Modern Fantasy is a very popular genre among children.
According to the author almost half of the books identified in 100 Books that
Shaped the Century and 100 best books for children are listed as fantasy.
Modern Fantasy can be
classified into two categories: low fantasy and high fantasy. Low fantasy
stories take place in the real world but magical elements make them impossible.
Books in the low fantasy category include Charlotte's web and The Tale of Peter
Rabbit. Both of these stories include talking animals, which make them
impossible to be real stories, even though they take place in the real world.
High fantasy takes information and experiences from the real world and projects
them into other worlds. Some examples to
high fantasy books include Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. The worlds
in these books are magical places created by the authors.
Fantasy books can teach children ideas that would otherwise
be difficult to convey to young readers. In the textbook an example is
"Children can read directly about friendship, sacrifice, selfishness, the
fear of death, and death itself, but the insight is somehow more meaningful
when shown metaphorically through the lives of Wilbur the pig, Templeton the
rat, and Charlotte the spider in Charlotte's Web."
Although I have never taken the time to get into some of the
more recent popular science fiction books I do enjoy reading this type of literature
from time to time. It’s especially
exciting when these novels come alive on the big screen. Using science fiction in the classroom is a
great way for students to spark their imaginations.