Children's Books in Children's Hands: A Brief Introduction to Their Literature

by Charles A. Temple, Miriam G. Martínez, Junko Yokota

A resource for pre- and in-service teachers, librarians, and all who seek to encourage children to enter the world of books. Part I orients the reader to the study of children's literature, with chapters on children's personality and intellectual development, literary elements of children's literatu

Genres: Teaching, Childrens, Education, Nonfiction, Reference

384 pages, Unbound

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Cindy Klement · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book on how literature stimulates children's thinking from picture books to classics. I'm taking this for a class and had no idea it would be this interesting. My daughter is an elementary teacher in San Diego an I will definitely forward this to her for her library. It really is a must for teachers!

[Audren Bruszer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I gave it three stars is because I am not an in-service teacher yet. Which means I do not have a clear image of how this will be applied. So to me, it is still a textbook that I can only imagine applying to my career, which makes it slightly more difficult to get through. Otherwise, quite inspiring! There are plenty of resources provided in the back to extend from just the book itself. This book is like a starting point for teaching literature to young children in the classroom. Although I don't doubt that this can be used outside the classroom as well. It is definitely to keep a book to keep for reference if you are a primary grade teacher. Although, this may not be a bad book to have for secondary grade teachers either. It may help as a reference for looking at strategies/underlying issues in correcting habits and growing skills in literacy among the older students.

[Ellen Deckinga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for grad school. It had some great tidbits for enhancing my knowledge, and I enjoyed the endless list of books it provided. I feel like it will be a good resource when I'm looking for specific texts for specific content or themes.

[Christine (Tina) · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a class, which I loved! Easy read, great refresher, and a nice companion text for the children's lit class.

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful resource for anyone who is involved with encouraging the love of reading in children. It includes detailed descriptions of the many varieties of children's literature, as well as stand-out examples from each genre and excellent resources for further reading. In addition, each chapter is full of text boxes encouraging readers to consider important issues in children's literature and literacy, as well as suggestions for best practices in teaching reading. It's all written in a very accessible style, so parents won't have any trouble using it to raise excellent readers. Teachers and librarians may find it extra useful, however, as the final few chapters involve creating a literature-rich learning environment.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the required textbook for the undergraduate level Children's Literature course I teach. I appreciate the e-textbook features from Pearson but also refer to the loose leaf hard copy version on a daily basis.

The writing is informative but not overly dry. There is an emphasis on how Children's Literature is applied in K-12 classroom settings, which is great but sometimes can be difficult for non-education majors to relate to. I use supplemental readings to cover some gaps but overall, I am happy with this textbook as an introduction to the complexity and art of Children's Literature.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My most used classroom resource- hands down.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

(reading throughout the semester in CI 546)

An invaluable resource for a classroom teacher.

[Shasta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Very useful. TOO EXPENSIVE!!!

[Ann Yanchura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of good suggestions for book titles by genre and literacy activities

[Sunah Chung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children's Books in Children's Hands is an introductory book to a novice who wants to study children’s literature. Each chapter makes clear the definition of each genre, type of literature, and criteria to evaluate qualities of literature for children. Moreover, the book provides an abundance of example literatures when a concept is described. This is helpful for me to make a connection between definitive concepts and examples in literature.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good for a textbook. Lots of interesting text features and information provided.

[Alissa]

Informative textbook. Lots of lists of great books included.