Step 1: Define the discourse community
Children (2 to 10) and Parents—storybooks, pictures, how to speak, how to write, how to read, how to live, how to behave, what is good, what is bad, how to survive, child’s insight, questions, memories, patience, new information (technology), imagination
Types of writing: Cards, pictures, storybooks, journals, text messages, social media posts
Step 2: Understand the genre (definition and purpose within discourse community): Children’s Books are…stories with ideas and activities involving children. Children’s books also teach children morals, values, and important social skills.
Step 3: Understand the genre as a writer: what are some characteristics of this genre?
- (SIMPLE)Common language—simple words, easy to understand, young children need to learn basic vocabulary; (scared—opp. For positive interpretation; worm—child doesn’t understand categorization) Singular message—one thing you’re trying to teach child—simple! Don’t complicate
- Include some kind of animal—help children understand “moral.” Animals are easy to relate to; simpler; like animals cognitively; innocence; comforting
- Always have pictures—elaborate details, but simple for a child to understand, visualize
- Mechanics of the text– Sizing of the words—pay attention to the size of the words—big words can mean loud expression, small words can mean general conversation+ Punctuation—it matters!
- Conclusion: Summarize knowledge we shared, indicate what knowledge is still left to learn, “go wider” link your topic to a larger topic.
Step 4: Understand the genre as a reader: what are readers looking for? Who are the readers?
Step 5: Outline
*USE MORE EXAMPLES!!!
Introduction—definition of children’s books, why are you teaching me how to write a children’s book, discourse community, main features that you’ll discuss in the paper—Israel, Nieve, Yarielid
- (SIMPLE)Common language—simple words, easy to understand, young children need to learn basic vocabulary; (scared—opp. For positive interpretation; worm—child doesn’t understand categorization) Singular message—one thing you’re trying to teach child—simple! Don’t complicate (Jalysa, Max, Kemar, Aktia)
- Include some kind of animal—help children understand “moral.” Animals are easy to relate to; simpler; like animals cognitively; innocence; comforting (Guevara, Reina, Anabel, Fathima)
- Always have pictures—elaborate details, but simple for a child to understand, visualize(Prince, Saul, Pende, Porshe)
- Mechanics of the text– Sizing of the words—pay attention to the size of the words—big words can mean loud expression, small words can mean general conversation+ Punctuation—it matters! (Mentor, Joel)
- Conclusion: Summarize knowledge we shared, indicate what knowledge is still left to learn, “go wider” link your topic to a larger topic.(Erick, Katarina, Rebeca)
Here’s a site to find more information on APA: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html
The genre of children’s literature is more complex than it first appears. Though the language is simple, there is always an implicit or explicit lesson that encourages the reader and their parents to further engage in discussion. Whether the importance of friendship or how to process death, the reader should be wiser for having read the book. A vital component as well is visual language. Illustrated books that pair colorful images with expressive punctuation and fonts are more likely to capture and maintain a child’s attention. In this way, children’s literature differs greatly from that geared towards adult readers. Without the introduction of literature at an early age, however, adult readers aren’t likely to exist. Therefor, the community at large, and not just children and their parents, benefit from authors continually adding to the conversation surrounding children’s stories and supporting a literate society. .
Children’s books are essential in the growth of a child because they teach children important morals, values and skills. Many authors use similar formatting in their books such as mechanics, the simplicity of words, animals in which they learn compassion and innocence which ties in to the lessons taught. Although there are factors within the book, for instance the illustrations, the pictures also reveal important values needed in life. As the child grows up, they will grow remembering the morals and values taught by the books because sometimes parents find it difficult to find time to teach their children all the values. Therefore, through illustrations and stories, a child visualizes those important morals. Since children’s books are the first type of text we read as a child, it is essential that they contain values that are going to be carried along for life.
In a children’s book sizing of the word is a very important task. One reason is because if a word is all in caps or it’s being italicized it can mean many different things. For example in the children’s book by Dema (n.d.) “I missed the sound of her tail going while she waited for me at the bottom of the stairs” (pg.19), she italicizes the word thump twice because she wants the reader to imagine the dog waiting for her and just smacking her tail against the floor. Another example is using small words for kids to understand better. In a book by Wilson and Chapman (n.d.) “but it’s cold, cold, cold” (pg.4), the word cold is used repeatedly to make the reader who is most likely going to be a child feel or see what is happening in the book and therefore get the idea that it must be cold in that certain part of the book. That is why the mechanics and sizing of words is a very important task to be followed when writing children’s books.
-Mentor Mahmuti
Fadiman (2001) writes that “Children’s books are the body of written works and accompanying illustrations produced in order to entertain or instruct young people” (p.1). The importance of teaching how to write children’s books goes beyond the Elementary School years. It provides them with opportunities to respond to literature, as well develop emotional intelligence and creativity that they will continue having throughout their whole life. In the following I will be discussing why is it important for children from the ages of 2 to 10 to understand how and why do books play such an important role in the early childhood years, as well different mechanisms about how to do them and what makes them so special.
introducing a picture to a children book is a major help for their understanding of the text. Pictures simplify the way children interact and understand what the story is about. For example in the book Bear Feels Scared their are pages with just picture which defines how the bear feels and is going through in that exact moment. In the picture you can observe the way the bear holds on to a tree and how he seems frighten. In this text the picture comes in handy because on the previous page it talks about how the bear is lost in the woods and when you turn the page it shows the picture that illustrates what the text is saying. In a way pictures are a form of entertainment and keeps the child motivated to keep reading.
A feature of a children’s book is pictures. Children’s book always include pictures because the picture elaborate more on the topic been conveyed. In Wilson and Chapman (2011), it showed a picture of a bear griping on to the tree (p.6) . In the picture the bear eyes were widely open and was holding on to the branches firmly. The colors of the picture was dull. This was to illustrate how scared the bear was. The features of the picture were able to tell the child how fear look like more than words did.
Include some kind of animal—help children understand “moral.” Animals are easy to relate to; simpler; like animals cognitively; innocence; comforting.
Children are able to relate to animals if they are depicted in a friendly manner. It does help when the animals are expressive or are given qualities normally given to people. For instance, in Bear Feels Scared, the bear feels fear, howling, “ Poor me!” once it realizes that it is lost, expressing worry in the illustration provided(Wilson & Chapman, n.d, p. 8). This softness given to the bear provides innocence and possibly causes the child to sympathize with the bear. To sympathize with animals can also be seen in Huber’s Bree Finds a Friend where Bree digs up worms and makes friends on the way. Bree and her friend Johanna proceed to personify the worms, stating that “Bree found a grandma and two cousins…”, which encourages the reader to find the many worms they find relatable(2014, p. 11).
children’s book is a book that have stories made very very simple for children understanding. Because children are so vulnerable and they are eager to developing their interest in everything that they see around them, the children’s book should be made in such a way to attract their attention. Before you can write a children’s book, you must think of things that are imagery, the use of simple words to boast their understanding. The community should be the children, Educators and parents who may find the book very interested.
In most children’s book they’ll have animals to show you lessons about life. According to Demas (2004), its shows how when the girl had a process with her dog because she knew he was getting old. she was spending all the time with him till one day he didn’t wake up and made her sad. she was sad because that was her friend she was always happy to come home to see him. Kids love animals because they’ll feel comfort like someone they would go to when they sad. also another message of this book was to let it go and move on. because not everybody going to be there forever.
All children’s books must be simple, so that the early reader can understand what they read before moving on to the more sophisticated writings. By simple, this refers to basic vocabulary, and a story that is easy to understand. Mike Huber and Joseph Cowman’s “Bree Finds A Friend” uses basic vocabulary, since she does not specify the breed of the worm. She also calls the worm “Wormy” (Huber, n.d., 8), instead of giving it a human or object name. The story is also easy to understand, because it talks about friendship and family. Making friends and being part of a family is something people do and understand before they go to school. Starting with a book such as “Bree Finds A Friend” is a good way to start reading before reading intermediate and advanced novels.
Children’s books often incorporates at least one animal in order for children to understand the moral of the story. Children and animals have a positive relation between each other because animals are a source of comfort. Demas (2004) mentions, ” I lay down beside Lulu and stroked back. Her fur was soft and fuzzy…” The girl simply lays with her dog Lulu because Lulu is her home, and safe zone. “Mommy told me Lulu was dead” (Demas, 2004). The the passing of the dog shows the young reader a moral in life, which is that everything has to go at one point. However, by having an animal involved as opposed to a human in the story, makes it more simpler to cope and comprehend.
A feature that you will ind in every true children’s book is simplicity. When i say a rue children’s book I mean one that is targeted for children to read and be able to comprehend on their own. Simplicity can be conveyed through the ideal an author is trying to teach a child and the best way to do that is through the use of simple language. For example in Saying by to Lulu by Corinne Demas (2004) the idea that it is okay to let go is conveyed in the narrator saying “Goodbye Lulu.’ Goodbye is such a simple word but it was able to mean so much in this story. When the narrator said goodbye that was here way of finally coming to terms with the death of her animal best friend after being unable to for s long after her its death. Bear Feel Scared written by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman (2007) aims to teach kids that everyone gets scared sometimes. “Scared” is one of the simplest feelings for a child to understand. Note that he word isn’t fearful or frightened. Scared is a word hat would you would more hear from a child and therefore makes it more relatable and easy to understand. You wouldn’t want o over complicate things to an audience that crave immediate gratification, so the simpler the ideas the better.
Growing up between the ages of 2-10 we enjoyed many activities in and out of school, some of which helped jump start our literacy career and shape our lives today unknowingly at the time. One literacy tool many of us have utilized is the famous children’s book, whether a parent has read one to you or being a part of the school curriculum. Children’s books are a collection of stories with ideas and activities involving children. A children’s book is created with the purpose of teaching significant morals and life lessons that will help guide children’s decision-making skills and shape their attitudes/ ways of thinking. This will then serve the larger purpose in helping children succeed in life and all of its obstacles that follow along with it. The discourse community of children’s books ranges from both children and parents to authors, educators, and librarians. All members use the children’s book by gaining, teaching, or creating the knowledge that it contains. Children’s books have many characteristics in common such as simple language, animal incorporation, imagery, and mechanics of the text including punctuation and sizing. For those of you who wish to be a children’s book author, I will be teaching you the mechanics of writing a children’s book.
Children books are most often or always written with simple words and phrases that have basic definitions behind them. This is due to the fact that children are simple minded and too young to understand words that are too hard to understand or pronounce. This can be shown in the children’s book Bree finds a friend in which Bree is digging for worms and she finds two worms and one is larger than the other. “Here’s the worm house, you want to put the baby in with the mommy”(Huber, 2014). The quote illustrates how children would categorize worms that differ in size. A child would make the connection between animals and humans in which the larger would be considered the mommy or daddy. The purpose behind this is to help the children make it easier to understand the story.
The children book “Good Bye to Lulu” is illustrated with an very old dog named Lulu. The pictures are the visual language reflecting what Lulu does on every page of the book. In this book Corinne Demas points out the relationship between children and animals. The child, here is very close to her dog “Lulu” at the point that even after Lulu death, the child experiences loneliness. We can easily feel her loneliness when she still does not want any other dog except lulu by saying “I wanted lulu to come dashing out to meet my bus when i came home from school” Here the little girl still thinking of her dog as he was her best friend.
When discussing children’s books, it is important as the author to fiddle with the mechanics of the text in order to better relate to your reader, which are the children. The mechanics of the text can be the sizing of the words, the punctuation, the colors of the words and many other features. These mechanisms are valuable to a children’s book because it can help the child understand what the message of the story is and emphasize the important parts of the story. Many kids can not understand turning points and lessons in stories so sizing the words larger or using certain punctuation can help them understand. Huber (2014) writes, “And they did!” (pg. 18) in larger text than all the other words in the story to emphasize the two girls achievement of finding a worm family and more importantly, how they did it together hinting how he says ‘they’ instead of ”I’. Huber also uses an exclamation point to further show how crucial that moment was for the girls. The mechanics of writing can change the moods and the scenario of the story.
Children often correlate pictures and words in their early stages of life. Pictures gives children the understanding of certain emotions. In books if a child is happy, sad, and or mad you can see the child’s expression which is either a smile, frown or anger. Colors usually helps kids express certain emotions, Huber (2014) Bree is happy that she found her new friend worm and you can see the excitement in her face (p.5).
Children’s Books always has a moral lesson to teach and for the children to be able to understand the author used animals to help the children to make a connect with the lesson that the book as at the end. for example , in “Saying Goodbye to Lulu” by Corinne Demas (2004) is teaching the children that it is ok to let go on someone that you love care for because at the end everything will get better “You’re not Lulu,’ I whisper to him. ‘Still, I’ll love you, too.’ But I think he already knows that”(p.27). Children books helps children to learn how deal with difficult situations like saying goodbye to a person or someone that you lost and have know your whole live. Saying goodbye to someone situation that in the future you are going to used it is good that children learning how to let go and to moved on.
In order for your story books to be well received by majority of children, you should be very simple. You should aim in using larger and visible font in your text and ensure that they are appealing to a child’s reading. For example, ” And the Bear Feels Scared” (Wilson and Chapman, 2008). The writer mentioned these words numerous time in the book to emphases the message Bear feels scared to children. In other word, a child reading this book will forever remember the text, the way it was written and the message. This is different from general adult writing. While it is important to draw a child attention to the context and the message, adult community is a group of people who know what they want and have a desire for what they need to do with their time. so, adult writing therefore do not persuade but children books are simple and persuasive.
The Children books are always written in a simple way because there are words that children do not understand, so in order not to make those words seem difficult to children, they first need to learn simple words first. So, they can understand the definition of those simple words. Children often can not pronounce some words because they find those words harder. So, we need to help the children how to pronounce the words properly and they will be able to use the words within the sentences. Which will help the children to learn better. The children’s book of The mouth of with a Mind of its own is describing how a child like Matthew have a problem in speaking. He could say his pronounce words properly in his mind but when he tries to speak the word out, he just could not say the words properly. In order to make it simple for Matthew, his teacher taught him how to sound out the alphabet letters properly first. “One sound that was really tough for Matthew was /s/. Every time he tried to use it in a word, his tongue bumped put it a /t/ sound. Instead of “say,” his mouth “stay,” Instead of “soup,” his mouth said, “stoop”. Start with /s/, then let your tongue fall down for the next sound,” explained Mrs.Hicks” (Mervine, 2014). This quote explains how this is important to teach the children to learn simple words and so they can pronounce the words properly. Also, they will be able to read storybooks by themselves. The children will not be scared to speak and helping the children to learn words will benefit them in reading and writing.
The children books saying goodbye to Lulu is a sad book because it how Lulu is dying. The children is a easy book to read from a child point of view because it’s simple and easy to understand. Lulu was a great dog but is unable to do daily function that is usually does. However, child in the book and probably to the reader doesn’t realize that a person/pet has to go and be gone from the earth which to some probably make it difficult to understand the situation of a person passing away. Children might not understand everything that’s going on around them; however, one they them growing they will.