Demetriou, Eroulla and José Ruiz Mas. Child’s Play. An Introduction to Children’s
Literature for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language. Granada: GEU Editorial,
2009. (ISBN: 978-84-9915-111-3; 128 pages.)
In this book the authors endeavour to introduce Primary and Secondary School teachers of
English as a foreign language into the teaching of children’s literature in a simple,
entertaining but thorough way. Young students of English will learn the language through its
literature and teachers of English will update their knowledge of children’s and young adults’
literature too. Teachers will certainly benefit from the playful suggestions that they offer.
Students are encouraged to join a wonderland of activities destined to improve their
acquisition of both linguistic and cultural competences in English. The book also provides
plenty of material (including samples of complete didactic units) for teachers to promote the
practice of the four skills and the introduction of social values in the classroom. The book
consists of six chapters: general considerations on English children’s literature, genres, a brief
panoramic history of children’s literature, how to exploit it in the classroom, a bibliography,
and a chapter on self-assessment for the very teachers’ use on themselves.