Children's Literature: From Text to Film

This literature course aims at studying two dominant forms in children’s literature: tales and adventure novels.

We will examine the discussions on the ambiguities of the educational goals of these fictions. Tales appear as the first literary form dedicated to children : we will study one of their most famous authors, Charles Perrault, and the way he appropriates popular traditions into society and well-learned culture, as well as a contemporary emblematic tale, Le Petit Prince. Adventure novels developed from the nineteenth century, and Jules Verne played an important role in shaping a new model of encyclopedic adventure fictions. We will analyze one of his late, more pessimistic short novel, L’Éternel Adam, and its meditation on history.

Our reflection will be based on these three works as well as excerpts from other fiction of the nineteenth and twentieth century. We will also analyze illustrations of children’s literature and we will debate on historical and literary essays. A special focus will be put on cinematographic adaptations of children’s literature : we will study a film every week, linked with a literary work.

Required texts:
- Charles PERRAULT, Contes, Paris, Belin-Gallimard, « ClassicoLycée », 2017, ISBN : 978-2-410-003777-2
- Jules VERNE, L’Éternel Adam, https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/L’Éternel_Adam
- Antoine de SAINT-EXUPERY, Le Petit Prince, Paris, Gallimard, Folio n°3200, 1999, ISBN : 978-2-070-40850-4