<p>I am extremely interested in Majoring in Children's Literature as an undergrad, and have heard from numerous people it is a useless degree. I have every intention of going to law school after finishing my undergraduate education and had wanted to major in something that I thoroughly enjoy. Has anyone else done this or had success with this choice in major?</p>
<p>I don’t think that major would provide an adequate undergraduate preparation for law school both in terms of content and textual analysis skills. It would be better to major in English (or, perhaps, Comparative Literature or a foreign literature) and take some courses related to children’s lit. Also, if you change your mind about law school, English would be a more versatile major and be more relevant to a broader range of career options and postgrad academic fields. Outside a limited number of careers, children’s lit probably wouldn’t be viewed as a serious area of study. If you don’t go to law school, you can always do a master’s in children’s lit, or in a field that would accommodate that interest (e.g., folklore, library science, creative writing).</p>
<p>I agree with zapfino. It will be better for you to have opt for an English Literature, Foreign Literature, World Literature, or Comparative Literature major, and opting for children literature courses as your electives.</p>
<p>I agree with zapfino too. You don’t need to major in Children’s Lit to pursue an interest in it. For instance, you could major in English and write an honors thesis on children’s lit. I have had several students write fine honors theses on the C. S. Lewis and Ursula LeGuin fantasy novels. But they developed their excellent analytical and writing skills taking a wide range of literature courses. </p>
<p>Great authors for children–Kipling, Lewis, LeGuin, Rowling, etc.–tend to be deeply read in great adult literature as well and draw on it all the time. The Narnia stories are a sort of echo chamber of the Renaissance romance and allegory that Lewis worked on as a professor of English at Oxford.</p>
<p>If you are at a college with an education school, you can also combine an English major with some courses in children’s acquisition of reading skills-- a really interesting topic.</p>