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	Dakota Writing Project
	Article: Children's Literature in the Middle and Secondary Classroom by Bill Young

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Children's Literature in the Middle and Secondary Classroom

Generally speaking children's literature uses pictures and a small amount of text to tell a story. For purists, a picture book is a picture storybook, a fiction book with a dual narrative, in which both the pictures and the text work interdependently to tell a story. It is a tale told in two media , the integration of visual and verbal art. Where the pictures are complimentary but not necessary for constructing story meaning, purists refer to the work as an illustrated book rather than a picture storybook (Benedict et al. 2).

Picture books share a number of characteristics: they are usually thirty-two pages long, although they may be as short as twenty-four and as long as forty-eight pages; pictures appear on almost every page or double page spread, with the pictures taking up most of the space; text is relatively brief. Just about any definition of a picture book, however, includes the requirement that, in a marriage of words and pictures, the two partners share the responsibility of making the book work (Benedict et al. 3).

The following five points underlie the assertion that picture books are appropriate supplementary materials for use with secondary students.

Themes of many picture books have universal value and appeal for all age levels. A broad spectrum of topics can be found in picture books. These include subjects that attract all ages, such as love, self-fulfillment, relationships, humor, and nostalgia. Picture books are able to cross all genre lines (Neal et al. 290-1).

Some of the best picture books may have been missed when the students were younger or may have been published since that time. Modern printing methods allow for much more vivid artwork and these works often share little resemblance to their predecessors. In, addition to the illustrations, the text of picture books has improved dramatically. By its very nature, the picture book must be brief, but the quality of writing must still meet high literary standards. Recent publications have not been hampered by the controlled vocabulary, readability formula and the "See Spot Run" dialogue necessary for publication in the past. Now, picture books are a vehicle through which students are introduced to the lyrical quality of language and passages rich in metaphor and description (Neal et al. 291).

Many issues raised demand a maturity level that young people do not possess. Modern picture books reflect the rising tide of realism in children's books in general. Beside the standard "four d's" (drugs, death, divorce and disability), topics such as war, nuclear destruction, and environmental issues have found their way into picture books (Neal et al. 291). Roberto Innocenti, in his picture book Rose Blanche, vividly shows the horror of the Holocaust through the eyes of a young school girl who is moved to try to alleviate the suffering of some Jewish children in a World War II concentration camp (Benedict et al. 9). Eve Bunting evokes strong memories of the Vietnam War through a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in The Wall (Neal et al. 291). In Tsuchiya's story, The Faithful Elephants, the author carefully crafts an emotional tale of the horrific implications of World War II on the denizens of the Tokyo Zoo (Danielson, Open 652).

The short format facilitates incorporating picture books into lessons. By design, the content of picture books is not difficult for secondary students to comprehend. This factor makes the books a natural for instructional planning. Through them, students quickly grasp new ideas and move on to application and creative activities. With picture books students are less likely to bog down in content, thereby becoming frustrated and perhaps never reaching the lessons final objective (Neal et al. 291).

Our visually orientated society has conditioned students to employ pictures as comprehension aids. In an age of television, movies and videos, young people are accustomed to using visual clues to augment their understanding of ideas. Picture books provide comfort to visual learners as every page includes some form of illustration--drawings, graphics, photographs (Neal et al. 291).

The educational value of using children's literature in the Middle and Secondary classroom goes beyond their content. Hearing and reading picture books, thinking about and working with them, can help children become better readers and writers (Benedict et al.6). Using picture books in the classroom can help readers build awareness of language, offers rich opportunities to explore and learn the conventions by which illustrations communicate meaning, and finally, allow for the exploration of form and structure in a non-intimidating environment (Benedict et al. 6-7).

Picture books in the hands of skilled language arts teachers, are a medium for all ages. Some picture books have special issues for a middle school or high school teacher working with developmental readers and with linguistically and culturally diverse students (Danielson, Open 652).

The vast quantity of picture books available is staggering to say the least. The criteria for successfully choosing picture books for the classroom is comparatively simple. Basically there are only two criteria in choosing picture books; quality of the art (aesthetics) and quality of the text. The pictures and the text need to work together to produce a harmonious whole (Benedict et al.8).

Selection of a picture book must relate to the instructional purpose. They should be chosen to illustrate a complex concept, introduce an important issue, or serve as a model for student writing, independent reading, or project work (Neal et al. 292).

As a general--and perhaps obvious--rule of thumb, the more complex and sophisticated the book, the more suitable for an older audience (Benedict et al. 9).

For picture books to be successfully incorporated into the middle and secondary classroom some important changes must be made. The first step is to change our standard perspective of literature. We need to consider picture books as literature--not children's literature--but as literature (Benedict et al. 13). Once we have taken this small step, we can begin to start thinking of cross curriculum use of picture books.

The visual nature of picture books provides a ready access to the author's message and can be used to create learning experiences for students across the curriculum (Neal et al. 292). Picture books can be used in the language arts classroom to promote students' writing ability and fluency (Neal et al. 292). The books can be introduced as "patterned language books" as many stories have simple patterns that students may emulate, thereby building confidence in written expression (Danielson, Patterned 748-9). Picture books represent a wonderful resource for vocabulary development as many of them incorporate a sophisticated level of vocabulary (Neal et al. 293).

Social Studies and the study of people, places and cultures is a natural compliment to picture books. The events in everyday life are often mirrored in the eyes of characters within and through out picture books. Mentioned above was a sampling of World War II and Vietnam related picture books. To these selections we could add Paul Revere's Ride which illustrates the Longfellow poem. To provide more gender equity, Sybill Rides for Independence, a similar story describing a virtually unknown, brave, sixteen year old Connecticut girl, and her "Paul Revere style" horseback ride, could be introduced. Current problem issues like homelessness could be brought forth for discussion after reading such books as Fly Away Home (Neal et al. 294).

The most obvious picture book (actually a series of picture books) for the science class is clearly The Magic School Bus. In this delightful series Ms. Frizzle guides her student on various explorations throughout the natural world aboard the Magic School Bus. Titles include The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System; The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body; The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth; and The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks (Benedict et al. 134).

In conclusion, picture books do what any good books do. Picture books entertain, they inform, they lead to greater understanding of the world around us. They teach. They teach about content, about they world they represent, about form, about literature and about language and about how stories can be told (Benedict et al. 10). Picture books, like every other form of art, are valuable teaching tools that every educator needs to know how to use and should always have on his/her educational toolbelt.

Works Cited

Benedict, Susan, ed. and Carlisle, Lenore, ed. Beyond Words: Picture Books For Older Readers. Portsmouth: Heinmann, 1992.

Danielson, Kathy Everts. "Open To Suggestion: Picture Books With Older Students." Journal Of Reading May 1992: 652-654.

Danielson, Kathy Everts. "Patterned Language Books For Writing." Journal Of Reading June 1989: 748-749.

Neal, Judith C. and Moore, Kay. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar meets Beowulf in secondary classrooms." Journal Of Reading Dec 1991/Jan 1992: 290-296.

Picture Books Cited In Text

Brown, D. Sybill Rides For Independence. Ill. Apple, M.. Niles Il: Albert Whitman Co., 1985

Bunting, Eve. The Wall. Ill. Himler, Ronald. New York: Clarion, 1990

Bunting, Eve. Fly Away Home. Ill. Himler, Ronald. New York: Clarion, 1991

Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus Lost In The Solar System. Ill Degen, Bruce. New York: Scholastic, 1990

---The Magic School Bus Inside The Earth. Ill Degen, Bruce. New York: Scholastic, 1986

---The Magic School Bus Inside The Human Body. Ill Degen, Bruce. New York: Scholastic, 1988

---The Magic School Bus At The Waterworks. Ill Degen, Bruce. New York: Scholastic, 1986

Innocenti, Roberto. Rose Blanche. London: Jonas Cape Ltd., 1985

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Paul Revere's Ride. Ill. Rand, T. New York: Dutton, 1990

Tsuchiya, Y. The Faithful Elephants. Boston: Houghton Miflin, 1988

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