The astonishing success of J.K. Rowling and other contemporary children's authors has demonstrated how passionately children can commit to the books they love. But this kind of devotion is not new. This timely volume takes up the challenge of assessing the complex interplay of forces that have created the popularity of children's books both today and in the past. The essays collected here ask about the meanings and values that have been ascribed to the term 'popular'. They consider whether popularity can be imposed, or if it must always emerge from children's preferences. And they investigate how the Harry Potter phenomenon fits into a repeated cycle of success and decline within the publishing industry. Whether examining eighteenth-century chapbooks, fairy tales, science schoolbooks, Victorian adventures, waif novels or school stories, these essays show how historical and publishing contexts are vital in determining which books will succeed and which will fail, which bestsellers will endure and which will fade quickly into obscurity. As they considering the fiction of Angela Brazil, Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling, the contributors carefully analyse how authorial talent and cultural contexts combine, in often unpredictable ways, to generate - and sometimes even sustain - literary success.

Here is a marvelous reprint of the original edition, the finest modern version of the English outlaw's merry adventures. It includes Pyle's text and his famous illustrations in their entirety, including all of the page decorations.

This early work on The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood will appeal greatly to all Robin Hood enthusiasts. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Recounts the adventures of Robin Hood, who slew a deer on a wager, became an outlaw in Sherwood Forest, and collected around him a merry band, including Little John, Allan a Dale, Friar Tuck, and Will Stutely.

Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depicted as being of noble birth and said to have robbed from the rich and given to the poor. So come along on this fantastic adventure and relive the life of the most controversial figure and his band of merry men. This meticulously edited collection is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents: How Robin Hood Came to Be an Outlaw Robin Hood and Tinker The Shooting Match at Nottingham Town Will Stutely Rescued by His Companions Robin Hood Turns Butcher Little John Goes to Nottingham Fair How Little John Lived at the Sheriff's Little John and the Tanner of Blyth Robin Hood and Will Scarlett The Adventure with Midge the Miller's Son Robin Hood and Allan a Dale Robin Hood Seeks the Curtal Friar Robin Hood Compasses a Marriage Robin Hood Aids a Sorrowful Knight How Sir Richard of the Lea Paid His Debt Little John Turns Barefoot Friar Robin Hood Turns Beggar Robin Hood Shoots Before Queen Eleanor The Chase of Robin Hood Robin Hood and Guy of Gisbourne King Richard Comes to Sherwood Forest