A Dream Within A Dream: Kid Lit Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism
Author: Tom Durwood
Publisher: Empire Studies Press
All Ages | 220 Pages

Publisher’s Synopsis:

We are surrounded by narratives, in fiction and in our everyday lives. In this colorful collection of ideas, the author argues that understanding the components of our favorite children’s stories can lead to a lifetime of critical thinking.

Beginning with the elements of the universal coming-of-age narrative, “Kid Lit” shows young readers and general readers alike how to recognize story structure, class, gender, symbolism, trauma and Orientalism in children’s narratives.

Of value to all teachers, students, librarians, readers, literature lovers, and moviegoers.

“Tom Durwood is the best English instructor I have seen in my thirty-two years of teaching.” —Professor Patrick Murray, Valley Forge Military College

Purchase Links:

https://amzn.to/3qhIiKb

https://bookshop.org/a/2078/9781952520044

Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism is an interesting textbook that focuses on what makes children's literature endure. It discusses several famous series including Harry Potter and Star Wars, as well as other classics like Tarzan and Tintin. The book is divided into three sections: "Your Lit Crit Toolbox," "In-Depth Studies," and "Lesson Plans." Each of these provide a huge amount of information, theories, and case studies regarding children's literature. The author discusses several important themes that appear in children's books in the first section of the text. Some of these include gender, war, identity, class, trauma, and the building blocks of literature. I found each of these chapters fascinating and loved the different examples and theories the author explains. The second section takes a closer look at specific books and case studies. I really liked the interviews that were included. They were full of interesting ideas and lots of heavy material. It was probably the most intense section of the book and took some time to really read through and digest it all. The third part is about creating lesson plans. There are several references and ideas provided including character, heroes, villains, writing assignments on different topics, critical thinking, sample essays, and much more. Overall, I liked this textbook. This is probably because I have a B.A. and an M.A. in Literature, so the materials were something I was already interested in. This is obviously a college textbook for a class that the author teaches and aside from students taking the course, I think readers who enjoy critical thinking and literary criticism would like this book.

Tom Durwood is a teacher, writer and editor with an interest in history. Tom most recently taught English Composition and Empire and Literature at Valley Forge Military College, where he won the Teacher of the Year Award five times. Tom has taught Public Speaking and Basic Communications as a guest lecturer for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group at the Dam’s Neck Annex of the Naval War College.

Tom is editor of an online scholarly journal, The Journal of Empire Studies (www.empirestudies.org). Peter Suber, Berkman Fellow at Harvard University, an advocate of the open access movement, praises the journal as “a new opportunity for overcoming access barriers to knowledge and research.” Dr. Julian Fisher of Scholarly Exchange has also applauded Tom’s efforts. “Creating valuable academic content and then hiding it behind financial firewalls – the traditional scholarly publishing model – runs counter to the essence of scholarship, learning and sharing,” according to Fisher. “To see a journal such as the Journal of Empire Studies breaking that mold is exciting.”

Tom’s newspaper column “Shelter” appeared in the North County Times for seven years. Tom earned a Masters in English Literature in San Diego, where he also served as Executive Director of San Diego Habitat for Humanity. Tom earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard, where he edited an undergraduate arts journal and studied with David McClelland (Roots of Consciousness).

For more information, teacher resources, and lesson plans, visit www.kidlitcrit.com.