Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism

We are surrounded by narratives, in fiction and in our everyday lives. In this colorful collection of ideas, the author argues that understanding the components of our favorite children's stories can lead to a lifetime of critical thinking. Featuring exclusive interviews with notable literary scholars, including Amanda Lagji, Alexander Maxwell and Anna Kozak and others, the instructional content is catered for high-school senior to early college-level classes and/or homeschooling students.Beginning with the elements of the universal coming-of-age narrative, "Kid Lit" shows young readers and general readers alike how to recognize story structure, class, gender, symbolism, trauma and Orientalism in children's narratives.---From the Foreword by Todd This is a unique book in that the three sections are quite different. Part One is the ‘critical tool box’ and begins with the elements of the universal coming-of-age narrative ... His consideration is broad and inclusive. We meet many recurring literary characters that will challenge historical stereotypes.The second section of “Kid An Introduction to Literary Criticism” is a sampling of new scholarship in children’s literature ... Readers will … a breakdown of Afrofuturism and other schools of the ‘Empire Writes Back’ movement  … why scholars of the family consider Finding Nemo a step forward and The Incredibles a step backward ... the vital connection between Star Wars and Vietnam     … the social Darwinian structure supporting the animal monarchy of The Lion King … why Kung Fu Panda and The Hobbit are the same story, just as Avatar and Dances with Wolves are the same moviePart Three is the fun and immediately practical part, especially for teachers, where we see just how to bring these concepts into the classroom. The ready-to-implement lessons in the book’s third section give readers a taste of what it’s like to spend a semester in Tom’s class. These lesson plans are the proof of the every teacher needs classroom activities and exercises that allow students to apply their learning to their own lives. Here, the underlying dynamics of Harry Potter and The Secret Garden and The Hunger Games render lessons in gender, race, trauma, identity and the Other. Tom wants students to connect these elements to their own coming-of-age narratives.Todd Whitaker is a professor of educational leadership at Indiana State University and the author of the national bestseller What Great Teachers Do Differently.---Of value to all teachers, students, librarians, readers, literature lovers, and moviegoers. Tom Durwood is the best English instructor I have seen in my thirty-two years of teaching. -- Professor Patrick Murray, Valley Forge Military CollegeTopics The Coming-of-Age Matrix Identity and the Other The Building Blocks of Literature Gender The Three-Act Structure Class and Trauma Billy Wilder