The varied collection of essays presented in this volume bridges the gap between continental and Anglo-American approaches to childrenâ (TM)s literature, and discuss the state of the art of what is topical in childrenâ (TM)s literature studies in Europe and the United States. Varied as the different subject areas under discussion are, considering different subgenres, historical periods, and geographical contexts, two main themes surface in nearly all the essays: ideology and childrenâ (TM)s literature on the one hand, and images of childhood on the other. The contributions illustrate the wide range of subject areas and the increasing level of sophistication with which criticism of ideology and Cultural Studies have enriched childrenâ (TM)s literature criticism. The essays address, among others, the influence of globalisation and mass market culture on the production of childrenâ (TM)s books, as well as the choices governing the production of translations and adaptations of texts for young readers. Representing a broad array of methodological approaches and of representations of childhood, this publication intends to render visible actual manifestations of the tension between pedagogy and aesthetics, inherent to and constitutive of childrenâ (TM)s literature.

The varied collection of essays presented in this volume bridges the gap between continental and Anglo-American approaches to childrenâ (TM)s literature, and discuss the state of the art of what is topical in childrenâ (TM)s literature studies in Europe and the United States. Varied as the different subject areas under discussion are, considering different subgenres, historical periods, and geographical contexts, two main themes surface in nearly all the essays: ideology and childrenâ (TM)s literature on the one hand, and images of childhood on the other. The contributions illustrate the wide range of subject areas and the increasing level of sophistication with which criticism of ideology and Cultural Studies have enriched childrenâ (TM)s literature criticism. The essays address, among others, the influence of globalisation and mass market culture on the production of childrenâ (TM)s books, as well as the choices governing the production of translations and adaptations of texts for young readers. Representing a broad array of methodological approaches and of representations of childhood, this publication intends to render visible actual manifestations of the tension between pedagogy and aesthetics, inherent to and constitutive of childrenâ (TM)s literature.

Since its emergence in the seventeenth century as a distinctive cultural system, children's literature has had a culturally inferior status resulting from its existence in a netherworld between the literary system and the educational system. In addition to its official readership—children—it has to be approved of by adults. Writers for children, explains Zohar Shavit, are constrained to respond to these multiple systems of often mutually contradictory demands. Most writers do not try to bypass these constraints, but accept them as a framework for their work. In the most extreme cases an author may ignore one segment of the readership. If the adult reader is ignored, the writer risks rejection, as is the case of popular literature. If the writer utilizes the child as a pseudo addressee in order to appeal to an adult audience, the result can be what Shavit terms an ambivalent work. Shavit analyzes the conventions and the moral aims that have structured children's literature, from the fairy tales collected and reworked by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm—in particular, “Little Red Riding Hood”—through the complex manipulations of Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, to the subversion of the genre's canonical requirements in the chapbooks of the eighteenth century, and in the formulaic Nancy Drew books of the twentieth century. Throughout her study Shavit, explores not only how society has shaped children's literature, but also how society has been reflected in the literary works it produces for its children.

49 original essays on the essential terms and concepts in children's literature

Looking at and listening to picture and story books is a ubiquitous activity, frequently enjoyed by many young children and their parents. Well before children can read for themselves they are able to learn from books. Looking at and listening to books increases children’s general knowledge, understanding about the world and promotes language acquisition. This collection of papers demonstrates the breadth of information pre-reading children learn from books and increases our understanding of the social and cognitive mechanisms that support this learning. Our hope is that this Research Topic/eBook will be useful for researchers as well as educational practitioners and parents who are interested in optimizing children’s learning.

A groundbreaking collection of essays on a hitherto underexplored subject that challenges the existing stereotypical views of the trivial and innocent nature of children's culture, this work reveals for the first time the artistic and complex interactions among children. Based on research of scholars from such diverse fields as American studies, anthropology, education, folklore, psychology, and sociology, this volume represents a radical new attempt to redefine and reinterpret the expressive behaviors of children. The book is divided into four major sections: history, methodology, genres, and setting, with a concluding chapter on theory. Each section is introduced by an overview by Brian Sutton-Smith. The accompanying bibliography lists historical references through the present, representing works by scholars for over 100 years.

(1949).

Proposing a conceptual framework for evaluating "hand-held" books, Dresang (information studies, Florida State U.) explains how books are changing along with developments in digital information and how librarians, teachers, and parents can recognize and use books to create connections for and among young people using digital concepts and designs that emphasize multilayered, nonlinear stories and information. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This volume focuses on the (de)canonization processes in children’s literature, considering the construction and cultural-historical changes of canons in different children’s literatures. Chapters by international experts in the field explore a wide range of different children’s literatures from Great Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, the Low Countries, Eastern and Central Europe, as well as from Non-European countries such as Australia, Israel, and the United States. Situating the inquiry within larger literary and cultural studies conversations about canonicity, the contributors assess representative authors and works that have encountered changing fates in the course of canon history. Particular emphasis is given to sociological canon theories, which have so far been under-represented in canon research in children’s literature. The volume therefore relates historical changes in the canon of children’s literature not only to historical changes in concepts of childhood but to more encompassing political, social, economic, cultural, and ideological shifts. This volume’s comparative approach takes cognizance of the fact that, if canon formation is an important cultural factor in nation-building processes, a comparative study is essential to assessing transnational processes in canon formation. This book thus renders evident the structural similarities between patterns and strategies of canon formation emerging in different children’s literatures.

This multidisciplinary handbook pulls together in one volume the research on children's and young adult literature which is currently scattered across three intersecting disciplines: education, English, and library and information science.