The main text for this course is the Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature. Copies are available in the College Store, along with copies of the St. Martin’s Handbook which you should keep on hand as a reference when you’re writing.  Our final text for the course will be JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. You may use your own reading copy if you have one.   Anyone who doesn’t have a copy can order one online, or let me know and I will order one through the college store.  Some additional texts (for reading and viewing) are included in the schedule of assignments.  I will probably assign a few other things along the way that aren’t listed there, so be sure to check Moodle regularly for details.  Any additional texts will be available on Moodle or on reserve in Skillman.

The texts we’re reading were intended for young readers, but we will not be approaching them as “easy” or “transparent.”  Rather, the academic study of children’s literature involves the same critical reading skills that you would use in any literature course. You should leave yourself enough time to read and then re-read texts assigned for discussion on a given day.  Get in the habit of marking passages you find significant, compelling, or perhaps puzzling and jotting down page numbers (or use some other system) so that you can locate the places you’d like to discuss in class.  Record your reading in your triple-entry notebook (additional details provided on Moodle).

I expect you to bring to every class your triple-entry notebook and whatever texts are up for discussion (including handouts and any assigned writing).  Should you forget (it happens), be sure to sit next to someone with whom you can share.  And if you see someone nearby who doesn’t have the reading, please offer to share your book.