Literary Arts - Disciplines - Children's Literature

Oli didn't want to eat his ugali. He didn't want to take his nap. He wanted to go bird hunting in the woods with his big brother Mbachu. His mama said no."You are too little," she told him.

From Big Boy by Tololwa Mollel

If there is a theme running through children's literature it is expressed in the above excerpt: you're not big enough.

Children's literature offers young readers a chance to experience characters of similar age and stature, while delivering different perspectives on the world. The average 10 year old living in Coaldale or High Level can't hop into a space ship and fly to the moon, but within the pages of a book, anything is possible.

Children's literature has always had a place in Canadian literature, from Lucy Maude Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables to W.O. Mitchell's masterpiece Who Has Seen the Wind. While not written exclusively for children, Mitchell's novel reaches older children and has been a staple on high school reading lists in the province for decades.

By the 1980s, children's literature had become an established presence in Alberta. Martyn Godfrey and Monica Hughes are some of the most recognizable authors who emerged at this time. Both are best selling, award winning writers whose books incorporate strong elements of fantasy. The fantastical has always been at home in children's literature. From Alice in Wonderland, to the Wind in the Willows and Charlotte's Web, children's books have always delighted in the impossible, bringing new worlds to life. If one considers Alberta's strong speculative fiction (SF) community, it is no wonder children's literature in Alberta tends to lean in that direction.

However, not all of Alberta's children's literature is speculative. Marilyn Halvorson carries on W.O. Mitchell's tradition of offering a strong prairie setting. On the other hand, Tololwa Mollel, whose work Big Boy is featured above, has received great acclaim for his evocative presentation of the traditional Maasai fables of his African homeland.

Set on the other side of the planet, Mollel's work reflects the diversity of Albertan children's writers. The young Alberta reader benefits from the variety of writing in the province. Although the books may involve new ideas, foreign countries and languages, the themes are instantly understandable to any child. Who hasn't been told you're not old enough?