Genres of Children’s Literature

PROSE POETRY

Fiction Nonfiction
Realistic Fantasy
Traditional Modern Fantasy
Literature

Myths Modern folktales Biographies

Families Nursery rhymes
Epics Animal fantasy Biological science
Peers Lyric poems
Legends/tall tales Personified toys and Physical science
Adolescent issues Narrative poems
Folktales objects Social science
Survival and
Fables Unusual Applied science
adventure
Religious stories characters/situations Humanities
People with
Worlds of little
disabilities
people
Cultural diversity
Supernatural
Sports stories
events/mystery
Mysteries
Historical fantasy
Animal stories
Quest stories
Science
fiction/fantasy
Historical
Poetry

• the expression of ideas and feelings through a

rhythmical composition of imaginative and beautiful
words selected for their sonorous effects
• a higher quality of language---a form of language that
can evoke great depth of feeling and provoke new
insights through imaginative and beautiful language
– and to refer to favorite verses of childhood

(3)
Verse

• A language form in which simple thoughts or stories

are told in rhyme with a distinct beat or meter
• Jingle – a catchy repetition of sounds heard so often
in commercials
• Both verses and jingles have strong rhyme and
rhythm; content is light or silly

(4)
Types of Poetry Books
• Mother Goose and Nursery Rhyme Books

(5)
Types of Poetry Books
• Anthologies of Poetry

• Specialized Poetry Books

• Single Illustrated Poems

(6)
Elements of Poetry
• Meaning
– The underlying idea, feeling, or mood expressed through
the poem
• Rhythm
-- The beat or regular cadence of the poem

Song of the Train

Clickety-clack, Click-ety-clack,
Wheels on the track, Clickety-clack,
This is the way Click-ety-clack
They begin the attack: Click-ety
Clack.
(7)
Elements of Poetry
• Sound Patterns
• Rhyme
– Assonance, alliteration, consonance, onomatopoeia
• Figurative Language
– Simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole
• Sense Imagery
– Visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, olfactory

(8)
Poetry Types and Forms
• Lyric poetry
– Captures a moment, a feeling, or a scene and is
descriptive in nature
• Narrative poetry -tells a story
• Limerick – humorous one stanza, five-line verse form
• Ballad – fairly long narrative poem of popular origin, usually
adapted to singing
• Haiku – a lyric, unrhymed poetry of Japanese origin with
seventeen syllables, arranged on three lines with a syllabic
count of 5,7,5
• Free verse – unrhymed poetry with little or light rhythm
• Concrete poetry – written and printed in a shape that
signifies the subject of the poem (9)
Picture Books
• Baby books
– Intended for children aged 0-2
– Its types denote the material used in their construction
• Board books – heavy, laminated cardboard; either bound as a
book with pages or made to fold out in an accordion fashion
• Vinyl books and cloth books – have little or no text
• Interactive books
– Intended audience are children aged 2-4
– Stimulate a child’s verbal or physical participation
• Toy books
– Sometimes called engineered or mechanical books
• Alphabet books
– For nonreaders or beginning readers
• Counting books
• Concept books
– Explains an idea or concept, an object, or an activity,
rather than telling a story
– Has limited text and clearly understood illustrations
• Wordless books
– No text or text is limited to 1 or 2 pages in the book
– Intended for prereaders, usually aged 4-6
• Picture storybooks
– Both illustrations and text are equally
Responsible for telling the story
• Easy-to-read and pattern books
– Audience for this type is usually 5-7
– Larger print, more space between lines, limited vocabulary,
word patterns, repeated text, rhyming text and illustration
clues
• Picture books for older readers
– More sophisticated, abstract, or complex in themes, stories,
and illustrations
– For children 10 up
• Transitional books
– For ages 8-11
– Uncomplicated writing style and vocabulary, illustration on
about every 3rd page, division of text into chapters, slightly
enlarged print
Traditional literature
• Myths
– Referred to as creation stories
– Explain origins of the world and the phenomena of nature
– Best known mythologies: Greek, Roman, Norse
• Epics
– Long stories of human adventure and heroism
• Legends and Tall tales
– Based on either real or supposedly real individuals and
their marvelous deeds
– For 7 and up
• Folktales
– Stories that grew out of the lives and imaginations of the
folk
– For ages 3 and up
– Universality
– Kinds: cumulative, humorous, beast, magic, pourquoi,
realistic
• Fables
– Incorporates animal characters whose actions teach a
moral lesson or universal truth
• Religious Stories
– parables
Modern Fantasy
• Literature of the fanciful impossible
• Cycle format

• Types
• Modern Folktales
– Also called literary folktales
– Tales told in a form similar to that of a traditional tale
• Little character description
• Strong conflict
• Fast-moving plot with a sudden resolution
• Vague setting
• Magical elements
• Animal fantasy
– Animals behave as human beings in that they
experience emotions, talk, and have the ability to
reason
– Animal characters retain their animal characteristics
• Personified toys and objects
• Admired objects or beloved toys are brought
to life and believed in by a child or adult
character in the story
• Unusual characters and strange situations
– Fantasy stories taken beyond reality to the ridiculous
or exaggerated
• Worlds of Little People
– About worlds inhabited by miniature people who
have developed a culture of their own in this world or
who live in another the world
• Supernatural events and Mystery Fantasy
– Ghost stories
• Historical fantasy
– Time-warp fantasy
– Present-day protagonist goes back in time to a
different era
• Quest stories
– Adventure stories with a search motif
– High fantasy: serious in tone
• Science fiction
– Futuristic fiction
– Provides a picture of something that could happen
based on real scientific facts and principles
• science fantasy
– Presents a world that often mixes elements of
mythology and traditional fantasy with scientific or
technological concepts, resulting in a setting that has
some scientific basis but never has existed or never
could exist
• Science fantasy gamebook
– fantasies developed in numbered segments so that
the reader may choose from alternatives in
determining the outcome of the story
Realistic Fiction
• Factual realism
• Situational realism
• Emotional realism
• Social realism
• Contemporary realism

• Problem novel
• Families
– Stories about the nuclear family, extended families, alternative
families
• Peers – acceptance by peers; close friendships
• Adolescent issues – self-discovery; independence; facing
and overcoming fears; growing sexuality
• Survival and adventure
• People with disabilities
• Cultural diversity – multicultural books
• Sports stories
• Mysteries
• Animal stories
Historical Fiction
• Realistic fiction set in a time remote enough
from the present to be considered history
• The story is imaginary, within the realm of
possibility that such events could have occurred
• Historical facts blend with
imaginary characters and plot
• The past is described complete with the
social traditions, customs, morals, and values of
the period but with no mention of actual events
nor historical figures
• Universal themes
– Seeking new frontiers
– Search for freedom from persecution
– Effects of war
– Family closeness in times of adversity
• Historical periods
– Beginnings of civilization up to 3000 b.c.
– Civilizations of the ancient world,
– (3000 B.C. to A.D. 600)
– Civilizations of the medieval world
– (600 to 1500)
– The emergence of modern nations (1500 to 1800)
– The development of industrial society (1800-1914)
– World wars in the 20th century (1914-1945)
– Post-world war II era (1945-1970)
Nonfiction: Biography and
Informational Books
• Faction

• Biography – deals with the life of an actual

person of the past or the present with the intent
of commemorating the subject and inspiring the
reader by example
• Autobiography – the author’s own life
• Informational books
– Nonfiction chapter book
– Nonfiction picture book
• Science and social science concept picture book

• Photo essay
• Fact books
Types of biographies
• Authentic biography
• Fictionalized biography
• Biographical fiction
Topics for informational books
• Biological science
• Physical science
• Social science
• Applied science
• Humanities
Multicultural and International
Literature
• Trade books, regardless of genre, that have as
the main character a person who is a member of
a racial or religious, or language microculture
International Literature
• Literary selections that were originally published
for the children in a country other than the origin
country (Philippines) in a language of that
country and later published in the origin country
(Philippines)
• If a book is written and published in France for
French children and then translated and
published for Filipinos, it is considered an
international book in the Philippines.
International literature