The last thirty years have witnessed one of the most fertile periods in the history of children's books. A fascinating reference guide to the world of children's literature, this volume covers every genre from fairy tales to chapbooks; school stories to science fiction; comics to children's hymns

Dig into almost 2,000 entries in this bulging resource, where Anne of Green Gables rubs elbows with the Lord of the Rings, Mother Goose with Punch and Judy, Hans Christian Andersen with Christina Rossetti, and Maurice Sendak with Kate Greenaway. It's thorough -- and indispensable for teachers, librarians, and parents.

Remarkably well researched, the essays consider a wide range of texts - from the U.S., Britain and Canada - and take a variety fo theoretical approaches, including formalism and Marxism and those related to psychology, postcolonialism, reception, feminism, queer studies, and performance studies ... This collection pushes boundaries of genre, notions of childhood ... Choice. Back cover of book.

A COMPANION TO CHILDREN'S LITERATURE A collection of international, up-to-date, and diverse perspectives on children's literary criticism A Companion to Children's Literature offers students and scholars studying children's literature, education, and youth librarianship an incisive and expansive collection of essays that discuss key debates within children's literature criticism. The thirty-four works included demonstrate a diverse array of perspectives from around the world, introduce emerging scholars to the field of children's literature criticism, and meaningfully contribute to the scholarly conversation. The essays selected by the editors present a view of children's literature that encompasses poetry, fiction, folklore, nonfiction, dramatic stage and screen performances, picturebooks, and interactive and digital media. They range from historical overviews to of-the-moment critical theory about children’s books from across the globe. A Companion to Children's Literature explores some of the earliest works in children's literature, key developments in the genre from the 20th century, and the latest trends and texts in children's information books, postmodern fairytales, theatre, plays, and more. This collection also discusses methods for reading children's literature, from social justice critiques of popular stories to Black critical theory in the context of children's literary analysis.

Ever since children have learned to read, there has been children’s literature. Children’s Literature charts the makings of the Western literary imagination from Aesop’s fables to Mother Goose, from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to Peter Pan, from Where the Wild Things Are to Harry Potter. The only single-volume work to capture the rich and diverse history of children’s literature in its full panorama, this extraordinary book reveals why J. R. R. Tolkien, Dr. Seuss, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Beatrix Potter, and many others, despite their divergent styles and subject matter, have all resonated with generations of readers. Children’s Literature is an exhilarating quest across centuries, continents, and genres to discover how, and why, we first fall in love with the written word. “Lerer has accomplished something magical. Unlike the many handbooks to children’s literature that synopsize, evaluate, or otherwise guide adults in the selection of materials for children, this work presents a true critical history of the genre. . . . Scholarly, erudite, and all but exhaustive, it is also entertaining and accessible. Lerer takes his subject seriously without making it dull.”—Library Journal (starred review) “Lerer’s history reminds us of the wealth of literature written during the past 2,600 years. . . . With his vast and multidimensional knowledge of literature, he underscores the vital role it plays in forming a child’s imagination. We are made, he suggests, by the books we read.”—San Francisco Chronicle “There are dazzling chapters on John Locke and Empire, and nonsense, and Darwin, but Lerer’s most interesting chapter focuses on girls’ fiction. . . . A brilliant series of readings.”—Diane Purkiss, Times Literary Supplement

Consumable Reading and Children's Literature explores how multisensory experiences enhance early childhood literacy practices through material and sensory interactions. Embodied engagements that focus on the gustatory experience and, in particular, the sense of taste are investigated by studying food-related narratives. Children’s literature and different reading scenarios involving consumable objects, packages, tableware and utensils are scrutinized. Surfaces, the underlying mechanisms that support children’s literature, are considered in connection to emerging media and groundbreaking technologies. The interdisciplinary nature of this work draws on material and surface science, human-computer interaction, arts and food studies. As innovation and everyday materials meet, the potential of hybrid narratives mimicking synesthesia emerges with discussions on cross-modal learning. This monograph will inspire the interest of not only students, teachers, scholars of children’s literature and child development but also researchers and practitioners across various artistic and scientific disciplines.

Articles of this book - Donelle Ruwe Guarding the British Bible from Rousseau; Ruth Carver Capasso Philanthropy in Nineteenth-Century French Children’s Literature; Ken Parille 'Wake up, and be a man'; Claudia Nelson Drying the Orphan’s Tear; Kate Lawson The 'Disappointed' House; Fern Kory Once upon a Time in Aframerica; Laura B. Comoletti and Michael D. C. Drout How They Do Things with Words; Philip Nel 'Never overlook the art of the seemingly simple'; Sandra Beckett Parodic Play with Paintings in Picture Books; Clare Bradford The End of Empire?