special ability to show children’s world. As children need to learn a lot about life and who they are, children’s literature is the only one in the world that can make their
sense of belonging and identity become str onger. It is because children’s literature
really represents the real world and actions of children.
2. Children in Children’s Literature
a. Children as the Character
Character is an element that always exists in a literary work. The existence of a character in a story is important to catch and invite the attention and response
from children as the reader. Basically, children already have their own response to characters in their real life, for example their family members. The same is true when
they meet characters in stories they read. Naturally they will feel, think, and give response toward the action of the characters. Such response is the form of their
understanding in reading stories. If we go back to the functions of literature, which one of them is to get understanding, the existence of characters is in line with the
function of literature so this is very important. Character is able to be the role model of its young readers. Thus, characters
are created intentionally based on the intended readers Rising, 2013:6. For example, when the character is 11 years old, the intended readers are strongly for similar age.
Characters in a certain age are intended for intended readers in a certain age as well because they really represent what children naturally are. It makes the existence of
characters is very fundamental because it makes the stories live as one of the literary elements.
Character in children’s literature does not always have to be person. In many children’s literary works, such as The Ugly Duckling, Alice’s Adventure in
Wonderland, and Charlotte’s Web, personified animals and objects are also
characters. The characters in stories might experience the development as the response to actions and the complexity as living being. The duty to make such
development is the writer as well. The writer has a duty or assignment to make the characters, especially the main character, more or even less important in the story.
The character itself can be the element of new understanding for children toward its development and actions Lukens, 1999:80. In the end, character has a significant
job to be the role model for children since they can learn from the character. The learning process of children from a character in a story is from its action
and personality. B oth of them play an important role in shaping children’s
understanding. Lukens stated that the action of character is caused naturally by the personality of the character itself 1999:83. This is the writer’s duty to show how the
personality of a character is formed by certain factors and to decide whether this personality will change or not. A certain personality can encourage the character to
do certain actions. Characters should be universal but at the same time they also need to be
personal or individ ual Saxby, 1987:12. The universality of characters in children’s
literature makes characters are easy to understand by young readers. It is because its significance is limitless by time. Besides, it really represents how children naturally
are in the real life. Thus, characters can be the role models for readers in any
countries and years. On the other hand, characters need to be individual because characters are unique. They need to stand as they are. Although the nature is the same
and acceptable for all young readers, characters in each story can speak themselves by their own uniqueness.
Basically, characters are multi dimensions with their own complex parts within themselves. These complex parts come from how they explore to gain
motivations, behavior, various choices, and even to deal with uncertainty Wald, 1975:940. Thus, it is no wonder if the child characters seem to be inconsistent to find
their problem solving or simply to behave. Despite of these multiple features, characters are comprehendible because they encounter in conditions that reflect the
real human experiences. Based on Lukens’ categorization upon characters in a story, there are two
types of characters: flat and round 1999:86. Flat characters are those who do not change or develop much until the end of story. The aim of presenting such type of
characters is to make children focus on the main character since the main character is made to be dynamic ones. Commonly, these flat characters are minor. This is the
opposite of round characters who change and develop. The writer will arrange such actions that lead to main character’s development. This is what readers usually call as
protagonist characters. Being developed along with the story does not merely make round characters
perfect. They also have lack in the same time they have positive aspects. The lack of the characters could lead to the development of them, either they can change or not.
Round characters can also be undeveloped because of their personality or responses toward certain events they encounter Lukens, 1999:91. The development of the
round characters can be the means for children to identify the actions. They can give various responses toward the decision of round characters. The development itself is
actually when the characters can demonstrate new realization about their personal values through their actions. So, whether the characters may change or remain
unchanged, it shows that round characters are imperfect figures.
b. Children as the Reader
