This revised and updated edition provides children's and young adult librarians, teachers, literature classes, and library school classes with an authoritative history and analysis of the best British and American children's literature through 1994, with a new 2003 postscript including such recent phenomenons as J.K.Rowling and Philip Pullman. Written for Children traces the development of children's literature from its origins through the beginnings of the multimedia revolution. In effortless and entertaining style, Townsend, a world-renowned authority in the field, examines the changing attitudes toward children and their literature and analyzes the various strands that make up this important field. While examining many well-known American classics, Townsend also looks at British works that American audiences may have overlooked. With illustrations and bibliography.

Currently there is a need for materials that can serve as a guide to recent pictuire books and that will assist teachers and librarians in their program planning. Primaryplots is designed to meet this need and to expand the range of the reading guidance titles from the R.R. Bowker Company.