Evaluatioins of Childrens Literature: Realistic Fiction, Modern Fantasy & Historical Fiction - Essay Example

Realistic Fiction & Modern Fantasy Children’s literature has evolved over the years to cover a wide spectrum of themes and styles providing young readers with a cornucopia of tales that feed their imagination and curiosity. Norton (2006) explains how children’s literature can transport readers into various worlds that traverse time and space. Contemporary realistic fiction helps put a clear perspective on reality and how the reader can deal with it by equipping the characters of the story with the necessary values and skills to survive the challenges he or she faces in the context of the story.

The reader is able to relate to the situations of the characters as these were drawn from real situations by the authors. This may be contrasted to modern fantasy books that indulge the reader in wishful thinking as fantasy dominates reality in the theme. The value of these fantasy books thrive in enriching imaginative thinking and creativity on the part of the reader. One subject in contemporary realistic fiction that is most appreciated by children is about growing up (Norton, 2006). Scholastic Books offers several series of storybooks featuring characters that deal with issues of growth and development.

One example is the Franklin series by Bourgeouis, & Clark (1990’s). Although the characters in the stories are animals, the plots and settings are realistic. Situations like dealing with a new baby or getting lost may be considered common, everyday experiences, but in these realistic fiction books, the main character, Franklin, a turtle, shows the readers how he struggles with these issues and emerge triumphant over the challenging situations he faces. A modern fantasy book may also achieve the same goal of empowering a character with realizations from his own imagination.

An example is Maurice Sendak’s (1963) “Where the Wild Things Are”. In this popular children’s book, Max is a little boy who attempts to confront his own fears by concocting a fantasy in his mind. The setting changes into a place where wild things run freely, the wild things being the scariest creatures children can ever imagine. In this story, Max takes control of his fear by taking on a brave persona to dominate the wild creatures even if deep inside, he is terribly frightened. Such courage becomes a part of him even when he goes back to his own realityHistorical Fiction Norton (2006) explains that in historical fiction, readers get to peek at how people lived in the past.

Some criteria for historical fiction are as follows: Readers can gain insight and understanding of their own heritage. They also get to visualize history as it unfolds and how different times have changed from the past. They discover universal truths that hold no matter what time frame they live in. Finally, readers may be able to identify feelings and behaviors in the characters of the story that lead to the development of their empathy, cooperation, tolerance and other virtues that are worthy of emulation by contemporary readers.

Examples of historical fiction are Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” (1876) and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (1885). The stories are about adventurous boyhoods along the Mississippi river. The plots of the stories depict traditional Southern values of the past which strictly uphold morality. Another example of historical fiction is Louisa May Alcott’s (1868) “Little Women”, which feature four sisters with different personalities who lived during the oppressive era where women’s rights were very limited.

These stories all comply to the aforementioned criteria for historical fiction. Readers from the South may relate well to Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and appreciate their own heritage as immortalized in Mark Twain’s literature. “Little Women” showcases how women lived and were treated in the past and readers can appreciate how emancipated they are now, enjoying rights and privileges that were unimaginable at the time of Alcott’s writing. Readers realize universal truths in the plots of the historical fiction stories that in conflicts between good and evil, good usually prevails, and it is better to stay on the straight but narrow path.

More positive outcomes are derived from doing so. Lastly, the transformation in the personalities of the characters of all three historical fiction stories is better understood due to the clear unfolding of their feelings and behaviors leading to their change. The stories narrate how the characters learn their lessons from mistakes they have committed and readers can vicariously learn how to avoid such mistakes in their own lives. Exemplary historical fiction in children’s literature may reflect storylines and settings from the past, but should be successful in allowing readers to relate to it in their present-life context.

It displays the wisdom learned from their predecessors that they can emulate and utilize in their own lives.Works CitedAlcott, L.M., Little Women, Roberts Brothers, 1868Bourgeouis, P. & Clark, B. Franklin Series. Scholastic Inc.1990’sNorton, D.E., Through the Eyes of a Child: An Introduction to Childrens Literature 7th Edition, Prentice-Hall 2006Sendak, M., Where the Wild Things Are, Harper & Row, 1963Twain, M. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, American Publishing Company, 1876Twain, M. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Charles L.

Webster And Company, 1885