Global Children's Literature in the College Classroom

Abstract

Global Children's Literature in the College Classroom explores the importance of children's literature as a pedagogical resource in any college course. It can be used to introduce a complex topic, give students a glimpse into a specific culture, or expand the way students think about education and teaching. Global children's literature is particularly useful in language classrooms, education programs, and classes that discuss globalism and colonialism. This book includes fifteen essays (representing fifteen countries and eight languages) divided into four sections. The first section of essays, "Across the University," looks at children's literature in non-traditional settings including British literature and multicultural studies, which considers what children's literature specifically brings to these courses. The second section, "Borders and Crossings," examines how children's literature defines or defies political and cultural separations. The third section, "Childhood Studies and Education," considers the importance of global children's literature in education classrooms as a way of promoting diversity and inclusion. The fourth section, "Non-English Texts and Texts in Translation," focuses on the use of children's literature to teach language and folklore traditions in France, Russia, and Italy. The essay that closes this section discusses using children's literature to teach translation skills at the University of Taipei.