Unconventional Children‟s Literature
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This is also affirmed by Nodelman 1992: 32 saying that people, it means adults, parents, and children‟s literature writers, need to “provide
young readers with a „realistic‟ description of people and events that insist on the reality of one particular way of looking at the world and
themselves…” Stories such as having family member who suffers from mental disorder or autism, having father in prison, being wedded in very
early age, etc are sensitive topics yet they need-to-be-recognized by children as they are part of this changed era. Adults, including parents,
need to refresh their understanding about children nowadays who are different from children from past generations.
Unconventional children‟s literature is someway better than the conventional one as it, firstly, opens children‟s mind that there are such
complicated problems in the world. As explained before, besides providing pleasure, children‟s literature must provide as well
understanding and becoming the “window” for children. By reading
children‟s stories about realistic and sensitive topics which are close to their everyday life, besides fairy tales and fantasy, books can be the aids
for them to encourage and motivate them in reading and learning about the world Bothelo and Rudman, 2009: 1. Through literature, children can
recognize the world‟s situation. They can see issues of war, poverty, and disease from the TV or the internet, but literature gives them
encouragement to read and know more about the world.
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Secondly, unconventional children‟s books provide more critical and challenging form. There is no longer simple plot where the ending must be
always “happily ever after”. Nodelman 2008: 9 agrees that “The simpler it is, then the more obviously will it say less than it hints
at, demand an implied reader who knows more-and therefore, the more likely it will be that children readers who can make sense of it will
understand more than it actually said.” It means the more complex the form of literature, the more challenging it
will be for children to “read between the lines”. They are encouraged to find the meaning more than what has been written. If children can do it,
they will get more understanding than what is written in the text only. Children need to understand as well that sometimes, ending with sadness,
leaving, or even death can be happ ening in anyone‟s life. It does not mean
that these stories are told in gloomy and pessimistic atmosphere; even most of them are written in playful, attractive, fun, and optimistic way.
For example, Jacqueline Wilson‟s The Illustrated Mum is told in playf
ul, funny, and optimistic way though the story is about two girls‟ complex life with their bipolar mother. Another example is Judy Blume‟s
Are You There God It’s Me Margaret which tells about teenager‟s sexual growth in a very funny and playful way. The other is Jacqueline
Woodson‟s picture book entitled Visiting Day that depicts a young girl‟s excitement to see her father in prison on the visiting day. The atmosphere
is exciting as it is created by both good style of writing from Woodson and the warm, nice illustration from the illustrator Lukens, 2013: 27.
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The explanation proves that “Mature theme can be explored in
children‟s literature; they contribute to understanding when they meet the requirement of excellence” Lukens, 1999: 149, including writers‟ way of
presenting the stories. By reading those kinds of stories, children understand not only general or universal theme and problem, just like in
conventional children‟s literature, but also more specific theme and problem which are experienced by each different individual in the story.
Thirdly, unconventional children‟s stories present children inside them. Mankiw and Strasser 2013, 85 believe children will find and
recognize “themselves”, their behavior, and their experience in daily life while reading. It happens as the stories are told from the first point of view
of children that makes them feel valuable and worthy. As Lukens 1999: 176 says that in the first point of view, “…the reader lives, acts, feels, and
thinks the conflict as the protagoni st experiences and tells it…”, it makes
the first point of view that is mostly used in unconventional children stories become useful for the readers. Besides, the reliability of the story,
including the plot, conflict, and resolution, is trustworthy. It presents detail problems faced by most children nowadays, not the general ones.
Problems such as being alienated, bullying, living with step mother, having lost pet, or even taking care of mental disorder brother, for
instance, are problems which are experienced and close to them now. It is no longer that adults, such as parents, teachers, or aunts, who solve the
problems. Even, it is not magic or a fairy godmother that helps them to
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find a solution for their conflict. For example, the classic children‟s novel, Mark Twain‟s The Adventure of Tom Sawyer shows that the protagonist,
Tom Sawyer, with his bravery, witnesses in the court for a murder case to end the society‟s worry after a long battle with himself Lukens, 1999:
106. The conflicts in unconventional
children‟s stories are no longer always person-against-person, like most conventional ones. They have more
complicated conflict such as person-against-self, person-against-society, even person-against-nature. Adults should not worry that children will not
be capable of understanding that kind of rather complicated conflict. Huck, Kiefer, Hepler, and Hickman in Gapalakrishan, 2011: 4 argue
“children have become more sophisticated and knowledgeable about certain life experiences than children of any previo
us generations.” Because of technology development, adults cannot deny the fact that
children nowadays are more knowledgeable and capable of absorbing certain complicated conflicts.
Fourthly, unconventional children‟s literature provides what is called as
multiculturalism. Multicultural children‟s stories now become one concern since people, including children, live in diversity. Jacqueline Rose
in Hunt, 1999: 17 believes “„children‟ are divided by class, race, ethnic origins, gender, and soon.” It is why multicultural children‟s stories which
concern on histories which are different or multiple among people, such as
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diversity, dynamism, and cultural experience‟s fluidity are important to children.
Since multicultural children‟s stories deal with representation of under repressed groups: the marginal ethnic, gender, class, they will introduce
children to those groups. In addition, if the children who read those stories come from those underrepressed and marginalized groups, they will find
and recog nize “themselves” as the ones who are worthy to discuss. Those
stories will teach them without preaching about, for instance, gender role, sexual orientation, anti-racism, language differences, etc Gapalakrishan,
2011: 5. Afterward, children will not, in their everyday life, see those differences as bizarre things.
The last is that unconventional children‟s literature provides empowerment for children. According to Seelinger in Lassen-Seger,
2006: 3, a practitioner in children‟s literature as well as feminist, empowerment refers to “agency, subjectivity, positive forms of autonomy,
self expression, and self awareness.” If children are provided with good stories presenting strong child characters, they will learn how to be strong,
aware, autonomous, and brave. They will find awareness that they, at their age, can defend themselves in a smart way and find some ways to express
their feelings. Critical thinking can be possessed as unconventional children‟s literature offers open ending. It means to say that children as
reader can have their own perspectives in responding to various stories.
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