Children's vs. Adult

As I begin to contemplate the question of what is adult literature and what is children’s literature the distinction becomes harder and harder to make because there are so many exceptions. There’s no doubt that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass have elements of children’s literature in them, but the stories have elements that pertain to adult’s literature as well.

One of the main child authors that I can think of is Dr. Seuss. I have narrowed it down to three elements that make his stories children’s literature, and they’re are as followed: 1.) They contain illustrations. 2.) They’re written with the use of simple language and easy to follow. 3.) They’re educational and contain morals. On the flip side there’s graphic novels that are loaded with illustrations, but are not suitable for a young crowd. Most of adult literature can be viewed as educational and are filled with morals as well. Lewis Carroll’s stories contain illustrations, but the story is very complicated and is filled with many abstract concepts. I don’t think Alice herself would be able to read these stories. The lesson to be learned in Carroll’s stories is a hard one to grasp because it isn’t as cut and dry as some Dr. Seuss stories.

I also have the same issues when confronted with the film world. The animated version of Alice and Wonderland seems like it is directed towards kids. Of course almost all of Disney movies are animated and contain musicals, so you would think that all animated and musical movies are for kids’ right? Wrong. South Park is an animated show that made a musical movie, and it’s completely inappropriate for kids. Not to mention all the other countless animated shows that are directed towards an older audience. The Tim Burton movie definitely tries to appeal to an older crowd with its live action, character depth, and serious tone.  

After exploring the question, I haven’t come to any clear cut answer. The only conclusion I have come to is that there is no clear division between children’s literature and adult literature. The only aspect that I have found that distinguishes one from the other is age appropriateness, and really that’s relative on the person viewing and reading.