All Time Favourite Children’s Books
B1 – B2
Module 1
January 17
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SUMMARY
Here’s What
We Will Be
Learning:
January 17
❑
What is children’s literature? Why are
children’s books important?
❑
A look at some timeless children’s stories.
❑
Exercises.
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VOCABULARY
Folk Tales: Part of folklore (traditions, customs and beliefs). These are stories
passed down through the ages by word-of-mouth.
For example: Little Red Riding Hood is a popular folk tale.
Glimpse: Looking at something or someone for a very short time.
For example: He got a glimpse of the mystery guest while passing his father’s
room.
Societal Norms: Standards or accepted behaviour in a society.
For example: Single parents have changed traditional societal norms.
Settlement: A previously empty land which people build their houses on and form
communities.
For example: A large Roman settlement has been discovered just outside the
French town.
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Children’s literature or Juvenile literature are
stories, poems, books and magazines intended for
children, teenagers and young adults.
These also include folk tales which have been
shared over generations by parents with their
children. Since time began, adults have kept the
tradition of story-telling alive by narrating or
reading, to children.
Authors like Aesop, Hans Christian Anderson,
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Enid Blyton created or
collected stories which have become timeless over
centuries. Most of them leaving behind a
meaningful truth about ethics and values.
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Many people feel reading children’s books
after a certain age is immature and shows
less intelligence. However, if you read
between the lines, children’s stories teach us
about life, family values and personal ethics.
They send the reader to far off unknown
places and in some way we can get a
glimpse of other countries and culture.
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Exercises – Part I
January 17
1)
Tell us something about a book you read in your childhood.
2)
What is your opinion of children’s literature?
3)
Do you have any favourite children’s literature author? If yes, tell us
about his/her work.
4)
Has any children’s book made an impact in your life? If yes, tell us
how?
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January 17
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First published on Christmas Eve 1926,
the Winnie-the-Pooh Series by A. A.
Milne have captured the hearts of
children all over the world. The storyline
revolves
around
a
bear
named
Winnie-the-Pooh (Pooh for short) and his
friends who live deep in the 100 Acre
Wood in England.
The stories are a mix of humour,
common
sense,
teamwork
and
leadership. Every story shows us the
importance of love, friendship and small
gestures which make lasting impressions
on people’s minds.
January 17
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One Thousand And One Nights or The Arabian
Nights is one of the oldest written collection of stories
and poems. Set in the Middle Eastern and South Asian
regions, the stories were compiled between the 8th and
12th centuries A.D.
The base of the stories is about a ruler in Persia, King
Shahryar and his clever wife Scheherazade, who
narrates a story each night for 1001 nights.
Each story talks about quick-wittedness, courage,
honesty, greed and malice. Some famous stories include
Sinbad the Sailor, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp and Ali
Baba and the Forty Thieves.
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Exercise – Part II
1)
Give us the antonyms for:
a) Courage
b) Deep
c) friend
3) Give the adjective for:
a) Humour
b) Malice
c) Poem
2) Give us synonyms for:
a) Greed
b) Old
c) Small
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The Jungle Book published in 1894 by
Rudyard Kipling (born and partly raised
in India), is a collection of stories centred
around a man-cub Mowgli. Mowgli, an
orphan is raised by wolves in the
Seeonee hills of India.
The stories make references to the law of
the jungle, rules of living with family,
conformity to societal norms, people’s
perception of the jungle and wild
animals, human nature and how animals
perceive humans.
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Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French,
is a picture-book series of the life of a
small furry Australian animal known as
a wombat.
The author makes use of funny images
and dialogues in her books to portray
different animals found in Australia.
Children get a great insight on types of
creatures, their habitats and food.
Through her books, Jackie French also
talks
about
forest
preservation,
safe-guarding the environment and
history of Australian settlements.
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Exercise – Part III
1)
2)
A wombat is…
a) A bird
b) A dish
c) An animal
Which of these is NOT a wild animal:
a) Wolf
b) Lion
c) Bear
d) Horse
3) Make sentences of your own using these words:
a) Literature
b) Folklore
c) Common-sense
d) Adventure
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