Contemporary Spanish-language children's literature | Literatura infantil contemporánea en español 3305-WHLD-01W

The course is dedicated primarily to students interested in developing their ability to analyze and interpret texts for children, and also to place them in a broader context of popular culture as a whole. The aim of the classes is to encourage the development of critical reading skills, and also to introduce the fundamental concepts linked to the main currents of contemporary studies on children's and young people's literature.

Each class will be divided into three parts: a brief introduction to the topic, a study of theoretical texts (written in Spanish and English) and a discussion of chosen children's books. The readings proposed within the framework of the course form a wide variety, also with regard to different cultural backgrounds. From time to time the analysis will be accompanied by other examples, drawn from Anglo-Saxon or Polish culture, to mention just two.

The detailed program of the course is available in the section on activities in a particular didactic cycle.

Term 2025L:

The program covers the following topics:

I. Introduction: definition of the field of study and the development of children's literature

II. Elements of a children's book
1. Design and edition, paratexts
2. Composition and the polysemiotic (the role of illustrations).

III. Dilemmas of children's literature criticism
1. The ideological component in children's books
2. The reader of children's literature: the child as the Other, the concept of the double reader and adultcentrism.

IV. Classification of children's literature: examples
1. Illustrated albums
2. Wordless books
3. Non-fiction books

V. Nostalgic readings: adult readers of children's literature

Type of course

elective courses

Prerequisites (description)

Knowledge of Spanish at the level attained after completing the first/ second year of undergraduate studies; knowledge of basic concepts in literary studies.

Course coordinators

Karolina Stępień

Learning outcomes

• Knowledge: students know the singularities of various methodological approaches related to the analysis of children's literature; know the basic terms related to the criticism of children's literature, especially Iberian and Ibero-American one, and its most important critics (K_W02, K_W03). They understand the phenomena related to books for children (K_W04). Furthermore, they know how to inscribe them in a broader context of the whole Spanish-speaking pop culture and compare them with trends in other cultural fields, e.g. Polish (K_W05). They know both the most recognized writers and illustrators in the field in question, as well as their most important works (K_W04).
• Abilities: Students are able to define the key concepts for contemporary literary studies within the framework of children's literature (K_U07). They are also able to read and understand children's books written in Spanish (K_U01), and to carry out a critical analysis of the literary text — also in the form of an oral presentation — (K_U06) in an appropriate methodological context (K_U03). The skills listed above enable them to draw their own conclusions and reflect on contemporary popular culture intended for children (K_U02).
• Social skills: Student are prepared to critically evaluate their own knowledge in the field of children's literature and to keep developing it (K_K01). They are also prepared to take part in a debate on the topic in question (K_K02). The skills acquired enable them to actively participate in the Iberian and Ibero-American children's book market (K_K03). They are able to keep abreast of current trends in Spanish-speaking popular culture (K_K04).

Assessment criteria

Credit with a grade, which consists of: attendance, preparation for classes and active participation in classes.

The condition for passing the entire course is to obtain at least 60% of the total points for all elements of the course.

Methods of continuous assessment of learning outcomes (components of student preparation and active participation): oral presentation, discussion, compulsory and optional readings, presentation of children's book analyses, quizzes.

Practical placement

Bibliography

> Bibliography listed in the section on activities in a particular didactic cycle.

Term 2025L:

Primary resources:
• Antoniorrobles (1931). Automóviles audaces que de morir son capaces. In Cuentos de los juguetes vivos (ss. 15-35). Compañía Íbero-Americana de Publicaciones.
• Baredes, Carla, Lotersztain, Ileana y Arroyo, Eleonora (2012). Abuelas con identidad. iamiqué.
• Boselli, Amaia, Gatti, Vero (2016). Los indomables pensamientos del Señor O. Adriana Hidalgo.
• Canela, Roldán, Daniel (2011). La silla de imaginar. Cominic-Arte.
• Díaz Prieto, Mariano (2015). Doña Elba. Pípala.
• Gusti (2019). La mosca. Calibroscopio.
• Isol (2002). El globo. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
• Isol (2013). Petit, el monstruo. Calibroscopio.
• Isol. (2015). Abecedario a mano. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
• Kaufman, Ruth, Franco, Raquel y Bianki, Diego (2014). Abecedario. Abrir, bailar, comer y otras palabras importantes. Pequeño Editor.
• Luján, Jorge (2010). Pantuflas de perrito (Isol, il.). Pequeño Editor.
• Machado, Germán y Varela, Cecilia (2018). La jaula. Calibroscopio.
• Montes, Graciela (1995). Irulana y el ogronte: un cuento de mucho miedo. Gramón-Colihue.
• Montes, Graciela (2017). Irulana y el ogronte: un cuento de mucho miedo (Virginia Piñón, il.). Loqueleo.
• Pérez Navarro, Cristina (2010). En el silencio del bosque. A buen paso.
• Sancia, Martín (2009). Breves historias de animales sabrosos, engreídos, enamorados, malditos, venenosos, enlatados, tristes, cobardes, crueles, espinosos… (y otras historias) . Sudamericana.
• Santis, Pablo de (2021). El alumno nuevo. Calibroscopio.
• Schuff, Nicolás (2018). Quince ocasiones para pedir deseos en la calle (Marcos Guardiola, il.). Limonero.
• Zweig, Pablo (2005). El señor Pérez va al trabajo. SM.

Main secondary resources:
• Arizpe, Evelyn y Styles, Morag (2004). La naturaleza de los álbumes ilustrados. In Lectura de imágenes. Los niños interpretan textos visuales (Maria Vinós Zelaya, trad., pp. 43-70). Fondo de Cultura Económica. (Original work published in 2003).
• Bird, Elizabeth, Yokota Junko (2018). Picturebooks and Illustrated Books. Im Bettina Kèummerling-Meibauer (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Picturebooks (pp. 281-290). Routledge.
• Cackowska, Małgorzata (2013). Ideologie dzieciństwa a/i tabu w książkach obrazkowych dla dzieci. Opuscula Sociologica, 3 (5), 19-30.
• Christensen, Nina (2018). Picturebooks and Representantions of Childhood. In Bettina Kèummerling-Meibauer (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Picturebooks (pp. 360-370). Routledge.
• Coats, Karen (2013). The Meaning of Children’s Poetry: A Cognitive Approach. International Research in Children’s Literature, 6 (2), 127–142. DOI: 10.3366/ircl.2013.0094.
• Colomer Teresa (ed.) (2002). Los componentes de la imagen. In Siete llaves para valorar las historias infantiles (pp. 104-107). Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez.
• Dorfman, Ariel (1974). Inocencia y neocolonialismo: un caso de dominio ideológico en la literatura infantil. In Reader’s nuestro que estás en la tierra: ensayos sobre el imperialismo cultural (pp. 15–54). Ediciones Godot. (Original work published in 1971).
• Duran, Teresa y Bosh, Emma (2011). Before and After the Picturebook Frame: A Typology of Endpapers. New Review of Children´s Literature and Librarianship, 17 (2), 122-143.
• Nikolajeva, Maria (2010). The Identification Fallacy: Perspective and Subjectivity in Children’s Literature. In Mark Cadden (Ed.) Telling Children's Stories: Narrative Theory and Children's Literature (pp. 187-208). University of Nebraska Press.
• Nodelman, Perry y Reimer, Mavis (2003). Common Assumptions About Childhood. In Allyn & Bacon (Ed.), The Pleasures of Children's Literature (pp. 79-98). (Original work published in 1992).
• Pantaleo, Sylvia (2018). Paratexts in picturebooks. In Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Picturebooks (pp. 38-48). Routledge.
• Ramos, Ana Margarida, Costa, Ines (2021). Literatura sin palabras, el caso de los libros-álbum sin texto. Acta Poética, 42 (1), 69-86.
• Rose, Gillian (2010). Interpretacja materiałów wizualnych. Krytyczna metodologia do badań nad wizualnością (Ewa Klekot, trad.). PWN. (Original work published in 2007).
• Silva-Díaz Ortega, María Cecilia (2005). Libros que enseñan a leer: álbumes metaficcionales y conocimiento literario [Praca doktorska]. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
• Tabernero Sala, Rosa (2005). Literatura infantil. Aproximación al ámbito de estudio. In Nuevas y viejas formas de contar. El discurso narrativo infantil en los umbrales del siglo XXI (pp. 21-56). Prensas Universitarias de Zaragoza.
• von Merveldt, Nikola (2018). Informational Picturebooks. In Bettina Kèummerling-Meibauer (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Picturebooks (pp. 231-245). Routledge.
• Veryeri Alaca, Ilgim (2018). Materiality in Picturebooks. Bettina Kèummerling-Meibauer (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Picturebooks (pp. 59-68). Routledge.
• Vásquez Vargas, Magdalena (2002). Fundamentos teóricos para una interpretación crítica de la literatura infantil. Revista Comunicación, 2(23), 91-108.

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3305-WHLD-01W in USOSweb