Childrens literature is an essential part of literacy education.This unit will introduce pre-service teachers to an extensive range of childrens literature which includes contemporary melded genres, multimodal texts, picture books, post-modern texts and poetry to build foundational knowledge for the teaching of literacy. Pre-service teachers will understand the importance of analysing texts using historical, sociocultural and post-structural perspectives. The unit is designed to develop and deepen pre-service teachers knowledge of childrens literature and how it is used to develop and enhance oral language development, literacy competency and enjoyment. Contexts and strategies for responding to, thinking about and critiquing childrens literature within a basis of literary, semiotic and language theories will be considered. The unit will also consider Indigenous literature, enabling pre-service teachers to acknowledge Indigenous Australians deep spiritual relationship with the land, and value and respect Indigenous cultures.The aim of this unit is to offer opportunities for pre-service teachers to read and critique a wide range of childrens literature, consider what constitutes constructs quality childrens literature, and to participate in discussions with deep understanding, within a framework that engages the social and ethical dimensions of study and research.