllinan (198 9 ) cite Jerom e Bru ne r 'sst a t ement,
.••thatoneof thecontributionsof literature is its power fo r generatinghypot he s e s, for CUltivatingmult ipl e perspect i vesor possible worlds. It is the nature of literature, he says, to "•.• render [the) worldne wly strange, rescueit from obviousness, fill it with gaps•• •It. (p, 5) It then becomes the job of the readeror li stener ".. •to bridgethe gaps ,to imaq i ne the pos sibilities ,to create hi s or herowncomple t e d story" . (Hi c kma n andCUl l i na n,1989, p.
6)
Literaturealsohelps the reader generate the possibilitiesin life -- the roadswhichcan be, taken. By allowing the reader entryintootherpeo ple' s li ves, to overhearsnippets of conversations, to catch glimpses through half-curtainedwindows. literaturestretchesthe rea d e r 's knowledgeof life. It is these sc raps whlch
•••ale rtus to human possibilities. trivial or important, which have occurredto otherpeople but knowledgeof which develops . refines or coarsens our personal maps of humanityand our own significanceupon them. (I n g lis . H76, pp.164- 165)
2'
Sloan (197 5)sta testhat literature
... ca ll s fort h somethingfrom our ownimaginative experience, somethingwe 'h a v e al waysknown' but couldn' t exp r essuntilliteratureput it in to words and image for us. (p.7)
For child renwithlimitedcapabil i tiesofex p r e ssing their tho u g hts andfeelings verballythis capacity is doubly importan t. The be s t books , Brett (1969) states, "..• providet re mendo u s opportu n ityforth e development of la n qu a g e an dothe r associate dskil ls". (p.18) The power to create visuallyand verba llyis en hancedthroug hthe childI5 readingoflit e rature. Literature, thus, allowsthe imaginatio nto develop while developingthe imaginative capa bilit iesof thereader.
Tucke r (19 81) ca utions thatth ere aretimeswhe n chi l d rendo notwanttoimagine other possibilities but may simpl ywantcon f i rma tionof cer ta in common , set ways of
th~nk i nq. [p,2) Karl (1970) ag reestha t for a book to be success fu l it mus t " .•. dupl i c a te someexp er.tencee mos t ch ild re n ha ve alr e ad y had, andif it is goingto holdthe child' s inter est ,it ....ill add some newones ". (p. 9) Rosenhelm (1980 ) al so believe sthat literatureshoul d provide the reader , whether young or old , wi th "..•a robu s t affirmationofourcommon huma nit y••."as wel l as"... ou r capaci ty•• .tound erstandand be movedby and toga t he r to our s elve s theprod ucts ofthe creative imag ination". (p. 52 ) The hig h~ stpl easuresof li t erature,he goe s on to say, found inth e combin a tionof "... t!'1e ur ge ncy and
25 authenticityof life as we xncv it withthe excitementand wonderor life as itmayyet be known". raee enn e ta, 198 0 , p.
51 ) Quali tychildren's lit era t u r e su c c e ss f u l l y makesthis combi n a t i o n.
Children's literature is a uniquebranchof all literature becauseof the audience it addresses . Nevertheles s it deserves to be evaluated without condescension. It is in recognizing and appreciat ingwcrks of chi l d r e n's l i teraturethatweare applauding
...books that rise above the commonplace formulas of wri Hng for children and young people and co nve y-- throug hinvention , wit,styl e, and a profoundid e nti f i c a t i o n withthe subject matter-- atru t h f u l handling of charact er,emotion, social environment, and sometimesmoral dimensions.
(Toye, 1990, Preface,xiii, in Egoff and saltman) And thesebooksdeservethehi g h e fit recognition, for they holdthe powerto influence our ch ildren.
Elementsof Ex c e ll e nc e in ChildrenIs Literature Those Who evaluate the meritsof chi ldren 'sbooks, shouldf',et t lefor nothing le s s than is acceptablein qual i ty adult literatu re. It may be quite true,however, thatl!!..Q.U shouldbe expected, consideringthe audience at whichth e s e books are aimed. A goodpiece ofli t e r a t ure,whetherit be for childrenor adults, must possess
•. . a strong plot,deft Characterization,vitality of language, and emotiona l depth -- all in creativetension-- and a nar rator's vo i c e that reverberates wit hboth a pe rson a l and a cultural ac cent. (Saltman, 1987,p, 57)
2.
Many noted individua ls, among them,sutherland, Mon s on and Arbu thnot (6th ed , , 1981), Cullinan (2nd ed., 19 8 9 ), Suthe rland (6th ed., 19 8 1 ), Egoff(1 9 73 ). andHuck (Jrd ed ,, 1979). havewri t t e nex t ensiv e l y on theevaluationof ch ild ren's literature . Gene ra l agreement onwh a t a critic d;.·~uldexamine is found intheirwork. Forthepurposesof this stud y, the cri te riaoutlinedby Huck inhe r lan dmark wo r k , Child ren 's Li t e ra turein theEleme nt a rySchool (Jrd ed.• 1979), will be used. While the criteri aoutlinedby anyoftheaf o r eme nt i o ne d authorswou l d be more than acceptable , and indeed all ha ve much in conunon, this wr i t e r ha s chosenthose of Huckbecause in cont e nt andform they appear most appro priate.
Huck(3rd ed ., 1979 ) delineatesseven areas for critica l eval ua t ionof Ch ildren's literature. (pp.16-17) Theseare :
(i) beforereading, (ii) pl o t ,
(iii) charact erizatio n , (iv) set ti:lg,
(v) theme, (vi) style, (vii ) fo rma t.
27 When these el eme ntscombi ne to produce an ar recetve experience forthe readerthat is beyond the merepr o c e s sof re adi n g. an excell entworkof literatureiscreated.
In ev aluatinga ch ildren'sbook,Huck firstsuggests that weLe ek at the physicalpropertiesofthe work, such as thetitle, thecover illu s t r a t i o n, the size ofpr i nt , the chapterheadings. (3rded., 1979,p. 16) This is not to proposethat onlythe spineand the cover be exa mi ne d, for as Sloa n (19 7 5 ) emp hat i cal l y states, "ch i l d r e n will never dis co v erthe wide andva ri e d wond ersto be found in literaturebygazing at thesp i nes.II (p . 51) However , i t mus t be re a l iz ed that these phys icalpropnrtiesdo havea certai n influenceupon the selectionof a partiCUla r book by a partiCUlarchild.
Ne xt, Huck su g ge s ts that the plot be ex amine d. Here the evaluatorshouldbe conc ernedwith whet.heror notthe book tells a good story. Do e s thest o ry move? Is theid e a oriqinal and believable? Does the book build towards a cliUla x? Does the plotdevelop through a logical seriesof happenings? (Huck, Jrd ed., 1979, p, 16)
Children demand a good plotand strong believable ch a r ac t e r s. It must be rememberedth a t while their emot iona l responsemay have greatde p t h, children'slanguage may be insUfficientlydevelopedto express the abstractness ottheir feelings. Nevertheless, without a qoodplot to
aa connect the various elements of the book, the readerwill quickly lose interestin reading. As Bawd en (1976 )writes:
The cl ue to what [children] really enjoyis what they reread, what they go backto, and this is almostalways a book with ast ro ng narrative line.
(p.7)
Huc kaptly describes a vea i.-ccns trruc t.edplotas being : .. •organic and int errelated. It grows logi c all y and naturallyfromthe actionsand the decisi ons of thecha r a c te r s in givensituations. The plot should becredible and ring true rather than dependon coincidenceandco nt r i v a nc e. (3 rd ed.• 1979, p.7)
Bawden's demand for a st r o ng storyl ine inchildren' s literature is clearly evident in Huck'sdescriptionof a well-constructed plot. CUllinan (1971 ) add s two othe r essential factors toawell-construct6dplot:
The beginning, then, is used to piqueinterest, to make the reader care about what happens, and the end i ng must contain asa t i s f ac t o ryreso l ut i o n of the obstacles, problems, or conflictspresented.
(p.45)
The plot of a truly good pieceof literat uregrows from itself, and from the actions of thech a r a c t e r s enmeshedin it -- paralleling the development of the fabricof human exi stence.
The critical considerationof characterizationis Huck'sthird evaluative concern. Her.e sheco ns i de r s such questions as how the characters are revealed. lor e they convincingand credible ?Is there any character development?
Are the characters stereotyped? (Huck, 3rd ed., 1979, p, 17) Along with the plot, the characters draw the reader int o the
29 st o r y. Theread e r, in thiscase the child , shCluld become activelyinvolvedin the story, mov ingalon gsidethe ch a r a c t e r s, measur ingones el fagainstthecha r a c t e rs in the book. (Bawden,1976,p,8) If the charactersnever eme r g e from the flatness of the page, then the childhas nothing, sinc e thech a r a c t e r failst-oprovidethe readerwithany reasonto reflect uponWh/l thas been read. CUl l ina n (1971) des cribescharactersas:
.• • {needingtol be an indi vidualas each human being is an individual,unique and distinctfrom all otherhumanbeings. Still, the character must possess some universal qualities common to all mankindwithout becoming a ster.eotypE'.. (p p . 52-53) From the irown lim ited observanceof humanity , chi: d r e n sh o u l d have come to somerealization about the rou ndedness of people 's cha r ac te r s . one-etuenatenea characters, evenif they have great adventures do nothing to enrichch i l d r e n' s perceptions of the diversity of the people who surround them. Childrenneedto read about charactersthat cause the action ina story to happen rather than being merely the objects that get acted upon. (CUl lin a n , 1971, p, 50)
Inma ny cases , the setting of the plot isasimportant as are the characters. In examiningsettingin children's literature , Huckisco nc e r n e d with where the story takes place; how time is indicated;the effect ofse t t i ng upon the action, cha r a c t e rs, or theme ;andwhether the story transcendsthe setting and ha s universaliIllplications. (Huck, Jrd ed., 1979, p,16)
30 Whil e many booksha v e rather a genericoruni ve r s a l setting, ot hers ar e tiedfirm lyto a placeandatime. Ma n ki nd does no t ex ist ..,ithout abac kdt-ep, Liv e ly (1987), her se l f arepu t a b l ech i l d r e n' s author,exp l a i ns, ".•.our liv e s fo r the ir sho r t spa n (r u n] aga i nst the greater continu i t yof histo r y." (1987, p. 16) Fo r many of us, our time andpla c e here on eart h are g-reatdetermini ng factc.rs inth e cou rseofourli v e s. Something wh i c h is so integral to our rIvee,must be po rtrayed. Setting is also integralto the lives ofthecharacte r s wi thin the story. It can be n.••viewedasanexte nsio nofcha r acte r ,as a symbolic device, andasameansof establis h ingcr edibility."
(CUllinan, 1971,p. 51) In lite ra t ure, settingmust be port r a yedwell , sothatchi ldre nbeg i ntounderstand ,and wil l perh a p s la t erha v e gre a te rcontrol over theirown ci rcumsta nc es, and the impa ctof th e i r surroundingsupon th e i r lives.
A good children's boo k mustco n tain atheme. It should be a theme worth impart ing toch il dr e n . It shouldalso be one tha t eme rg e s natural ly fr om thest ory without overpower ing the story or be c omi ng moralizing . (HuCk,Jrd ed., 197 9, p,16) The theme isthe re sult of thein teract. ion oftheplot andthecharacters. It. con v ey s a messageto childr e n aboutthem s elves and th e res t of human i t y. In a goo ':chil d re n'sbook, the the meis neithe r overtnor
3l
preachy ,but unobtrusivelyitspeaksloud lyand clearly to the reader.
The re l e van c e or the themeshould be universal yet its content may be very simple. Child ren.. houldbe given literatu rethat ...wi l l help the m see aore, bo mo re, feel lIore."(Huck. ,1989, p, 257) Theth e me , th erefore , shou l d at t emp t todemon strate somet h i ng of what it is li ke to be a human be ing. It should combi ne "..•the urgenc yand aut he n tic i t yof lifeaswe know it withtheex cit e ment and wo nderof lifeasit may yetbe known". (Rosenheim, 1980,p, 51) It shou l d do sowhile retainingthe innoc e n c e of childh ood wi th itsend less possib ilit i e s for excitement , adve n t ure , and lea rning. Theresultwill be an opportun i t y held in wai t i ngtore f ineorcoarse na chil d's "•••pers o na l lIIap of humanity... (Ing lis, 1976, p. 165)
The theme shou ld expres san origina l id eaassee n throughan aut hor's unique vie wpoint. Th isdoesno t mean tha t a subject can be addr e s s e donlyonc e andneveragai n . I tisorigina l i tit isgr ou ndedintruthas an indiv idua l seesit Whi c h, init se lf , is ne verquiteth e same as anyo ne e Lsesa vi e w. (Silit h. 1973, p. 396) Ori gina l ity als odoe s not we a n that a theme mustbe uncommon. The wa y in which a commo nide a isde velopedina storyhas the power to make tha t commonideaboth uniqueand memorable . "The inge nu i t y withwhichthe themeisillustrated inasto ry makes it notewor t hy." (CUll i na n. 1971, p, 40) Withoutsuch
32 originalityor ingenuity in presentation, the result would be a pointless account lacking both impactandch a llenge. (Smi t h , 1973 rp. 397 )
The la ngu a ge andst yleof thr-.writi ng must. alsobe ccne Ldez-ed, In assessing the styleof a ch il d re n 1s book, Huck (3rd ed , , 1979 ) sug g e s ts that the cri t icmust be co n c e r n ed with whether the style is appropriatefor the subject, whetherit is straightforwardor figurative. The crt tic wil lco ns i de r whether or not there isa balance betweenna r r a tionanddialog u e . whetheror not a mood is created,what symbolsar e used, and whetheror not the story is toldfroman appropriatepoint of view. (p.17)
Many peopleview greatliterature as beingwritte nin a waywhIchexcludesthe average person from enj oy ingthe book. If l i teratureis goingto evoke an e:tlot i o n a l response fr omthereader, theoppositeshouldindeed be the case. The languageus e d andth est y l eof prese ntat ion shouldno t prevent access to the book. SheilaEgoff (1973) dec is ively states the case for simplicity inwr i ting in he r comment :
Sheer readabilityis a prime criterion of excellence inch ild r e n's books as it is in adult books. Take the first wordsof~ 'Ca ll me Ishmael'. Andthe first line of LeonGa r fi e l d' s thriller~, 'He was ca ll e d Smith.' [p, 8) Simplicity inlanguagewill serve toenhance ra t he r than diminish the text. To achieve simplicity, the aut hor mustwrite in the strongest and the most vividlydescriptiv e
J3 language avail abl e. (Hu nter ,19 75, p. 11) Thisvi e wis al s o su pp o rt e dby Tucke r (19 8 1) whowrite s:
..• und e r state me nt, aswel l asgettI ngoverthe idea of acertai nartist i c shorthandby invit ing readers totill in the missingdet a ilfor thems e l ve s,also all ows for greaterpossibil i ties ofreader id e n t i f ic atio n••. (theau tho r also runs]
less riskofactua llyst andinqbet weenchild r e n andtheir iIIa glnativ e realisation[sic) ot a text--so met hing that eeccee aaorelikelyvnen over-expl icitillustra tionsare used. (p.49) Huc k' s (Jrd ad.•197 9 ) final eleme ntfor cons ide r a tion ineval uating children's boo ks is the forma t. The concerns here arewi t h whetherornotthe illustrationsenha nce and are consistentwIt hstory, and with thequalityof the paper and the binding. (p. 17) Thiselement harkens backtoher fi r s t eleme nt (p. 26). Before readIng the boo k, Huck sugg e s t s , the critic should evaluatethein itial re a ct io ns tosuch phy s ica l at t ributesof aboo k asthe cove r , the print, the chapterhea ding s . Butpartic ularnotemust be mad eof illustrationswhichare vitalinthe effective pre s entati on of .any children'sbooks. As Tucker (1981) exp l a i ns, th eil l ustrator must- . . rema i n faithful and sen s it i ve tothete xt withillustratio nswhi ch bo t h mirror parti cular scenesand also conv e ysOllleot the essenc eof theirstory". (p. 48)
The elementsof fine liter a t ure di s cu s s e d aboveare no les simportant in bo oks forchi ldre n than the y are inboo ks for adul ts. Inadd itio n tothe s e goneral guidelines ,more spec i f i c ones fo r indi vid ua lgenresmust alsobeco nsid e r ed.
34 The s e specificguideli neswi1: be di s cu s s ed in late r cha pte r sasthe yrelatetotheevalua tio nofdifferent qenres of chi l d ren ' . liter a t ure.
Booksshoul d pro vide ch i ld renwi th information, wh e t he r it beabo u t ti me and plAce or abo u t the di ve r sityofthe huma nsoul. But the inf o t"lllationthat i. qi ven, becaus e of itst.houg htt ul andun i que pres enta t io n,shouldin so me 5.a11 way leave there a ders not quite the same as theywere befo re re ad ingthework. (Ro senhelm , 19 8 0 , p.47 )
The eval uat ionof ch ild r e n 's literature must ea r nestly co n sIde r andapply al l of thesecharacterist ic s ofgood C'."ildr en' s l i teratur e to ide n tify thos e work~which exem plifythehig-hes t standa rds. Theresul t at such thou ghtfuleva luation willbeqr e ate r acce ssibi lityfor chil dr en totine books-- bo o ks that can take ach ild astep turthe r along the roadofli:(~. Ho.- ever,if aneval uato r of childre n ' s booksse t t les for the se co nd ra te, orwha t Egoft refersto asthemed i ocr e, sucha bookmay on l y leave the chil dwhe r e he is,since itof fe rsno cha ll enge or insi9ht int o the workin9 sof either the rea l or the fantas tical.
(Ego ff , 1913, p ,1) un fo rt u n a tel y, it isofte n easierto set t l e for secondbest .
CHAPTER FOUR Books fo r the YoungerRe a ders
The infl uenceof the firstbOOKS thatchildren read ma y remain fo r an entire lifetime. The sebOOKS caneitherdraw childreninto the realm of the printedwordor theycan leave children outsidethis realm,seeKingtheir entertainmentand del ightfromotherso u rce s. But a love of booksand reading is not solely for entertainmentva l u e. As l(arl (1 97 0) writes:
These cc ox s fo r the veryyou ng are impo r t a nt be c ausetheyar e the book s thatsha peachildIs li s t ening and looking in his earl i estye ars when his ideas are justbeginningto form. The y will helpshapehis sense of language , his taste tn listeningand later inreading, his ideasabout books and what they cont a i n. hissenseof poetry and rhythm, and his approach to learning. The books he has in these years mustbe well written, the ymust be enterta i ning , they mustgive the co ns umer highst a nd a r ds of literary taste, they must forma foundat ionforal l the readingthat the childand the adult he willbecomewill do later. (p. 12)
onl y theve ry bestin children 'sliteraturecan meet suc h demandingstandards.
Th e first book s that children meet are usually picture sto rybooks and books of simpleve r s e. Ideally, thesebooks us e languagewithsuc h power and directnessthat the appe a l to the feelings and the imaginat i onof childrenis immediate. As well, in books for young children, the illustrationsmust have a similar impact.
In the best picturebooks, text and illustrations combine totell a story . Both text and illustrationsareof
36
equal importance and the critic is conc erne d with lit e rary and artistic excellence. Unlikean illustrated book,the pi ctures in thepictu re sto r y b o o k mustcomplementthe text co mpl etely . The two exist in a symbioticre l at ions hi p, in that eachdrawsli fe from the other'sre.presentati o nof the st o ry.
In a quality picturestorybook, therefore, it is nat onlythe textbut also the pictures which must be of out s t an ding qual i ty. Kiefer (1989) sta tes that thes ebook s 0'•••are not toys but are artob j e c t s that provide a uniqu e aesthet icexper iencethat has last ingeffects". (p. 87, in Cull inanand Hickman) Huck agreeswith such avi e w, adding that theyare probablythe only real ar t that chi ldrenDlay ever see . (Jrd ed,, 1979,p•105) To reachsuc h a standard, the picturesmustbe of exceptionally good quality butto be truly effective they mustbe worthy of the text andsu p p or t i t hat1lloniously. Otherwise the necessary balance whi ch is so critical to excellent st o ryt e ll i ng int ....o media will be lost.
The verse that young children are firstdelighte,j....it h must speak to them at their point of time . (Huck, 3rded., 1979, p, 308) The language of the ver semustcreate the reader's images that are appropriate totheir exp e rie n c e and to their understanding. This poetry should provide them with a fresh look at something familiar and it shoulddo so with an appealing rhythm and sound. Usuallypoetryfor
J7 you n gchil d ren isaccompa nie d by illus t ra tions. The s e illustrationsareas importan t to thepoe t ictext as th ey are tothe te xt of apicturest orybook . The illustrations of a boo k ofpoetry must conveythe images of thepo et wit h outst i f l i n g theimages of the chi ldreader.
In thi s chapter, the focus ....illbe on Ne wf oun dl a nd ch i l d r en 's books for the youn g e stre a d ers. Not surp risi ng ly, such boo ks willconsist entirel yof pi ctur e books,pi ctur e st o ry boo ks andpoet ry. TheNewfound land exper iencewi t h the s etyp es of booksfor youngchil d renis similar tothe overa l l Ca na dian one. As Sa l tmanandEgoff (1990) point out ,the pictu re storybo o k was th elast genre to deve lopin Cana da wi t hthefirs t exampleappea ringin the la te1960' s. (p.D 3 ) Newf oundla nd' s firs t exa mpl ewa s the very well re c e i v ed ~yJi mIp Dg' S StagebyAl pitt ma n wi t h ill us t ra t ions by Pam Ha ll , (BreakWater, 1976) a pictu re verse boo k .
Pittm an'sCOl lection of amusingverse depic ts th e antics of the va rious fish that inhabi t Newf o und landwat ers. Each fish verymu chha s a cha r ac t e r ofitsown,one whichis de s c ribe dwith a Newf oundland linguistic flo uris h. Fo r examp le , "sid Squidwent andhid be hi nd a sunkendory. / His wifecameout and gavehi m a clout . Andsid saidhe was sorry." (Pittma n, 1976, p, [4]) The rhythm ofthe langua g e alongwit h the easy use of allitera t i o n and hyperbo le , wil l app e a l un ive rsa ll y tochildren, not jus t to thos e famil iar
38 with the undersea world of our Newfoundlandsh o res. The understanding and appreciation of this book of verse are enhanced immeasurably by the illustrations of Pam Hall.
These illustrations, which won the Amelia Frances Howard Gibbon illustrator's award in 1977, effectively conveya realistic picture of what the sea creatures look like and how they behave as they portray their many-sided personalities, which in cases include their more humorous sides.
The coastal waters of Newfoundland and Labrador also provide the setting for the next picture storybook, Ellen Bryan Obed's BorrowedBlack (Breakwater, 1979). In this Labrador fantasy,the reader is introduced to Borrowed Black,a villainous character who has borrowed bits and pieces from the world around him, no t only to make a house but also to make himself. Trouble beginsfor him after he has stolen the moon, leavingthe coast in darkness for seventeen seasons of night. The moon is finally recovered by a fantastical crew aboard a boat built in the back of a whale. In theensuing struggle, Borrowed Black is conquered.
The mythical ending leaves the reader witha sense of wonderment. The impossible seems probable. Actual characteristics of the moon are explained as a result of the action of the tale. For example:
To this very night on the Labrador
When you stand and watch from the tall, lark shore,
3.
You can see the cracks in the moon round and high And thesilv e r it left onits way to the sky.
And the fishermensayif you follow the tra il, You'11cometo the boat in theback of the whale . (1988 , p. (28))
The cracksresultwhen Borrowed Blacktak esthemoondown, and i t breaks into a billion and four pieces. The se exp l a na t i o ns almostccnv i.nce the reader that a boat in the back ofawhale actually exists .
In the fi r stedition, Hope YandellISillu strat ionsare filledwithdetail!.n a crowded and swirl i ngway. Local exp ressio ns such as a "SCUlpin"and a "tickle "are immediatelyexplained in thepicturesand help totie the story to i ts localewithoutdiminishing itsappeal to the wider audience . A majorcr i t i c i s m with thisworkrelates to the de s ignand layout. The ha nd - wr i t t e nsc ri p t used throughout is difficultto read, particularly where it is superimposedoverthe pictures, as is sometimes the cas e.
This may havethe unfortunateconsequence of forcing chf Icren to passover thisexcellent fantasy .
Borrowed Blackwas reprintedin 1988 withnew ill us t r a t ion sby Jan Morgensen. The second pUblicationalso sa w the additionof the extremelyappropriate subtitle ,A Labr a d o r Fantasy, and a much needed changeto a more readableprint. Morgensen' sillustrations,however, have been described as dark and foreboding andla c k i ng in the bright frip-i1dlinessof the earlier version.(Ly ons, 1990 ,p.
115) While thereisaghostly aura and a shadowiness about them, theyare certainly not grim. Instead, Horgensen's
illus t r ationscreatea distinc t moodat' a fant asy wor-Ld shroudedinmyste ry. This, to many Nevfoundlande rs aswell as othe rs, is howLabradoris perceived.
Frolll the verybeginningpictur e storybooksabout Newfo undla ndhave been associatedwiththese a. Mir i am Renouf'sAWhal eby theTail with pho tog r a phs byBora Herdsoy (Jespers on, 1982), ra t he r unsucces s fully co ntinues thismarine inte re s t. As is thecase withma nypicture story b ooks, A Wbal! bythe Tail attemptstobe too many things fat' toomany people . It isnev e r quite clear whe.t the purpose Is. The bookha s atitscent r e what could hav e beenan adventurous sto ry of a whale whi chbec omestrapped in a fis herman'snet andmust be freed by dive rs. The app r o a c h ta ken, however, isdidactic inna tur e. This isnot neces s a ry , si nc ethe bestinchildren's books can provide inf orma ti o ntothe reader quit e ef f ortles s lywithi nthe cont ext of a well toldtal e. (Bre t t, 198 9 , p. 17) Here, however,the re a der istake nbackandforth between the st o ry, writtenas if a tT ~ di t io nal storyte llerwere rela ying it (" Haveyoueve r thou ghtabout howbiga Whale reallyis?
We l l , clos eyoureyes and illlagine•.•to), anda factua l presentationof info rma tio n about whales. The transitions betweenthe twostyl e s arerough, eve n though it seems to have beenthe au'.hor ' s int enti o n tosli p the informa tio nin liithout anyonereallynoticingit. Good editorialdirec tion could haveeliminatedthisproblemand avoided the
41 repe t i t i o n of text. Atthe end,space is provided for ch il d r e n to colour the whale and write their own adventure story! This may be a good idea as a separatecl a s s r oom ac tiv i t y but hardlya strong literary device.
The lack of clarity in directionis al s o evidentin the photographschosen to illustrate A Whaleby the Tail. I t can be argued that photographs are not an appropriatemedium for a story, sincethey arecoo cl o s e to reality. Acase could have been madehe r e for the photographs perhaps, since the story is grounded in fact -- whales do get caughtin nets. However, thesephotographsare dark and unfocused , 8l1:Uitisof t e n difficultto distinguish whatthe ya're or how they are related to the story. They also serve to emphasize the informationwhichis plugged into the text fromtime to time, detracting from the story rather than enriching it. This book is a poor example ofch i l d r e n ' s literature. What could have been a solid and entertaining story fails eeca pt u r e either the interest or the imaginat ionof its audience.
The piscontentedHippop otamus (Harry curt Publications, 1982) writtenby Stella Russelland illustrated by Li nda Russellis another exampleof a book which could havebeen bothint e r e s t i ng and fun-filled for the young reader but which qetsmired in cliche and predictability from the st a r t. Russell's tale is the story of a hippopotamus who does not like his name. He becomes quite happy with. it,
42 howev e r , aft er he meets upwi t ha whal ewho consolesthe hippopo t amus at Urs t with COlllllentssuch as "' What 'sin a nam e? The ro se, itcall e d by any other na lle, ....ould 51lel1 sweet; '... (1982, p. 4) On ce th i s approa c h failsthe whale proceed s to rel a t e hovhumansuse se ve r alnames, "'Why, therearedozens ot JohnSmiths, andTom Jone ses! ' " (198 2 . p, 9) Thisco mple telysat is fies thedi scontented hippopotamus. at cou rse , thewhale has to expla intothe hippopotamuswho humansare so he tell s himthe storyof Jonah. It seems morethanillcoincidencethat f;heparticUlar adven tureof Jonahhadhap penedinside the ",halewho ju st
happenedtobe the grandfather of thest o ry teller!
Thereis little hUllour or delight to be found in this book. Theblackand 'Whitepencil drawin gsmatch thesto ry 's dre a ri ne ss. Thi s boo k eax e enoI'!ff ort to".• •cep c u r e the exc i t ement ot li v i ng, the joyof be i ng alive•.•"that Huck (1989 ) saysqoodch ild r e n ' slit e ra t ure should do. (p .258)
But Newfoundland'schildren's li t e ra t ur e wasnot to be without itshumour. In 19 8 2,the prolif i c NeWfo und la nd author,Tomneve publi s hedhis first ch ild re n ' sboo k,A GOIDIgilFromBumb h BQt Big ht(Ha r ry curtPub lic a tio ns). Thisisa collection of quite wi t t y limerick s centring around Ne wf o un dl a nd pla ce na me s suchasMi ng' s Bight , Bareneed and Joe Batt's Arm. The book's illu s tra t i on s by SylviaQuinton Ficken,althoughinblackand whitewith anothercolour, for example, ora nqe, added, are ve ry
