A Spoonful of Silly: Examining the Relationship Between Children’s Nonsense Verse and Critical Literacy by Bonnie Tulloch B.A., (Hons), Simon Fraser University, 2013 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Children’s Literature) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2015 © Bonnie Tulloch, 2015 Abstract This thesis interrogates the common assumption that nonsense literature makes “no sense.” Building off research in the fields of English and Education that suggests the intellectual value of literary nonsense, this study explores the nonsense verse of several North American children’s poets to determine if and how their play with language disrupts the colonizing agenda of children’s literature. Adopting the critical lenses of Translation Theory and Postcolonial Theory in its discussion of Dr. Seuss’s On Beyond Zebra! (1955) and I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! (1978), along with selected poems from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), A Light in the Attic (1981), Runny Babbit (2005), Dennis Lee’s Alligator Pie (1974), Nicholas Knock and Other People (1974), and JonArno Lawson’s Black Stars in a White Night Sky (2006) and Down in the Bottom of the Bottom of the Box (2012), this thesis examines how the foreignizing effect of nonsense verse exposes the hidden adult presence within children’s literature, reminding children that childhood is essentially an adult concept—a subjective interpretation (i.e., translation) of their lived experiences. Analyzing the way these poets’ nonsense verse deviates from cultural norms and exposes the hidden adult presence within children’s literature, this research considers the way their poetry assumes a knowledgeable implied reader, one who is capable of critically engaging with the text. Discussing the implications of this reader position, this study ends by reflecting on the potential relationship between nonsense verse and critical literacy. ii Preface Chapter 4 of this thesis was partly inspired by the undergraduate honors essay I completed at Simon Fraser University, “On Beyond Nonsense!: Analyzing Nonsense as Dialect,” which was presented at the 2013 Annual American Comparative Literature Association Conference in Toronto. It is expected that parts of Chapter 5 will be presented at the Annual Children’s Literature Association Conference to be held in Ohio in 2016. iii Table of Contents Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... ii! Preface........................................................................................................................................... iii! Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... iv! List of Figures.............................................................................................................................. vii! Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... viii! Dedication .......................................................................................................................................x! Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1! 1.1! Motivation for Research .................................................................................................... 1! 1.2! Research Statement and Discussion................................................................................... 6! 1.3! Purpose of the Study and Research Questions................................................................. 10! 1.4! The Significance of the Study.......................................................................................... 11! 1.5! Rationale and Criteria for Primary Text Selection .......................................................... 16! 1.6! Significant Terms............................................................................................................. 27! 1.7! Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................ 33! Chapter 2: Literature Review.....................................................................................................35! 2.1 A Brief History of Literary Nonsense: Defining the Genre................................................ 35! 2.2 Nonsense and Education..................................................................................................... 50! Chapter 3: Methodology..............................................................................................................61! Chapter 4: Finding the Hidden Adult: Playing Hide and Seek with Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein......................................................................................................................................73! 4.1 Dr. Seuss ............................................................................................................................. 75! iv 4.1.1 On Beyond Zebra!........................................................................................................ 75! 4.1.2 I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! ................................................................................... 87! 4.2 Shel Silverstein ................................................................................................................... 95! 4.2.1 Where the Sidewalk Ends............................................................................................. 95! 4.2.2 A Light in the Attic ..................................................................................................... 106! 4.2.3 Runny Babbit.............................................................................................................. 115! Chapter 5: Finding the Hidden Adult: Playing Hide and Seek with Dennis Lee and JonArno Lawson ........................................................................................................................121! 5.1 Dennis Lee ........................................................................................................................ 122! 5.1.1 Alligator Pie............................................................................................................... 122! 5.1.2 Nicholas Knock And Other People ............................................................................ 134! 5.2 JonArno Lawson ............................................................................................................... 140! 5.2.1 Black Stars in a White Night Sky ............................................................................... 140! 5.2.2 Down in the Bottom of the Bottom of the Box........................................................... 152! Chapter 6: Conclusion...............................................................................................................162! 6.1 A Summary of the Hidden Adult...................................................................................... 162! 6.1.1 Dr. Seuss .................................................................................................................... 163! 6.1.2 Shel Silverstein .......................................................................................................... 165! 6.1.3 Dennis Lee ................................................................................................................. 166! 6.1.4 JonArno Lawson ........................................................................................................ 167! 6.2 The Liberating Effects of Nonsense Verse ....................................................................... 168! 6.3 Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 174! 6.4 Directions for Future Research ......................................................................................... 174! v Works Cited................................................................................................................................176! vi List of Figures Figure 1 (Seuss, Dr. On Beyond Zebra!. New York: Random House, 1955)............................... 77! Figure 2 (Seuss, Dr. On Beyond Zebra!. New York: Random House, 1955)............................... 79! Figure 3 (Seuss, Dr. On Beyond Zebra!. New York: Random House, 1955)............................... 85! Figure 4 (Seuss, Dr. On Beyond Zebra!. New York: Random House, 1955)............................... 86! Figure 5 (Seuss, Dr. I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!. New York: Random House, 1978). ......... 91! Figure 6 (Seuss, Dr. I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!. New York: Random House, 1978). ......... 94! vii Acknowledgements This research was made possible by the support of numerous people to whom I am greatly indebted. I would like to thank my incredible supervisor, Dr. Margot Filipenko, for her astute guidance, the wisdom of which not only shaped this study but also the direction of my professional interests. To her and my committee members Professor Judith Saltman and Dr. Rick Gooding, I am extremely grateful. Their insightful feedback and enthusiasm for this thesis made the writing of it not only enjoyable, but also formative in my