Children's Literature Basics
Course
Fantasy [7:01]
In this lesson, we will discuss fantasy, including science fiction.
Those kinds of things, like Harry Potter taught us, are many questions that children wonder about. Kids often, especially your gifted and talented kids, really wonder about where they fit in the world. And fantasy is all about the big questions of identity and quest. Going back as far as Alice in Wonderland, in England, in the 1860's or the Wizard of Oz, in the U.S. in 1900. Fantasy novels have been with us for quite a long time. There are stable of children's literature. And they wax and wane in terms of popularity, but I think they're here to stay, especially your GT kids.
If you're working with the curriculum and you want more challenging reading for kids, this is often the genre. They grab or take two. Often, the kids who are protagonist of fantasy novels are themselves misfit to GT kids, it's a natural fit. And if you're wanting to introduce fantasy novels to kids who are not quite as polish as readers, or struggling a bit, or still working on learning English, the audio book adaptation is a natural. And so many of the big fantasy novels are all available in audio book form too and that's an absolutely legitimate way to experience literature. Just look at the fantastic Harry Potter books in audio form. They won countless awards because of Jim Dale, the amazing narrator, who does all the voices.
When it comes to choosing and sharing fantasy literature with children, there are basically two major categories and then a few other spin offs. We separate fantasy typically into high fantasy and low fantasy. Kind of an odd and artificial division, but it makes sense. For example, low fantasy is considered to be fantasy that is more or less believable and realistic. And grounded in the reality that we know and see every day, but there's something in it that is actually impossible.
For example, Charlotte's Web, the classic by E.B. White, is set on a farm with a farm family and a girl named Fern, but the animals talk. And talking animals is quite often an aspect of fantasy, low fantasy in particular. But everything else in the book is very realistic and that's what puts on the fantasy map. But there's anything in it that is not real, that couldn't really happen as far as we know, we call it fantasy. Charlie and Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, another book, that's all about real people, kids, good and bad. But this chocolate factory is totally fantastical.
On the other end of the spectrum, the high fantasy is full of things that could not really happen. That is totally constructed world that is other than our world. And a great example of that is the Lord of the Rings, where the characters, and the setting, and the quest, and the names, and the worlds are all different. There is no Texas. There is no Pennsylvania. There is nothing in it that corresponds with the world as we know it, and that is considered a classic high fantasy example. And the beauty of high fantasy is it is so imaginative. There's rich language, and odd, and interesting vocabulary and complicated quest. High fantasy is really great if you want to do some stretching and teaching of really literary language.
In between, there's also the very popular ghost story and the supernatural story, for example, R.L. Stine Goosebumps series that was so popular and so many more. Kids do tend to like ghost stories. I will admit I was not one of those kids. I'm maybe in the minority there. I found them genuinely scary, but psychologist tells us that kids need and like that catharsis of the scare through the ghost story because it helps them cope with what's really scary in real life. And I think that's something that's interesting to consider. Be sensitive when you share and recommend those books to the child that you're sharing them with however.
And then I also wanted to mention science fiction. Science fiction is a genre or subgenre, a fantasy if you will, that really is very popular in young adult literature. But it has roots and children's literature as well. And you'll find many selections that are really written for children with child characters. For example, A Wrinkle in Time, the classic by Madeleine L 'Engle, is a science fiction novel for children. And the difference here is that the fantasy elements are all grounded in science and technology. You'll find all kinds of science related issues and questions and machinery that are an important part of the book. And that differentiates it from animal fantasy or quest fantasy. Lois Lowry's book, The Giver, such an important book is an early dystopia, a science-fiction book about a future gone awry. That is another great example.
And of course, there's fantasy series books. Many, many fantasies come in series of three, four and five books like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson or Artemis Fowl. Those avid fantasy readers who like one book will have even more to dig into. And certainly that volume of reading is really helping them become fluent. Audio books are a great connection if you're trying to get kids involve in fantasy. Cosplay, costumes and comic cons and superheroes are also definitely an offshoot of fantasy is a form of response and film. Many of these fantasy novels are being made into film for kids too. That's another connection to make. That's very fun and appealing for kids.
Fantasy includes "books in which something make-believe or impossible happens" (Vardell 2008, 205). In this lesson, Vardell explains some of the sub-categories of fantasy, including high fantasy (like The Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter), low fantasy (with Charlotte's Web as an example), and science fiction (A Wrinkle in Time or The Giver). Beyond the novel, fantasy is a genre found in numerous formats in popular culture today, including film, TV, and gaming, as well as comic books and graphic novels. Vardell suggests inspiring students' reading by making connections to popular media, including the introduction of audio books as another way to engage with fantasy stories.
Works Cited
Vardell, Sylvia M. Children's Literature in Action: A Librarian's Guide. Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
Listen to a fantasy book (or several) in audio book format.
Here are some resources for selecting audio books, with additional suggestions on sharing audiobooks with students.
Andronik, Catherine M. "Heard Any Good Books Lately?: Selecting and Using Audiobooks in the Library Media Center." School Library Connection 3 (April 2016).
Gander, Laurence. "Audiobooks: The Greatest Asset in the Library." Library Media Connection 31, no. 4: (Jan/Feb.2013): 48.
Saricks, Joyce G. Read On… Audiobooks: Reading Lists for Every Taste. Libraries Unlimited, 2011.
This book of lists is primarily for adult books, with some young adult recommendations.
MLA Citation
Morris, Rebecca J. "Children's Literature Basics: Listen to Fantasy." School Library Connection, November 2024, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/1960212?learningModuleId=1960216&topicCenterId=2247902.
Entry ID: 2122874
About the Author
MLA Citation
Vardell, Sylvia M. "Children's Literature Basics. Fantasy [7:01]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, September 2015, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/1960212?learningModuleId=1960216&topicCenterId=2247902.
https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/1960212?learningModuleId=1960216&topicCenterId=2247902
Entry ID: 1960212