Basically, you need to write a 4-5 page essay, using MLA format for heading, citations, and “Works Cited,” that considers a piece or two from the reading list for the course. Some students will be relatively new to literary analysis, so I expect a range of responses on the assignment. But the topic is open to what you are interested in writing about, just so long as the essay doesn’t simply summarize and review the books (or movies) that you’re writing about. Look at the way a book or a group of books (or movies) might take on a particular theme, like death or friendship or cultural difference or what it means to be a girl. Look at the way that children’s literature conveys ideas about a particular culture or about gender or about socio-economic status. Below are a few ideas:
Write about friendship in “buddy stories” – Huckleberry Finn, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Harry Potter, Frog and Toad
Write about the use of fiction to discuss historical events – Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Magic Treehouse series, Chains
Write about a problematic aspect in a folktale, something that doesn’t fit modern sensibilities – any of the folktales we read could be analyzed
Write about the treatment of family problems – The Penderwicks, Frozen, Finding Nemo, My Side of the Mountain