The Children’s Literature Association says that books for the young have long reflected “the privileging of dominant religions,” among other problematic worldviews. This got me thinking about one of the problems with children’s literature studies today. 🧵

… but is rhyme incompatible with depth? Rhyme provides aesthetic pleasure and intellectual stimulation for young readers. It’s sad to see such a lack of stylistic diversity in the judges’ selections.

🧵 Each children’s book included in this year’s The Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry is written in free verse (one contains a smidgen of blank verse). The chosen works are valued for their profound, meaningful language… https://t.co/oHeRPTeUQn

One of my biggest concerns right now about AI in the classroom is how AI views writing. Writing = a mundane chore that AI can eliminate; generic writing is fine. If we’re not careful, the tool controls our narratives about the value of writing, both the process and the product.

Registration link:

@NTU_English @ntu_humanities @uoyeducation 🌏⏰ (Please note that the timing on the poster refers to Singapore): 🇸🇬 SGT: Tues Sept 10 15:00 🇬🇧 BST: Tues Sept 10 8:00 🇩🇪 CEST: Tues Sept 10 9:00 🇮🇳 IST: Tues Sept 10 12:30 🇹🇼 CST: Tues Sept 10 15:00 🇦🇺 AET: Tues Sept 10 17:00

Interested in children’s literature and the activity of reading? Then join me on Sept 12 for a talk by Dr. Clementine Beauvais (York, UK) titled, “Reading Out Loud for Literary Education?” The talk will be held via Zoom, with times and registration link below. All are welcome!

Registration link:

🌏⏰ (Please note that the timing on the poster refers to Singapore): 🇸🇬 SGT: Tues Sept 10 15:30 🇬🇧 BST: Tues Sept 10 8:30 🇩🇪 CEST: Tues Sept 10 9:30 🇮🇳 IST: Tues Sept 10 13:00 🇹🇼 CST: Tues Sept 10 15:30 🇦🇺 AET: Tues Sept 10 17:30

Please join me on September 10th for a talk by Professor Matthew Bevis (Oxford) titled “Echoing Laughter in Victorian Poetry.” The talk will be held via Zoom, with international times and registration link below. All are welcome! @NTU_English @ntu_humanities @engfac

Mary Wollstonecraft’s “Original Stories from Real Life” is an incredibly powerful book. Among many profound lessons, she urges children not to be suspicious of people begging in the streets, “for I would rather be deceived five hundred times, than doubt without reason.”

“Officially, the version for use at the Olympics has different lyrics, but as only the music was broadcast, Taiwanese fans belted out the actual lyrics of the island’s flag anthem as Lee and Wang held back tears on the podium.”

Singapore friends, come to the launch of my book "Memories of Unbelonging" (@UHPRESSNEWS 2023) on Friday, 30 August 2024 from 4-6pm! The book will be launched Abidin Kusno of York University, discussed by @taomo_zhou of NUS and moderated by @yyortiga https://t.co/UpAPnx5VEc

“Convicted students who were formerly jailed are concerned about whether schools will accept them. Some institutions have been unsupportive of their students after they were arrested, Yau said.”

Vita Sackville-West on the limitless experience that is childhood.

Hello my friends!!! 🐑

When I see academics mocking a TikTok account for getting the Victorian era wrong I wonder how they treat their students. Do they say things like “there’s no such thing as a stupid question” while sneering at people on the internet for not knowing as much as they do?

Writing is a way of thinking. If you delegate writing to AI, you skip the thinking as well as the writing.

I’ve only just discovered Barbara Comyns — anyone else absolutely transfixed by her writing?

If you’ve followed me this far, you probably agree that it’s vital to actually read historical children’s books to understand their ideologies fully. Scholars who fail to do this get the past wrong, and the field suffers as a result.

Tell that to 18th-century Dissenters Isaac Watts and Anna Letitia Barbauld, or, looking further back, 17th-century Baptist Abraham Chear. Historical children’s books reflect complex doctrinal disputes, with many important texts written by marginalised Christians. 🧵