alshaife 1 10 alshaife alshaife 9 Alshafie Zahra DR Course name and number Date Children Literature in Dammam There are a few definitions that help outline the actual scope of children literature; with many laymen simply assuming that children literature could be easily defined as kids’ books. It therefore comes as much surprise to them on learning that the aforementioned topic of discussion has different definitions and even more variant definitions of the constituent terms-literature and children (D’anguilli, 2004. In that respect therefore, this paper proceeds to discuss the topic of children literature at length. The focus area is Dammam, where the partaken research seeks to determine the significance of such literature in regards to short stories in particular. In addition to this, the paper looks into the views of parents and teachers in relation to the studied literature alongside the literature’s significance as per the different educational stages. The question of what literature is has been raised by many scholars in this particular field of expertise; where they seek to determine whether all stories and books are considered literature. Children’s literature has been classically defined as any form of material produced for the entertainment and/or information of children as well as young adults. Children have always been found to enjoy and have much interest in folklore. Historically however, the earlier children’s books mainly comprised of religious, instructional books with the aim of improving and shaping their manners(Marrow, 2001. Children literature has greatly transformed over the years and has been slowly modernized to what is presented today. Until 1865, children literature had nothing more than select instructions and guidelines related to the expected mannerism. Following the set precedent by Charles Dodgson, the face of children’s literature took a new look, with little or no instructions being included in them. Literature created for children would be primarily meant for their entertainment and feature some educational elements in them. This is the literature style that has been taken and used to take, with most children’s literature being fun-filled to agreat extent. Several personalities have disagreed with Hillman’s opinion that for a material to be taken as literature, it has to be of quality standards. Hillman’s inference has been largely disputed due to the simple fact that beauty predominantly lies in the eyes of the beholder. What might be of utmost quality to one may be merely pieces of stodgy writing to another. In the case of children, almost all books written for them are considered as literature. The only exceptions however are joke books, cartoon and non-fiction books that are not meant to be read from cover to cover such as encyclopedias. As much as it is true that some books are of better quality than others, such opinions are left to the discretion and preferences of each individual person. There.

1. alshaife
1
10
alshaife
alshaife
9
Alshafie Zahra
DR
Course name and number
Date
Children Literature in Dammam
There are a few definitions that help outline the actual scope of
children literature; with many laymen simply assuming that
children literature could be easily defined as kids’ books. It
therefore comes as much surprise to them on learning that the
aforementioned topic of discussion has different definitions and
even more variant definitions of the constituent terms-literature
and children (D’anguilli, 2004. In that respect therefore, this
paper proceeds to discuss the topic of children literature at
length. The focus area is Dammam, where the partaken research
seeks to determine the significance of such literature in regards
to short stories in particular. In addition to this, the paper looks
into the views of parents and teachers in relation to the studied
literature alongside the literature’s significance as per the
different educational stages.
The question of what literature is has been raised by many
scholars in this particular field of expertise; where they seek to
determine whether all stories and books are considered

2. literature. Children’s literature has been classically defined as
any form of material produced for the entertainment and/or
information of children as well as young adults. Children have
always been found to enjoy and have much interest in folklore.
Historically however, the earlier children’s books mainly
comprised of religious, instructional books with the aim of
improving and shaping their manners(Marrow, 2001. Children
literature has greatly transformed over the years and has been
slowly modernized to what is presented today. Until 1865,
children literature had nothing more than select instructions and
guidelines related to the expected mannerism. Following the set
precedent by Charles Dodgson, the face of children’s literature
took a new look, with little or no instructions being included in
them. Literature created for children would be primarily meant
for their entertainment and feature some educational elements in
them. This is the literature style that has been taken and used to
take, with most children’s literature being fun-filled to agreat
extent.
Several personalities have disagreed with Hillman’s opinion
that for a material to be taken as literature, it has to be of
quality standards. Hillman’s inference has been largely disputed
due to the simple fact that beauty predominantly lies in the eyes
of the beholder. What might be of utmost quality to one may be
merely pieces of stodgy writing to another. In the case of
children, almost all books written for them are considered as
literature. The only exceptions however are joke books, cartoon
and non-fiction books that are not meant to be read from cover
to cover such as encyclopedias. As much as it is true that some
books are of better quality than others, such opinions are left to
the discretion and preferences of each individual person. There
are also those who consider children’s literature to span the age
groups of 18 to 18 years. It is however rather apparent no
students in junior or high school consider themselves as
children, hence the unreliability with such viewpoints. Those
dissenting from this classification opine that children’s
literature cover the ages 1 to 13 years.

3. Children literature can be studied in a more specific context
where further aspects of it are delved into with much more
precision. Such insight is therefore considered a sociological
study which acts as an umbrella concept that incorporates
several other approaches in order to bring out the existing
relationship between the society and the said literature.
Children literature is definitely a crucial aspect in the studying
pursuits of a child due to the rudimentary role it plays in initial
stages of the children’s growth. The significance are meant to
felt in both the intellectual and greater sociological sense,
where a child is expected to get some form useful informational
from such literature as well as needed nourishment for his or
her age.
Literacy development is an aspect of basic education that has
stirred much debate as well as discussion. There are those of the
school of thought that the literacy development should begin at
an early as possible while others oppose this notion; arguing
that there is enough time later on in life for one to develop his
or her literacy levels. Nonetheless, both parties are entitled to
their respective opinions and even have the opportunity to share
such views with the general public.
In order to understand the significance of the children literature,
it is imperative to look at how such literature affects the society
by how it affects the children first. Factors such parents,
publishers, teachers and the government are seen to have
notable role in the decisions regarding what kind of literature is
to be produced to the children, hence the need to similarly look
at how the related factors merge with the literature’s
significance. With the focus being in Dammam, such insight is
meant to discuss how children’s literature affects the nation.
Essentially, children’s literature is a social force as much as it
is a social product. The literature provided for children is not

4. similar, just as the children are different. The aspect of such
literature being a social product is chiefly explained by the fact
that the country’s government sets special censorship bodies
that shape and determine the type of content being presented for
the children. Studies conducted by Gabriele Thompson have
emphasized the fact that literature (children’s) plays a vital role
within social frameworks and is widely used as a tool for
indoctrination and education. This therefore means that the
literature availed to the children are determined in accordance
to the society’s intended message, values and opinions.
Furthermore, children’s literature in countries that very
particular about what is being passed across is selected
according to the book’s origin, their idea and themes as well as
the books’ response to the criteria set by the censorship board.
This approach is still held to date, with much importance being
given to children and the various literatures presented to them.
In the Arab world such as Dammam, tales are a powerful means
of regulating the way of life in one tribe and the established
relationship between that tribe and other tribes. Unlike the
olden days however, such tales are no longer being told orally
due to the advent of immense technological advancement. The
print media has today made publication of all related material
one of the easiest forms of relaying information, hence the
general trend to pass such Arabic tales through written
literature. The disappearance of oral tradition in this country-as
well as the larger region, has consequently affected the spread
of such tales. Reading by children or even reading to children
has not become as widespread in the region, as the people’s
literacy levels remain low. It can therefore be inferred that the
literature being provided to the children is of much significance
as its proper dissemination means the further spread of the
people’s cultural tales.
Children’s literature is also seen as a social force, where studies
depict it as being a powerful education means for the young

5. ones. Nations such as Dammam not only use the children’s
literature to entertain them, but also make them aware of the
challenges facing the Arab nations. Critics of children literature
have all been seen to agree with the use of such material by
Dammam to spread Islamic morals that mainly urge them to live
exemplary lives in accordance to the respective teachings. It
hasbeen noted that many of the writers of children literature in
the Arab nations perceive the spread of Islamic values as their
main purpose. In a 2002 study, it was concluded that religion,
politics and morals formed the pillars of most of the children
literature in Dammam. Arab nations-in general, are seen to give
much emphasis on the mentioned topics as a means to justifying
and giving legitimacy to a form of literature that has been
subjected to much literary shame and stigma. It can therefore be
inferred that to the Arabic people, children’s literature has a
more important purpose than mere entertainment of the subject
matter. The material offered to the children in form of literature
is primarily meant to enlighten the readers on actual issues that
exist in the real world. In addition to this, such literature is seen
as a platform for sharing the people’s culture and traditions that
have passed down through generations, as well as the important
Islamic values that have to continuously reiterated to the young
ones and the elderly one.
Short stories are a further classification of literature, where they
could be in relation to both adult and children literature. These
are basically interesting tales that have been compressed into
relatively few pages rather than in an entire novel. In the case
of children literature, short stories are usually used in giving
the children short-but educative and entertaining, stories about
various issues. Short stories are also seen to entail all the
necessary constituents of any proper standard story; with the
only difference being its shortened length. In many cases,
children’s books are compilations of several short stories that
talk about various things.
According to one research team on Dammam literature for kids,
two main questions were raised in order to get a comprehensive

6. understanding of children’s literature in the nation. These two
questions sought to determine the literary characteristic of
children’s stories in the nation, and the cultural characteristics
of children’s literature in Dammam. The approach used in
completing this task was that of content analysis, where a theme
or theory is used to analyze a series of texts or just one text
(Marrow, 2001). The resultant findings indicated that very few
of the literature used literary techniques to attract the readers,
with majority of the books being written for instruction and
educational purposes. It was also found that little illustrations
in the necessary forms were used to add onto the written texts.
This therefore meant that most of the children’s books are
illustrated and not picture books.
Three main groups were also found to form the culture of the
Saudi people: family, childhood and religion. Further analysis
of the Saudi culture came up with more information on the
children’s literature, denoting that there existing numerous
misrepresentations of the people’s culture in most of the
analyzed literature. Out of this finding, it could be inferred that
most of the publisher and writers fail to undertake proper
research and studies of the Saudi culture before bringing out the
respective stories. A clear distinction between religious and
non-religious stories could also be drawn, where children are
portrayed as either stupid or ideal, and women being assigned
more traditional roles in most of the books.
Literacy instructions at the early stages of childhood have had
various terms in its description, ranging from early reading to
emerging literacy (Gunning, 2008). The best way that a parent
or guardian can give their young ones an advantage in reading
and writing is through teaching their children various literacy
skills early in life. Though not the only one, pre-reading skills
has been noted as the major early literacy skill established in
children. The act of reading to children while still young
exposes them to languages which in turn lead to social and
educational advantages. This shows the need to start reading to
your young ones while they are still infants. Scientific research

7. has indicated that reading aloud to children each day increases
the child’s brain capacity for literacy skills and language. (Xue,
2002). This is regarded as the most influential thing one can do
in preparing his or her child for future learning.
Many children prepare themselves in terms of reading way
before they enter school. Early literacy in its holistic state
involves the knowledge of a child in reading and writing a bit
earlier than they actually manage to read and write. According
to Xue, early literacy can be depicted in a toddler seeking his
favorite book, a baby chewing on a book and preschoolers who
memorize a story and tell it to someone else. These early
literacy skills have the potential to be initiated within the first
five years of a child. This turns out to be contrary to the old
myth that a child’s reading skills depends on the appropriate
first grade teacher. In fact, it can be correctly deduced that a
child’s reading success depends on how much he or she trained
on reading before joining a school. The foundation of a child’s
future in learning to read properly is laid on prior exposure to
books and language (Marrow, 2001). However, one ought not to
confuse early literacy for the actual teaching of a child how to
read.
There is an ever-growing body of evidence that supports the
need and importance for parental involvement in education.
Such involvement in children’s education by parents has been
termed as an essential aspect for the relationship between
children, schools and families (). Parental involvement covers a
wide array of activities at school as well as at home, hence the
finding that it has a positive influence on children’s education.
As such, parents are able to be in connection with both the child
and the teacher in as far as the education program is concerned.
In the absence of such parental involvement however, a state of
disconnection will emerge, where parents will not have as much

8. say and involvement in their children’s education as it is
required; therefore leaving the teacher and the larger education
system to deal with what the children learn or don’t learn.
In the case of Dammam, there is a disconnection between the
children, teachers and parents. Women are basically given the
traditional role of looking after the affairs of the home and
therefore unable to properly engage in activities outside their
culturally set limits. Fathers are on the other hand seen to have
little or no time for their children, or simply entrusting the
teachers with their children. The parents have in turn had to
proper opportunity to air their views on what the children get to
learn in their literature.
The crucial role of teachers in this case cannot be forgotten. As
a matter of fact, education policy makers in the local levels
have recognized this and are now formulating strategies that can
relate to this fact (Gunning, 2008). According to a series of
studies, it has been confirmed that good, effective teachers are
of more value than certain curriculum materials. This therefore
means that investing in suitable teachers through hiring or
contract use is necessary. With effective teachers, it is possible
for a child to overcome the missing gap of having not had early
literacy instructions and become more skilled. Such teachers do
this through the use of various elementary literacy instructions
which happen to be effective (D’anguilli, 2004). Teachers have
a pivotal role in what the children get to learn; seeing that they
form part of the censorship boards that determine what the
children get exposed to. It can therefore be concluded that the
teachers accept what the children get taught in the selected
literature.
Conclusion
Evidently, early education for children is a critical issue that

9. ought to be dealt with diligently. It is for this reason therefore
that children have their own special form of literature that is
perceived to be most suitable for them. This literature has
further been subjected to different modes of communication and
subject matter; countries such as Dammam moving from the
norm and using children’s literature to primarily given
instruction and educate. Such use of children’s literature is seen
to be different from the norm, which is basically entertainment
and education. Dammam is one of the many Arabic nations
located in the Middle East and subject to most of the attributes
related to the Arabic nations; with one such characteristic being
the use of children literature to enlighten the young ones on
actual issues being dealt with the world. The nation also uses
the literature to greatly spread the Islamic morals in order to
help shape the children’s beliefs and habits.
References
D'angiulli, A., Siegel, L. S., & Maggi, S. (2004). Literacy
Instruction, SES, and Word‐Reading Achievement in
English‐Language Learners and Children with English as a First
Language: A Longitudinal Study. Learning Disabilities
Research & Practice, 19(4), 202-213.
Deasy, R. J. (2002). Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and
Student Academic and Social Development: ERIC.
Gunning, T. G. (2008). Creating literacy instruction for all
students: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Morrow, L. (2001). Literacy development in the early years.
Needham Heights, MA.
Xue, Y. (2002). The influence of early literacy instruction on
children's learning in kindergarten: University of Michiga