Relentless Progress The Reconfiguration Of Children s...

Jack Zipes in his book Relentless Progress : The Reconfiguration of Children s Literature, Fairy Tales, and Storytelling puts forward a valid perspective that the act of a child reading any form of children’s literature is set up to promote â€Å"adult aims and the power of the market† (4). Although this perspective is important to remember when considering how the formation of childhood identity is guided and influenced by children’s literature, it is important to remember that the literature itself is not to blame. Adults, parents, teachers, guardians or other people of influence in a child’s life have the power to provide children with literature that contains many alternative encompassing views of the world to help shape the childs†¦show more content†¦I believe children and young people are positioned somewhere between the constructed child or tabula rasa and the constructive child, one who is shaping their identity â€Å"out of what is cult urally available† (Stainton Roges as cited by Rudd 17). They have the ability to see the world with an open mind, one free of biases until an event, idea or person influences them in some way. With that in mind adults have the power to provide children with literature and stories to position them to read the world in many different and inclusive ways adhering to Zipes’ idea that in this case literature is set up to â€Å"promote adult aims† (4). Although Zipes goes on to state that children’s literature also exists to promote â€Å"the power of the market† (4) in many cases I hope this is not completely true. In a world that is more and more commercially driven, with the sheer volume of children’s literature in existance one would hope that some of the authors are trying to promote positivity to support children and not purely or exclusively trying to make money. One form of identity that is becoming more associated with a ‘normal’ childhood experience is the child from a non-heteronormative family unit. Although Wayne Martino and Wendy Cumming-Potvin’s article is framed around literacy instruction in schools and pedagogical practice, their message can be applied in a broader context to any adult providing text or stories to children.