Onomatopoeia 

Onomatopoeia refers to a word that phonetically mimics or resembles the sound of the thing it describes. For example, the words we use to describe noises that animals make are all onomatopoetic, such as a dog’s “bark,” a cat’s “meow,” or a cow’s “moo.” Besides, onomatopoeias are not the same across all languages. For example, the sound of a clock may be “tick tock” in English, but “dī dā” in Mandarin.

  Nonsense 

Nonsense is a communication that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwriters have used nonsense in their works, for reasons ranging from amusement or satire, to illustrating a point about language or reasoning. The phrase "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" was coined by Noam Chomsky as an example of nonsense.

  Nursery Rhymes 

A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term only dates from the late 18^th or early 19th century. From the mid-16th century, they begin to be recorded in English plays, and most popular nursery rhymes date from the 17th and 18th centuries. "London Bridge Is Falling Down" is an example of nursery rhymes. 

 Fantasy 

Fantasy is a form of literary genre in which a plot cannot occur in the real world. The most interesting thing about fantasies is that their plot involves witches as well as mythical and animal creatures talking like humans, which never happens in the real life. Popular examples of animal fantasies include, Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White and The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.

  Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault was a French author. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known of his tales include Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and The Sleeping Beauty. Some of Perrault's versions of old stories may have influenced the German versions published by the Brothers Grimm more than 100 years later. Perrault was an influential figure in the 17th-century French literary scene, and was the leader of the Modern faction during the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns.

1.      What is children's literature? Are there certain specific characteristics detaching children’s literature from adult’s books? If yes, what are they? If no, why are we here to study this subject?

There is no single or widely used definition of children's literature. It can be broadly defined as anything that children read or more specifically defined as fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama intended for and used by children and young people.

        For the second question, my answer is yes. There are certain specific characteristics detaching children’s literature from adult’s books. First of all, the vocabularies in children’s book are much easier than that in adult’s books. Second, the illustrations in children’s book would be relatively more because colorful pictures or illustrations can catch children’s attention. Besides, the animal characters in the children’s books are usually personified, which is seldom the case in adult’s books.

2.       The climax is the high point of the story, where the culmination of events creates the peak of the conflict. In the plot of narrative work, a resolution consists of a series of events that follow the climax, and thus serves as the conclusion of the story, even though not all stories have a resolution. Could you (1) relocate where the climax of Charlotte's Web is and (2) analyze your resolution that (3) associated with the idea of conflicts?

I think the climax of Charlotte’s Web appears when Wilbur said that he could probably do something for Charlotte. The first conflict was shown here as well. Wilbur always waited for Charlotte to figure out some ways to keep him away from slaughtered before. To my surprise, Wilbur really helped Charlotte take care of her kids in the near end of the story. As for the resolution, I think it was that Wilbur did keep the promise to Charlotte. He looked after Charlotte’s eggs carefully and waited patiently for the coming of her babies. Apparently, Wilbur isn’t stupid anymore. He finally understood the importance of keeping a promise and being responsible for it. Perhaps, in another point of view, this is another conflict of Charlotte’s Web.

3.   We’ve watched an enchanting film, "Miss Potter," based on the life of Beatrix Potter, the best-selling author of children's books of all time, this semester before the midterm. One of the phrases that opens and ends the whole movie is the voice of the title protagonist, “there's something delicious about writing those first few words of a story. You can never quite tell where they will take you. Mine took me here, where I belong.” Could you paraphrase what that means in the context of your understanding of Miss Potter’s works, life, as well as your life experience and expectation?

The place where Beatrix Potter belongs to is the Hill Top farm. To live in the farm, Beatrix have to make an important decision of not only leaving her parents and friends, but her favorite hometown where she spends lots of time with Norman.

After watching the enchanting film, “Miss Potter,” I did think for a long while about the phrase. In my opinion, “those first few words” mentioned in the phrase refer to “human mind.” Once we experience and overcome many difficulties and challenges, with more understanding about ourselves, we may find something that we are eager to obtain as a goal. I think what motivates people to put it into action and to work hard is our mind. I also believe it is the strong mind that take everyone to any place where they belong to. Just like Potter follows her mind and keeps drawing as well as writing so many fantastic works no matter she lives with her parents or in the farm. She is satisfied with her life in the Hill Top farm, and makes another decision to spend the rest of her life there according to her own mind.

 4.  Who is Mother Goose? Is she real?

There have been several hypotheses that a real Mother Goose at one point existed. However, Mother Goose was not a real person, but the imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes often published as (Old) Mother Goose's Rhymes. References to Mother Goose date back to the 17th century, and usually include the idea that she spun fairy tales in addition to poems. Mother Goose is generally depicted in literature and book illustration as an elderly country woman in a tall hat and shawl, a costume identical to the peasant costume worn in Wales in the early twentieth century. Sometimes Mother Goose is merely depicted as a goose. This is definitely a modern take in keeping with the many anthropomorphic animals that entertain modern children in books and on television. The Real Mother Goose published in several forms retains the older illustrations and remains a delightful book for children. It often serves as an excellent way to teach quite young children about poetry, and to help them learn to memorize short rhythmic poems.