Week 6 note

New glossary

1. genre 

1770, "particular style of art," a French word in English, from French genre "kind, sort, style" (see gender (n.)). Used especially in French for "independent style." In painting, as an adjective, "depicting scenes of ordinary life" (a domestic interior or village scene, as compared to landscape, historical, etc.) from 1849.

a style, especially in the arts, that involves a particular set of characteristics

What genre does the book fall into - comedy or tragedy?

a literary / musical / film genre

A genre is a type of literature that has a common set of characteristics, Fairy tale, biography, fiction, memoir, science fiction, fantasy, and mystery can all be considered different genres of literature. "Genre" describes a group with similar characteristics.

2. genre-blend 

A genre-blend book could, combine a fictional mystery story with true biography, as we see in Zora and Me; it could also be a graphic novel working in the manner of a silent film, as we see in The Invention of Hugo Carbret. The information genre might blend with fantasy the way it does in The Magic School Bus series. A genre-blend book might combine the fantastic of magical realism with wimple biography as in The Dreamer, or it might combine folklore, realism, and fantasy in the way of the graphic novel American Born Chinese.

3. gender 

c. 1300, "kind, sort, class," from Old French gendre, genre "kind, species; character; gender" (12c., Modern French genre), from stem of Latin genus(genitive generis) "race, stock, family; kind, rank, order; species," also "(male or female) sex," from PIE root *gene- (see genus). Also used in Latin to translate Aristotle's Greek grammatical term genos. The grammatical sense is attested in English from late 14c. The -d- is a phonetic accretion in Old French (compare sound (n.1)). 

the physical and/or social condition of being male or female

Does this test show the gender of the baby?

4. Traditional (or folk) literature

It implies that the form comes to us from the ordinary person and exists orally rather than in writing- at least until some collector finds, records, and publishes the stories or rhymes. Folktales have been called the “spiritual history” of humankind, the “cement of society” binding a culture together. They seem to express the universality of human wishes and needs.

5. Literary lore

The literary lore that mimics characteristics of traditional literature of all kinds has been written since Hans Christian Andersen created his original fairy tales. His nineteenth century works continue to be celebrated, parodied, and illustrated in many styles to this day. The subgenres of traditional literature serve as the backbone of children

6. Fables

The fable is a very brief story, usually with animal characters, that points clearly to a moral or lesson. The moral, an explicit and didactic theme, is usually given at the end of the story and is the reason for the existence of the fable. The fable makes visible an objective lesson, like the one in “The Tortoise and Hare”: “Slow but steady wins the race”

There once was a speedy hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, Slow and Steady, the tortoise, challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.

Hare ran down the road for a while and then and paused to rest. He looked back at Slow and Steady and cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?"Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax."

Slow and Steady walked and walked. He never, ever stopped until he came to the finish line. The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise, they woke up Hare. Hare stretched and yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise was over the line. After that, Hare always reminded himself, "Don't brag about your lightning pace, for Slow and Steady won the race!"

7. Folktales

The folktale relies on flat characters, both bad and good, easily recognized. Since folktales were heard by the teller and then retold in the teller’s own words, there was hardly time for subtle character development. A brief phrase, which may be repeated often, serves to draw character, since the teller cannot risk losing the audience by departing from the fast-paced narration of action.

Stock characters, like the fairy godmother and the wicked stepmother in “Cinderella,” frequently appear. Conflicts are often between people or personified animals.

8. Fairy tales

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features folkloric fantasy characters, such as dwarves, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes,goblins, mermaids, trolls, unicorns, or witches, and usually magic or enchantments. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described)and explicitly moral tales, including beast fables. The term is mainly used for stories with origins in European tradition and, at least in recent centuries, mostly relates to children's literature.

9. Myths

A myth is any traditional story consisting of events that are ostensibly historical, though often supernatural, explaining the origins of a cultural practice or natural phenomenon. The word "myth" is derived from the Greek word mythos(μῦθος), which simply means "story". Mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths.^[4] Myth can mean 'sacred story', 'traditional narrative' or 'tale of the gods'. A myth also can be a story to explain why something exists.

The ancient Roman poet Ovid, in his "The Metamorphoses," told the story of the nymph Io who was seduced by Jupiter, the king of the gods. When his wife Juno became jealous, Jupiter transformed Io into a heifer to protect her. This panel relates the second half of the story. In the upper left, Jupiter emerges from clouds to order Mercury to rescue Io. In the lower left, Mercury guides his herd to the spot where Io is guarded by the hundred-eyed Argus. In the upper center, Mercury, disguised as a shepherd, lulls Argus to sleep and beheads him. Juno then takes Argus's eyes to ornament the tail feathers of her peacock and sends the Furies to pursue Io, who flees to the Nile River. At last, Jupiter prevails on his wife to cease tormenting the nymph, who, upon resuming her natural form, escapes to the forest and ultimately becomes the Egyptian goddess Isis. The panel was originally paired with another that depicted the first part of the story. The two were probably once installed in a house in Florence.

10. Folk Epics

The definition of a folk epic is a long poem about a traditional or historical hero.

An example of a folk epic is Beowulf, a poem that describes the traditions of a nation.

11. Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, a Bildungsroman (German pronunciation: [ˈbɪldʊŋs.ʁoˌmaːn]; German: "novel of formation, education, culture"), novel of formation, novel of education, or coming-of-age story (though it may also be known as a subset of the coming-of-age story) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood (coming of age), in which character change is extremely important.

Authors’ introductions

1.  Victoria Bond & T.R. Simon

Winner of the 2011 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award from the American Library Association

Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon met ten years ago while working together in publishing and became fast friends. After kicking around the idea of a collaboration for years, the idea of writing a middle-grade novel about Zora Neale Hurston emerged, and both knew they had stumbled into the project of their dreams. Excited and humbled by the opportunity to expose young readers to a seminal figure in twentieth-century American letters, they discovered that Zora’s life as both field anthropologist and writer custom-fit their own backgrounds. T. R. (Tanya) Simon has an MA in anthropology, while Victoria Bond holds an MFA in creative writing.

2. Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen

About the Author

Joanna Cole loved science as a child. "I always enjoyed explaining things and writing reports for school. I had a teacher who was a little like Ms. Frizzle. She loved her subject. Every week she had a child do an experiment in front of the room and I wanted to be that child every week," she recalls. It's no surprise that Cole's Favourite book as a child was Bugs, Insects, and Such.

Ms. Cole has worked as an elementary school teacher, a librarian, and a children's book editor. Combining her knowledge of children's literature with her love of science, she decided to write children's books. Her first book was Cockroaches, which she wrote because there had never been a book written about the insect before. "I had ample time to study the creature in my low-budget New York apartment!" Since then she has written more than 90 nonfiction and fiction books for children, and she is the winner of the 1991 Washington Post /Children's Book Guild Nonfiction award for the body of her work, which also includes the ALA Notable Children's Book How You Were Born, Bony-lets; Cars and How They Go; and with Stephanie Calmenson, The Gator Girls series. Despite the hard work Ms. Cole insists that writing "is the greatest fun in the world." And The Magic School Bus books in particular provide the opportunity for Ms. Cole to combine the two things she loves most: science and humor.

About the Illustrator

Bruce Degen has loved art ever since he was a child growing up in Brooklyn, New York. "In sixth grade I had a wonderful teacher who would let me stand in the back of the room and paint all the time," Degen remembers. "Once I didn't even have to take a spelling test." When he wasn't drawing and painting, Mr. Degen loved to read books about bears, fantasy and science fiction.

Mr. Degen has written and illustrated several books among them Jamberry and Sailaway Home, and he has illustrated Nancy White Carlstrom's Jesse Bear books and Jane Yolen's Commander Toad series, in addition to The Magic School Bus books. "The nice thing about books is that they go out into the world. When a kid, parent, or teacher tells you how much he or she likes your book, you realize that you've given something that has become part of someone else's life," Degen says.

3. Pam Munoz Ryan

Pam Muñoz Ryan is an American writer for children and young adults. Born in California, she is half Mexican with Basque, Italian, and Oklahoman cultural influences.

She has written over forty books for young people, including picture books, early readers, and middle grade and young adult novels. She has been the author recipient of the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the Ludington Award for body of work. Her novel Esperanza Rising was commissioned as a play by the Minneapolis Children's Theatre and has been performed in venues around the US including the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and theCutler Majestic Theatre in Boston.

4. Gene Luen Yang

Gene Luen Yang (Chinese Traditional: 楊謹倫 born August 9, 1973) is an Asian-American cartoonist. He is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of graphic novels and comics, at comic book conventions and universities, schools, and libraries. In addition, he was the Director of Information Services and taught computer science at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California. In 2012, Yang joined the faculty at Hamline University, as a part of the Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults (MFAC) program. In 2016, the U.S. Library of Congress named him Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. That year he became the third graphic novelist, alongside Lauren Redniss, to receive the MacArthur Fellowship.

Books introductions

1.  Zora and Me by Victoria Bond & T.R. Simon

Whether she’s telling the truth or stretching it, Zora Neale Hurston is a riveting storyteller. Her latest creation is a shape-shifting gator man who lurks in the marshes, waiting to steal human souls. But when boastful Sonny Wrapped loses a wrestling match with an elusive alligator named Ghost — and a man is found murdered by the railroad tracks soon after — young Zora’s tales of a mythical evil creature take on an ominous and far more complicated complexion, jeopardizing the peace and security of an entire town and forcing three children to come to terms with the dual-edged power of pretending. Zora’s best friend, Carrie, narrates this coming-of-age story set in the Eden-like town of Eatonville, Florida, where justice isn’t merely an exercise in retribution, but a testimony to the power of community, love, and pride. A fictionalization of the early years of a literary giant, this astonishing novel is the first project ever to be endorsed by the Zora Neale Hurston Trust that was not authored by Hurston herself.

2.  The Magic School Bus by Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen

 

The Magic School Bus is a Canadian/American Saturdaymorning animated children's television series, based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. It is notable for its use of celebrity talent and combining entertainment with an educational series. Broadcasting & Cable said the show was "among the highest-rated PBS shows for school-age children." On June 10, 2014, Scholastic Media announced that it will be releasing an all-new CG animated series which will be inspired by the original show as well as retain the same name.

3. The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan

 From the time he is a young boy, Neftalí hears the call of a mysterious voice. Even when the neighborhood children taunt him, and when his harsh, authoritarian father ridicules him, and when he doubts himself, Neftalí knows he cannot ignore the call. He listens and follows as it leads him under the canopy of the lush rain forest, into the fearsome sea, and through the persistent Chilean rain on an inspiring voyage of self-discovery that will transform his life and, ultimately, the world.

4. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. Released in 2006 by First Second Books, it was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Awards in the category of Young People's Literature. It won the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award, the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, the Publishers Weekly Comics Week Best Comic of the Year, the San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year, the 2006/2007 Best Book Award from The Chinese American Librarians Association, andAmazon.com Best Graphic Novel/Comic of the Year. It also made the Booklist Top Ten Graphic Novel for Youth, the NPRHoliday Pick, and Time (Magazine) Top Ten Comic of the Year. It was colored by cartoonist Lark Pien, who received the 2007Harvey Award for Best Colorist for her work on the book.