Three hundred and twenty-five literary terms are defined and discussed with examples from children's books. Activities to help reinforce children's understanding of the terms are also suggested.

History is constantly evolving, and the history of children’s literature is no exception. Since the original publication of Emer O’Sullivan’s Historical Dictionary of Children’s Literature in 2010, much has happened in the field of children’s literature. New authors have come into print, new books have won awards, and new ideas have entered the discourse within children’s literature studies. Historical Dictionary of Children's Literature, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 700 cross-referenced entries. This book will be an excellent resource for students, scholars, researchers, and anyone interested in the field of children’s literature studies.

Written for librarians, teachers, and researchers who deal with children's literature, this volume offers comprehensive coverage of nearly 400 British books for young people published from 1678 to the present. Books chosen for inclusion were drawn from those that have won recognized awards for literary merit or have been on lists citing works that should be part of any representative children's book collection. For each, the authors provide concise entries for authors, titles, characters, memorable settings, significant movements, and literary terminology. The result is an unusually complete overview of a broad spectrum of fiction recognized for merit by a wide variety of experts in children's literature. The dictionary section includes four types of entries: title, author, character, and miscellaneous or additional data. Every book has title and author entries; additional information is presented in character and miscellaneous entries where necessary. Author entries provide basic biographical data, focusing particularly on what in the author's life is most relevant to children's literature. Title entries include bibliographic information, a brief plot summary, sub-genre, setting, a critical evaluation, and any awards and citations. An extensive index enables the reader to locate books by period, topic, theme, and characters' names, as well as by author and title. The only one-volume compilation of the best in British children's fiction available to date, this book belongs on the shelves of every academic and public library. As a basic research tool, it will also be of significant value to teachers of children's literature, writers, and social historians.

"This Dictionary is a companion to earlier works, by the same authors, that covered American children's fiction. This book contains 1,626 entries based on 387 books published from 1687 to 1985. . . . Many will enjoy simply browsing this fascinating reference book." Reference Books Bulletin

In this lively discussion Kim Reynolds looks at what children's literature is, why it is interesting, how it contributes to culture, and how it is studied as literature. Providing examples from across history and various types of children's literature, she introduces the key debates, developments, and people involved.

More than two thousand entries, in subjects from astronomy to zoology, are accompanied by tables and charts, as well as biographies of eighty-five scientists.

Where do words come from?—Teaching kids ages 9 to 12 vocabulary through word origins The English language is made up of words from different places, events, and periods of time. Each of those words has an exciting story to tell us about where, when, how, and why they came about. Once Upon a Word is packed with easy-to-understand definitions and awesome word origin stories. With this dictionary for kids, you can understand the history and meaning of English words, improve your vocabulary and spelling, and learn to play with language. Explore how weird words like gnome, fun words like zombie, and common words like caterpillar came to exist. Discover why some words sound funnier than others (like cackle, sizzle, and twang) and why some groups of words start with the same few letters (like hydrate, hydrogen, and fire hydrant). In this dictionary for kids, there's a whole world of English words to uncover! This unique dictionary for kids includes: Roots & branches—Learn about the building blocks that make up words, called roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Kid-friendly definitions—Look up definitions designed for your reading level in this dictionary for kids. Word tidbits—Find out where your favorite food words got their start, from bacon to marshmallow, spaghetti, yogurt, and beyond. See how the English language evolved with this colorful dictionary for kids.