The+Aged+in+Children's+Literature+Sade+Graves+(Solo+Project)

Every child will encounter an elderly person at one time or another in their lives. Children begin to form their opinions of older people from an early age. They notice how people interact with older people, they notice how often they see an older person working and they take note of the actions of those older people they do come in contact with. It is important that children are exposed to literature that promotes a positive view of the aged. Being exposed to negative views of the aged can promote ageist mindsets and prevent students from having positive meaningful relationships with the older people around them.
 * __The Aged in Children’s Literature __**
 * //Introduction//**

Literature can promote stereotypes of different races, sexes and of course different age groups. In researching stereotypes of the elderly in folk literature I found three consistencies: the elderly are often represented as old, sad or poor. A paper written by James Thornton explains how traditional myths and folklore explained personal experiences and gave meaning for the unexplainable. One topic covered in myths or folklore is the topic of aging. Thornton found that myths and folklore provide several stereotypes of the elderly. These stereotypes perpetuate ageist mindsets. Thornton states that “myths of aging suggest these general perceptions of being old (1) poor health, ill, disabled; (2) lack of mental sharpness, failed memory, senile; (3) sad, depressed, lonely, grouchy (4) sexless, boring, all the same; (5) lack vitality, loss of vigor, inevitable decline; and (6) unable to learn or change, unproductive”(pg. 303). These stereotypes are engraved in the mind of young readers after reading about the elderly in folklore such as fables, myths and folktales.
 * //Stereotypes of Folk Literature//**

Ageism in small children is prevalent due to the fact that views of elderly are often negative in the literature they read. The stories which represent negative views of the elderly are often presented to children by an adult such as their parent ‍of ‍teacher. Therefore, kids are more likely to believe the negative information presented about the elderly because it comes from an adult they trust. In an article by Sandra McGuire she explains how material children hear should be screened to prevent kids from forming ageist mindsets. McGuire states that “by age 3, some children use ageist language; ageist and negative attitudes toward the elderly are evident in preschool children; and by the age of 12-13, children’s ageist attitudes are difficult to change”(pg. 63).
 * //Ageism://**

Information presented in the article by McGuire and the information presented by Thornton had some similarities. For instance, McGuire points out that “very few older characters in it; when portrayed, they usually did not have a major role and were not readily noticeable character…three adjectives were consistently used to describe older people: old, sad and poor.” (pg. 63) Thornton stated similar information within his paper. These unsavory portrayals of the elderly can have a lasting effect of a child’s perception of older adults.

Fillmer and Meadow state that while conducting their study using five sets of Basel readers they found “older people most often manifested pleasant personalities and demonstrated qualities of kindness, cheerfulness and friendliness…Only 5% Of references to older people depicted them as irritable, grouchy, crabby, unfriendly, babbling or mean” (pg.654). Fillmer and Meadow also state that “They (the elderly) were seldom shown watching television, rocking, knitting or storytelling” (pg. 654). This research shows that the portrayal of the elderly in many books does not show the elderly as incompetent but active citizens. However in the same article, Fillmer and Meadow describe how fifth graders view the elderly and their views weren’t good.
 * //Incompetence/ evilness of the elderly//**


 * //Relationships between Young and Old//**

In many of Patricia Polacco’s books the character Babushka is present. She is the grandmother of Tricia the main character of many of Polacco’s books. Babushka and Tricia are very close. Tricia uses her grandmother for wisdom. The relationship is a positive one because Babushka helps Tricia overcome many obstacles. In “Thank You, Mr. Falker” Babushka helps Tricia cope with a learning disability and the feeling of being different. Her grandfather is also present in the story and his wisdom teaches Tricia a valuable lesson about the knowledge that comes from reading.

In The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy the main character Tanya and her grandmother are very close. Again the grandmother teaches the young character Tanya and her mother a valuable lesson about family and traditions. The younger character Tanya values her grandmother’s opinions. She also works hard to help her mother and grandmother see eye to eye. Again this book shows how wisdom of the elderly is used to teach valuable lesson to youth.

__Bibliography__

Fillmer, H. (1986) The portrayal of older Characters in Five Sets of Basel Readers. //The Elementary School Journal//. Vol 86 (5), 651-662

Flournoy, V. (1985). //The patchwork quilt//. New York, NY: Dial Books for Children McGuire, Sandra L. (1993) Reduce Ageism in Kids by screening what they Read. //Education Digest//. Vol 59 (4), 63-66 Polacco, P. (2001) //Thank you Mr. Falker//. New York, NY: Philomel. Taylor, Gail C. (1980) Images of the Elderly in Children’s Literature. //The Reading Teacher//, Vol 34. (3), 344-347 Thornton, James E. Myths of Aging or Ageist Stereotypes. //Educational Gerontology//, Vol. 28 (4), p301-312

**Annotated Bibliography** ‍1. Alexander, Lloyd. (2001) The Gawgon and the Boy. New York, New York: Dutton Publishers. ‍

A young boy has been suffering from a severe case of pneumonia. After he makes a recovery he doesn’t go back to his normal school. Instead he is home schooled by his aunt. He thinks his aunt will be a boring teacher because she is elderly. He believes that he will only learn about ancient history and other really old topic. However, he is in for a great surprise because he finds out his aunt is a great teacher. They do wonderful, fun, exciting lessons and she is the best teacher he has ever had. This book was obtained at the Louisville Free Public Childrens Library (Main Library)

2. Adams, Pam (1995). Who Cares about Elderly People? Auburn, Main: Child’s Play International.

This book starts off kind of suspect. It makes you believe that it is an elderly bashing book. But by the end of the book it teaches its preschool readers that you can be friends with an older person and have a great relationship. The book was obtained at Barnes and Nobile in Louisville, Kentucky

3. Flournoy, Valerie. (1985) The Patchwork Quilt. New York, New York: Dial Books.

A young girl is taught a big lesson about family by her grandmother. Tanya is a young girl who lives with her mother, grandmother, dad and siblings. The grandmother wants to make a quilt, but Tanya’s mother sees it as pointless. When Grandmother explains the importance of the quilt to mother, the family all bands together to memories alive by making the quilt. When grandmother falls ill it is up to Tanya and mother to keep the quilt going. This book shows a great relationship between the young and the old. This book was obtained at the Olmsted Academy South Library

4. Lindbergh, Reeve. (2003) My Hippie Grandmother. Somersville, MA: Candlewick Press.

This book portrays a cool grandmother. She doesn’t need assistance of any sort. She isn’t old and gray. She is lively. Her cat is cool as well with the name Woodstock. This book was obtained at Half Price Books on Hurstbourne Lane

5. MacLachlan, Patricia. (1983) Through Grandpa's Eyes. New York, New York: Harper Trophy, 1983. Although a young boy’s grandfather is blind he still teaches the young boy a lesson about how to view the world and how to see. This book was obtained at Half Price Books on Hurstbourne Lane

6. Mead, Alice. (2000) Junebug and the Reverend New York, New York: Yearling When his mother gets a new job as Resident Supervisor of a senior citizen apartment building, Junebug and his family move out of the projects. At a new school with new bullies, Junebug has to adjust. This book was obtained at the Louisvlle Free Public Library (Children's Library)

7. Miller, William. (2001) The Piano. New York, New York: Lee & Low Books. A young girl wants to learn to play the piano. She finds a teacher in an old white woman. She thinks she will only learn piano from the woman, but she learns an even more valuable lesson. The old while woman teaches her to care for others. This book was obtained at the Louisville Free Public Children's Library (Main Library)

8. Polacco, P. (2001) Thank You Mr. Falker. New York, NY: Philomel. A young girl struggles with a reading disorder. Her grandmother and grandfather are a great support system for her as she struggles to keep the faith that one day she’ll learn to read. This book was obtained at the Olmsted Academy South Library

9. Vega, Denise. (2009) Grandmother, have the angels come. New York, New York: Little Brown Books for Young Readers. This picture book describes and celebrated the relationship between young and old. The book describes what happens to an elderly person as they get older poetically.

Sandra Smith: I found it sad that your post quotes that by the age of 12-13 views on ageism is set... I do believe there is a negative view from the young on the elderly. It is not a very positive thing to think of when I view the way the elderly which have immense knowledge of so many different aspects of life that the young could learn so much from them... It is encouraging to think that there are some forms of literature out there that have positive outlooks on ageism...