RHETORIC IN

CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Rae Anna Golderer
What is Genre? What is Rhetoric?
o everything is a genre and everything
fits in a genre! o language designed to
o very broad “categories” that multiple have a persuasive or
different medias can fit into like music,
movies, readings, etc. impressive effect on its
o children’s books fit in either the
“book” or “children’s entertainment”
audience
genre

*** This is important for you, the board of

education, to know so you can understand the
conventions and rhetoric that makes a children’s
book a children’s book! ***
 Rhetorical Situations:
◦ Affordances: promote learning, because the main character in most children’s books are animals,
all kids are able to relate to the story; no “person” is represented in the stories
◦ Constraints: writers cannot say anything that would upset kids in anyway and they must keep the
story as simple as possible for younger children, coming up with new storylines that will attract
children can be difficult, especially because the writers are older.
◦ Exigence: To give children the opportunity to learn how to read but to make it more fun and
enjoyable with the use of illustrations and fun storylines
◦ Primary Audience: Children typically kindergarten to fourth grade (depending on reading level of
the book) are the primary audience
◦ Secondary Audience: Teachers or parents could be considered the secondary audience, they
both purchase these books to read to kids
◦ Writer: Writers of this genre are typically familiar with children, either because they have their own
or because they have taught children. They are someone who loves children and who wants to
see them grow intellectually.
◦ Background/Context: These books are pretty self-explanatory: they were written for children to
both teach them and to entertain them.
 Conventions:
◦Light-hearted
◦Bright colors
◦Moral of the story- sharing, being kind to
others, etc.
◦Personified objects- transportation, animals,
etc.
Light-Hearted
◦ A light-hearted storyline
gives children the
opportunity to enjoy a fun
story that distracts them
from the fact that they are
learning as well. Normally,
the plot doesn’t get too
upsetting and introduces a
lot of fun characters.
Bright Colors
◦ When the artist uses bright,
eye-catching colors, kids
are more likely to reach for
that book. If you want
more kids to visit the library
at your schools, aim to find
books with cooler
illustrations and brighter
colors!
“Moral of the
Story”
◦ Making sure that the books
that kids read teaches them
something other than just how
to improve their reading
comprehension is important. It
gives the child something to
think about after they’ve
finished the book and can
make them pick the book up
again.
Personified
Objects
◦ Having main characters or supporting
characters be animated objects or
animals helps children identify with
the characters more. If an African
American child read a book where
the main character was White, they
could have a harder time relating to
the story; however, if the main
character was a race car, any child
of any race or ethnicity can identify
themselves with the character.
 I hope you learned a
little more about the
importance of rhetoric
and what to look for Thank You!
when selecting
children’s books for your
school!