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Linguistic Gymnastics: Humor and Wordplay in Children’s and Adolescent Literature

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Research on Young Children’s Humor

Part of the book series: Educating the Young Child ((EDYC,volume 15))

Abstract

Humor and wordplay are invaluable instructional tools for encouraging improved literacy and enhanced vocabulary development. This chapter explores a variety of children’s picture books and adolescent novels by authors, such as Mo Willems, Fred Gwynne, Peggy Parish, and Lemony Snicket, who purposefully seek to use humor and wordplay in their writing. Additionally, this chapter will take a pedagogical approach to the discussion by examining methodologies in which classroom teachers can utilize humorous texts to enhance enjoyment of literacy development for students. Educational researchers and classroom practitioners alike argue that vocabulary development which is enjoyable and creative is more effective than rote memorization methodologies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of English, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT, USA

    Lisa Maxwell Arter

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  1. Lisa Maxwell Arter
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Correspondence to Lisa Maxwell Arter .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Eleni Loizou

  2. Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Susan L. Recchia

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Arter, L.M. (2019). Linguistic Gymnastics: Humor and Wordplay in Children’s and Adolescent Literature. In: Loizou, E., Recchia, S.L. (eds) Research on Young Children’s Humor. Educating the Young Child, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15202-4_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15202-4_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15201-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15202-4

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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