Comedy: Children’s Literature’s Madwoman
in the Attic
John Beach, Department of Human
Services and Counseling, The School of Education
Abstract: Comedy, or humor, is
consistently cited as children’s favorite type of story. Yet,
despite its recognition by philosophers (e.g., Bergson, 1900;
Freud, 1905) and literary theorists (e.g., Frye, 1957; Bakhtin,
1965), comedy is not addressed by any of the major children’s
literature textbooks or references as a distinct domain of
literature comparable to fantasy, realism, folklore, or picture
books. Comedy seldom wins children’s literature awards, and may
even be actively discouraged in schools. This study makes the case
for acknowledging comedy as a major literary domain valued by
children more than any other. Also, comedy is often appreciated by
boys, a group who appear to be frequently ignored as a constituency
by children’s literature’s community of experts. Comedy offers an
important counterbalance to serious literature and has the
potential to engage children in reading texts they truly
appreciate, to involve children in critical thinking, to inspire
children with a positive approach to life, and to include the
disenfranchised in the world of literacy.