The fifth edition of Essentials of Children's Literature energizes children's literature study by offering a concise, straightforward presentation of children's literature and by engaging students to share literature with children. Written as a facts-only approach for students and their instructors, this lucid text offers an abundance of examples to illustrate how to use children's literature in the classroom, providing a sound foundation for the beginning survey course at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The two chapters in Part One cover current trends and the introductory material students need in order to begin selecting, reading, and evaluating children's trade books. Part Two defines and describes specific genres of literature and discusses the types of books that fall within the categories. The last two chapters comprising Part Three present curriculum and teaching strategies.