Children's Literature Reading Answers

Nov 19, 2024

Children’s Literature Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Children’s Literature Reading Answers has a total of 13 IELTS questions in total. In the questions set there are questions where you have to fill in the blanks with correct answers. The next set of questions require you to tell whether the statement is true or false.

Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers feature topics such as Children’s Literature Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

Section 1

Children’s literature

A. Stories and poems aimed at children have an exceedingly long history:lullabies, for example, were sung in Roman times, and a few nursery games and rhymes are almost as ancient. Yet so far as written-down literature is concerned, while there were stories in print before 1700 that children often seized on when they had the chance, such as translations of Aesop's fables, fairy-stories and popular ballads and romances, these were not aimed at young people in particular. Since the only genuinely child-oriented literature at this time would have been a few instructional works to help with reading and general knowledge, plus the odd Puritanical tract as an aid to morality, the only course for keen child readers was to read adult literature. This still occurs today, especially with adult thrillers or romances that include more exciting, graphic detail than is normally found in the literature for younger readers.

B. By the middle of the 18th century there were enough eager child readers, and enough parents glad to cater to this interest, for publishers to specialize in children's books whose first aim was pleasure rather than education or morality. In Britain, a London merchant named Thomas Boreham produced Cajanus, The Swedish Giant in 1742, while the more famous John Newbery published A Little Pretty Pocket Book in 1744. Its contents - rhymes, stories, children's games plus a free gift ('A ball and a pincushion')- -in many ways anticipated the similar lucky-dip contents of children's annuals this century. It is a tribute to Newbery's flair that he hit upon a winning formula quite so quickly, to be pirated almost immediately in America.

C. Such pleasing levity was not to last. Influenced by Rousseau, whose Emile(1762) decreed that all books for children save Robinson Crusoe were a dangerous diversion, contemporary critics saw to it that children's literature should be instructive and uplifting. Prominent among such voices was Mrs. Sarah Trimmer, whose magazine The Guardian of Education (1802) carried the first regular reviews of children's books. It was she who condemned fairy-tales for their violence and general absurdity; her own stories, Fabulous Histories (1786) described talking animals who were always models of sense and decorum.

D. So the moral story for children was always threatened from within, given the way children have of drawing out entertainment from the sternest moralist. But the greatest blow to the improving children's book was to come from an unlikely source indeed: early 19th century interest in folklore. Both nursery rhymes, selected by James Orchard Halliwell for a folklore society in 1842, and collection of fairy-stories by the scholarly Grimm brothers, swiftly translated into English in 1823,soon rocket to popularity with the young, quickly leading to new editions, each one more child- centered than the last. From now on younger children could expect stories written for their particular interest and with the needs of their own limited experience of life kept well to the fore.

E. What eventually determined the reading of older children was often not the availability of special children's literature as such but access to books that contained characters, such as young people or animals, with whom they could more easily empathize, or action, such as exploring or fighting, that made few demands on adult maturity or understanding.

F. The final apotheosis of literary childhood as something to be protected from unpleasant reality came with the arrival in the late 1930s of child-centered best-sellers intend on entertainment at its most escapist. In Britain novelist such as Enid Blyton and Richmal Crompton described children who were always free to have the most unlikelyadventures, secure in the knowledge that nothing bad could ever happen to them in the end. The fact that war broke out again during her books' greatest popularity fails to register at all in the self-enclosed world inhabited by Enid Blyton's young characters. Reaction against such dream-worlds was inevitable after World War II, coinciding with the growth of paperback sales, children's libraries and a new spirit of moral and social concern. Urged on by committed publishers and progressive librarians, writers slowly began to explore new areas of interest while also shifting the settings of their plots from the middle-class world to which their chiefly adult patrons had always previously belonged.

G. Critical emphasis, during this development, has been divided. For some the most important task was to rid children's books of the social prejudice and exclusiveness no longer found acceptable. Others concentrated more on the positive achievements of contemporary children's literature. That writers of these works are now often recommended to the attentions of adult as well as child readers echoes the 19th-century belief that children's literature can be shared by the generations, rather than being a defensive barrier between childhood and the necessary growth towards adult understanding.

Questions 1-5

Complete the table below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from Reading Passage for each answer

Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

DATE	FEATURES	AIM	EXAMPLE
Before 1700	Not aimed atyoung children	Education and morality	Puritanicaltract
By the middle of 18th century	Collection of1 ……And games	Read for pleasure	A Little PrettyPocket Book(exported to2.......)
Early 19th century	Growing interest in3........	To be more children- centered	Nursery rhymes and 4.......
Late 1930s	Stories of harm-free 5........	Entertainment	Enid Blyton and Richarnal Crompton'snovels

Q.1

Answer: RHYMES, STORIES

Supporting statement: “........Its contents—rhymes, stories, children's games—plus a free gift........”

Keywords: rhymes,stories

Keyword Location: para B, Line 4

Explanation: The passage mentions that in the mid-18th century, children's books included rhymes, stories, and games. This indicates that books like A Little Pretty Pocket Book had rhymes and stories for the purpose of entertainment.

Q.2

Answer:AMERICA

Supporting statement: “........to be pirated almost immediately in America.........”

Keywords: pirated, America

Keyword Location: para B, Line 5

Explanation: The statement explains that A Little Pretty Pocket Book, which was published in 1744, became so popular that it was quickly copied and exported to America. The mention of it being pirated indicates that it was well-received internationally, with America being a key market

Q.3

Answer:FOLKLORE

Supporting statement: “........But the greatest blow... came from an unlikely source: early 19th-century interest in folklore........”

Keywords: interest, folklore

Keyword Location: para D, Line 2

Explanation: The text explains that the growing interest in folklore in the early 19th century played a significant role in shaping children's literature. The increasing fascination with folk stories, such as those collected by the Grimm brothers, brought about a new wave of children's books focused on folklore.

Q.4

Answer:FAIRY TALES / FAIRY STORIES

Supporting statement: “.......collections of fairy-stories by the scholarly Grimm brothers.........”

Keywords: fairy-stories, collections

Keyword Location: para D, Line 5

Explanation: In the early 19th century, alongside nursery rhymes, collections of fairy stories by the Grimm brothers became immensely popular. The passage makes it clear that these fairy tales had a strong influence on children's literature, making them more child-centered.

Q.5

Answer:FAIRY TALES / FAIRY STORIES

Supporting statement: “........Children who were always free to have the most unlikely adventures........”

Keywords:free, adventures

Keyword Location: para F, Line 2

Explanation: The statement describes how, in the late 1930s, children's books offered characters who engaged in harm-free adventures. Writers like Enid Blyton created stories focused on children having fun and thrilling adventures, free from the harsh realities of the world.

Questions 6-8

Look at the following people and the list of statements below. Match each person with the correct statement.

Write the correct letter A-E in boxes 6-8 on your answer sheet.

List of statements

A Wrote criticisms of children's literature

B Used animals to demonstrate the absurdity of fairy tales C Was not a writer originally

D Translated a book into English

E Didn't write in the English language

6. Thomas Boreham

Answer:C

Supporting statement: “........In Britain, a London merchant named Thomas Boreham produced Cajanus, The Swedish Giant in 1742........”

Keywords: merchant, produced

Keyword Location: para B, Line 1

Explanation: The passage identifies Thomas Boreham as a London merchant, not originally a writer. He produced Cajanus, The Swedish Giant, suggesting that he wasn't a professional author but a businessman who ventured into publishing.

7. Mrs. Sarah trimmer

Answer:A

Supporting statement: “.......whose magazine The Guardian of Education (1802) carried the first regular reviews of children's books.........”

Keywords: reviews, magazine

Keyword Location: para C, Line 3

Explanation: Mrs. Sarah Trimmer was a critic who regularly reviewed children's literature in her magazine. Her views, especially condemning fairy tales for their violence, show that she was critical of certain types of children's stories, making her a significant literary critic of her time.

8. Grimm Brothers

Answer:E

Supporting statement: “.......collections of fairy-stories by the scholarly Grimm brothers, swiftly translated into English in 1823.........”

Keywords: brothers, translated

Keyword Location: para D, Line 5

Explanation: The Grimm Brothers originally wrote in German, and their fairy tales were later translated into English. This confirms that they were authors who didn't write in English but had a major influence on children's literature through translation.

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?

In boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

9. Children didn't start to read books until 1700.

Answer:FALSE

Supporting statement: “........There were stories in print before 1700 that children often seized on when they had the chance, such as translations of Aesop's fables, fairy-stories and popular ballads.........”

Keywords: 1700, children

Keyword Location: para A, Line 2

Explanation: The passage states that even before 1700, children read stories such as Aesop's fables and fairy tales. These books were not specifically written for children but were still read by them, making the statement false.

10. Sarah Trimmer believed that children's books should set good examples.

Answer:TRUE

Supporting statement: “.......her own stories, Fabulous Histories (1786), described talking animals who were always models of sense and decorum.........”

Keywords: models, decorum

Keyword Location: para C, Line 5

Explanation: The statement reflects Trimmer's belief that children's books should set a good moral example, as her stories portrayed animals that acted sensibly and respectfully. This shows her commitment to using children's literature as a tool for moral instruction.

11. Parents were concerned about the violence in children's books.

Answer:NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The passage does not provide any information about parents' concerns over the violence in children's literature, so the answer is "Not Given."

12. An interest in the folklore changed the direction of the development of children's books.

Answer:TRUE

Supporting statement: “.......But the greatest blow to the improving children's book was to come from an unlikely source: early 19th-century interest in folklore.........”

Keywords: interest, folklore

Keyword Location: para D, Line 2

Explanation: The passage discusses how the early 19th-century interest in folklore brought about a shift in children's literature. It led to the popularity of nursery rhymes and fairy stories, changing the landscape of children's books, making this statement true.

13. Today children's book writers believe their works should appeal to both children and adults.

Answer:TRUE

Supporting statement: “.........children's literature can be shared by the generations, rather than being a defensive barrier between childhood and the necessary growth towards adult understanding.......”

Keywords: shared, generations

Keyword Location: para G, Line 5

Explanation: The passage indicates that contemporary children's literature is often enjoyed by both children and adults, reflecting the idea that it appeals to a wider audience beyond just children, thus making this statement true.

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