Children's choice and critical acclaim: A unified perspective for children's literature

Abstract

The term “children's literature” implies a fusion between literary quality and child appeal, though this unity is lacking in many books classified as “children's” or in books that children read. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of children's books that do meet both criteria—those that received critical acclaim from adults and were named “Children's Choices"—and to compare them with books that received critical acclaim only. These two groups of books were analyzed for themes, style, and structure. The results then were compared both within and between the two groups. The stylistic and structural differences identified between the two groups were more apparent than variations in themes. These findings have Implications for the study and criticism of children's literature and for bringing children and books together.