English (ENGL) 305
Literature for Children (Revision 4)

Revision 4 is closed for registrations, see current revision
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Delivery Mode: Individualized study or grouped study
Credits: 6
Area of Study: Humanities
Prerequisite: ENGL 211 and ENGL 212 or equivalent first year English course(s).
Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
ENGL 305 has a Challenge for Credit option.
Overview
This course introduces the student to children's literature, its history and development, and its rich variety of forms and techniques. The required reading is not exhaustive but acquaints the student with some of the more important and representative forms, authors, and works of children's literature.
Note: Since this is a senior course, we expect students to have good reading and writing skills as well as the basic critical tools and knowledge of literary forms and techniques that are acquired in an introductory university English literature course like Athabasca University's English 211 and 212. Students who do not have the recommended credits in an introductory English literature course may experience significant difficulty with the essay assignments and examinations.
Outline
- Lesson 1: Historical Background
- Lesson 2: The Folktale
- Lesson 3: From Folktale to Literary Tale
- Lesson 4: The Evolution of Fantasy
- Lesson 5: High Fantasy
- Lesson 6: Alternatives to High Fantasy
- Lesson 7: The Realistic Novel
- Lesson 8: Period and Historical Fiction
- Lesson 9: The Cultural Context
- Lesson 10: Non-fiction
- Lesson 11: Nursery Rhyme, Poetry and Nonsense Verse
- Lesson 12: The Picture Book and Illustration
- Lesson 13: Who Classifies the Classics?
- Lesson 14: Looking Back and Looking Ahead
Evaluation
To obtain credit for English 305, you must submit three essays of varying lengths and write two examinations, each of three hours duration. To receive credit for the course, you must obtain a minimum grade of D (50 percent) on each exam and a course composite (or final) grade of at least D (50 percent)
The weighting of the course assignments is as follows
Activity | Weighting |
---|---|
Essay 1 | 10% |
Essay 2 | 15% |
Essay 3 | 25% |
Midterm Exam | 25% |
Final Exam | 25% |
Total | 100% |
The midterm and final examinations for this course must be taken online with an AU-approved exam invigilator at an approved invigilation centre. It is your responsibility to ensure your chosen invigilation centre can accommodate online exams. For a list of invigilators who can accommodate online exams, visit the Exam Invigilation Network.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Course Materials
Textbooks
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms
Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting
Bourgeois, Paulette. Franklin in the Dark
David, Alfred, and Mary Elizabeth Meek, eds. The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Fairy Tales
George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves
Hautzig, Esther. The Endless Steppe
Jacobs, Joseph, ed. English Fairy Tales
Kipling, Rudyard. Just So Stories
Kogawa, Joy. Naomi’s Road
Lee, Dennis. Alligator Pie
Le Guin, Ursula. The Tombs of Atuan
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
MacDonald, George. The Princess and the Goblin
Milne, A. A. Winnie-the-Pooh
Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables
Munsch, Robert N. The Paper Bag Princess
Opie, Iona, and Peter Opie, eds. Puffin Book of Nursery Rhymes
Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins
Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet
Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Russell, David L. Literature for Children
Richler, Mordecai. Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are
Sutcliff, Rosemary. The Eagle of the Ninth
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit
White, E. B. Charlotte's Web
Other Material
The course materials include a student manual, study guide, and a reading file.
Challenge for Credit Overview
The Challenge for Credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Challenge Evaluation
To receive credit for the ENGL 305 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent) on each part of the examination.
Activity | Weighting |
---|---|
Take Home Essay | 50% |
Written Exam | 50% |
Total | 100% |
Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 4, January 8, 2015.
View previous syllabus