Abstract
Judy Blume's classic novel, "Are You there God? It's Me, Margaret", is considered one of the best and most enduring pieces of modern young adult fiction for its exploration of topics and situations that occur in the lives of almost every adolescent. This paper explores the novel in terms of how Blume's presentation of the character of Margaret allows Blume to address issues experienced by adolescents, especially younger girls

Abstract
This paper shows the difference between older and modern children's literature by comparing the relationship gender plays in each. Historically girls were portrayed as passive and succeed only due to the actions of others, as in "Snow White", and boys succeed because of their mischievous behaviour, as in "Jack and the Beanstalk". More recent children's literature reverses this role by making girls capable of being more active, as diplayed by the protagonist of "The Paper Bag Princess", although boys have remained reliant on mischief, as in "Haroun and the Sea of Stories."

From the Paper
"As is true in society, gender affects how certain characters deal with the obstacles inherent in both life and in children's literature. Bruno Bettelheim argues that "the message that fairy tales get across to the child" [is] that a struggle against severe difficulties in life "is an intrinsic part of human existence but that if one does not shy away, but steadfastly meets unexpected and often unjust hardships, one masters all obstacles and at the end emerges victorious" (381). What Bettelheim does not acknowledge is that historically, in much of children's literature girls do not succeed based on their own actions and boys often emerge on top by behaving in a devious manner. This is particularly true of fairy tales. In more recent literature those positions are not necessarily true; girls have become dominant through action, although boys have continued to rely on mischief."

Tags:beanstalk, books, children, english, fairy, gender, haroun, jack, munsche, passive, patterns, snow, success, tales, white

Abstract
This paper analyzes the mature theme of survival as discussed in Rebecca Lukens' work "The Critical Handbook of Children's Literature." Using "Hana's Suitcase" and "The Paper Bag Princess" as examples, the paper looks closely at the plot, characterization and setting of these two works in order to determine the mature theme and its effects upon the readers.

From the Paper
"Children's literature can often be a source of education for children and this instruction can either be personal or school-related data. Rebecca Lukens, author of "A Critical Handbook of Children's Literature," explains how themes can be instrumental in this education. Some pieces of children's literature, such as "Hana's Suitcase" and "The Paper Bag Princess" have included such mature themes to engage their readers in their stories. The mature theme of survival, as found in the texts of "Hana's Suitcase" by Karen Levine and "The Paper Bag Princess" by Robert Munsch, is illustrated through the use of plot, character and setting. The plot of "Hana's Suitcase" shows examples of the mature theme of survival. As Lukens states, the theme is "one that enlarges our understanding and the one we discover for ourselves" (93)."

Tags:levine, munsch, lukens

Abstract
This paper describes how influential children's literature can be in forming ideas and stereotypes with relation to gender issues. It explains how crucial the early stages in life are in forming opinions of the society we live and grow up in.

From the paper:

Books are not only an important resource for helping to develop the language skills of a child, adding to his imagination by presenting to him new ideas and thoughts as well as to the child?s vocabulary by presenting to him or her new words and phrases. The books that a child reads also play a significant and important role in transmitting the culture of the society to the child of which the child is a member. An important part of the culture of the society where the child is born and grows up are the various gender roles. The way that genders are portrayed in the children?s books in this way contributes to the image children develop of their own role and that of their gender in society.

Tags:male, female, social, cultural, image

Abstract
This paper examines arguments by many religious leaders why they consider the Harry Potter series to be anti-Christian and pro-Pagan. It looks at different articles and opinions from religious leaders as to why they think this is the case. It also takes examples from the various books in the series on which their arguments are based.

From the Paper
"The Harry Potter Series by British author J.K. Rowling and the recently released film have introduced youngsters everywhere to the fantastical world of the occult. Whereas some parents and educators praise the series for renewing children's weaning interest in reading, other critics, especially those from the Christian sector, fear that this book is introducing children to paginated ideals. The Bible tells us, that "There shall not be found among you anyone who... practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord..." Harry Potter and his cohorts practice these condemned activities with no mention of the Christian blasphemies they are committing, and have resultantly enraged critics everywhere. "

Tags:religious, rowling, children, bible, god, witch, fantasy, education, parents

Abstract
This paper is concerning different kinds of Cinderella stories from different cultures. It makes interesting comparisons on major plot differences based on cultural differences. The main emphasis of the paper is on the negative messages that the tales portray to children (being ideals of superficiality and materialism) and the way that these influence children's self-esteem.

From the Paper
"The truth is, the world has been shallow for ages. We learned such values when we were only children, and our parents learned the same values when they were children, and so on for centuries past, all from a simple bedtime story. The infamous story is Cinderella; the story of a beautiful girl who is mistreated by her ugly stepsisters, only to thwart them by eventually meeting, and immediately falling in love with, a rich, handsome prince. Almost any person you talk to will tell you that he or she was read this tale as a child, or is at least familiar with it. The characters in Cinderella stories embody values that are both superficial and materialistic, and the stories teach children to model their own lives after the characters in the stories in order to achieve the happy ending they want in their own lives. The different characters in the Cinderella stories show not only that true love is based on looks, but also that being unattractive reflects bad character. These lessons are taught in most Cinderella stories, three of which are the Disney Cinderella, the McLoughlin Brothers' "Cinderella", and the "Tale of the Anklet". These stories send bad messages to children because they have a negative effect on the children's self-esteem.?

Tags:anklet, beauty, confidence, materialism, superficial

Abstract
The paper examines aboriginal stories for children that include fantasy, history, dream-time legends and picture books with a strong ethnographic, anthropological basis. The books discussed in this paper included the following: "The Rabbits" by J. Marsden and S. Tan, "Nana's Land" by D. Sarago -Kendrick, "The Two Wallabies" by C. Nicholls and H. Jakamarra, "Journey of the Great Lake" by P. Trezise, "Papunya School Book of Country and History" by N. Wheatley, "Sand Swimmers" by N. Narelle Oliver, "When I Was Little Like You" by M. Mary Malbunka and "The Burnt Stick" by A. Hill.

From the Paper
"From the time of colonial settlement, aboriginal culture has been represented in various ways within Australian society. Stories of the dreaming that were originally shared vocally, as well as in paintings on rocks and on the land, by aboriginal people are retold today in the written form. Children's books play a vital role in shaping young people's views of the world. Understanding Australian culture and its past; helps shape the relationships between white and aboriginal children in today's society. Focusing on children's books published from 1985 to the present day, representations of aboriginal culture are brought to life in different ways according to the identity of the authors who tell these stories. According to Collins (2002), representations of aboriginality in Western literature, change the cultural reality of the story from the aboriginal perspective into western truths."

Tags:stories, storytelling, dreaming, identity, views, settlers

Abstract
The paper explains how in picture books, the illustrator takes on the important role of collaborating with the author to portray the story in a particular way, thus adding meaning to the text. The paper examines "A Baby for Grace" and "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" and compares and contrasts how the illustrator conveys the characters in these stories.

From the Paper
"According to Sipe (1998, p17), the essence of the picture book is the way the text and illustrations relate to each other. This relationship, between written and visual texts, often contains more complex and meaningful messages than many readers would expect from a story for children (Sipe, 1998, p17). Once the reader becomes aware of the conventions that are contained in many picture books, we begin to gain a high level of respect for these books. In children's books, the author has the vital function in telling a story, and this can come in various forms of genres from fantasy to humour, folkstory genre, family relationships and many more. In picture books, the illustrator takes on the important role of collaborating with the author to portray the story in a particular way, thus adding meaning to the text (Sipe, 1998, p19)."

Tags:characters, genre, feelings, framing, techniques

From the Paper
"Some things about fairy tales we know to be true. They begin with "once upon a time." They end with "happily ever after." And somewhere in between the prince rescues the damsel in distress.
Of course, this is not actually the case. Many fairytales omit these essential words. But few fairytales in the Western tradition indeed fail to have a beautiful, passive maiden rescued by a vibrant man, usually her superior in either social rank or in moral standing. Indeed, it is precisely the passivity of the women in fairy tales that has led so many progressive parents to wonder whether their children should be exposed to them. Can any girl ever really believe that she can grow up to be president or CEO or an astronaut after five viewings of Disney's "Snow White"?"

Bacchilega (1997, chapter 2) chooses "Snow White" as a nearl

Abstract
This paper shows how Winton uses various literary devices, in his book "Blueback", to highlight the underlying themes of the book such as descriptive language, similes, metaphors, personification, use of transferred epithets, and sentence structure. The paper discusses the key themes of the novel; growing up, aging and death, dreams and memories, which are interrelated to the main theme of the environment. The paper is of the opinion that, after reading this book, readers may be persuaded to take greater caution to respect the environment and the creatures of the sea.

From the Paper
"The story focuses on a young boy, Abel, growing up who yearns to discover the secrets of the sea. After spending his entire youth growing up, living beside and learning about the ocean from his mother Dora, and scaled friend Blueback, Abel decides to move away to study the sea and the creatures that live in it. After traveling the world as a marine biologist, finding true love and growing into his middle ages, Abel learns a hard lesson in life. Abel comes to realize that no amount of education could compare to the relationship his mother had with the sea, for she was the one who stayed in Longboat Bay and fought to keep the sea free from harm."

Tags:sea, water, environment, Abel, Dora, Longboat, Bay, death, aging, dreams, memories