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Step 1
Prepare yourself for a discussion of ideology. Ideology is defined as a system of beliefs, and children's literature is a perfect conduit for the communication of ideology since adults write children's literature largely for the purposes of entertainment and education.
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Step 2
Read between the lines. Children's literature is a wildly different experience for children and for adults. Adults often see humor in children's books that kids miss completely, and because the books are written by adults, it's almost impossible to discount the humor and intricacies as accidental.
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Step 3
Survey a wide variety of children's literature to get a feel for the ways in which ideology and humor come across. Picture books, fairy tales and novels all have different facets to offer anyone who wishes to study children's literature.
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Step 4
Be ready to defend your interest in children's literature. Anyone serious about the study of the field will fall prey to naysayers at some point. If you wish to defend your choice, you should be able to express the complicated nature of the genre.
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Step 5
Teach if you can. Many scholars who choose to study children's literature end up teaching survey courses to undergraduates. Teaching children's literature is a great way to learn as students can often shed new light on a text with their fresh approach to the material.
