Children’s literature studies: general Books

Book SynopsisA title that takes on a very big subject: the glorious span of literature from Greek myth to graphic novels, from The Canterbury Tales to Harry Potter. With masterful digressions into various themes - censorship, narrative tricks, self-publishing, taste, creativity and madness - it demonstrates the full depth and intrigue of reading.Trade Review"Written in prose that is clear and free from the diktat of theory and criticism, A Little History of Literature is an enjoyable account of a lifelong involvement with literature."—John Vukmirovich, Times Literary Supplement"As a guidebook, it's a cracker. What Sutherland has to offer is formidable breadth of reading, a generous spirit and a rebounding enthusiasm for his subject."—Sam Leith, Spectator"I suspect that an expert like John Sutherland could have written this highly entertaining and informative history without recourse to any research at all, having it pretty much at his fingertips; and it reads extremely well, as though he is simply having a chat with us about literature and why it matters."—Lesley McDowell, Independent on Sunday"A Little History of Literature, which begins with Beowulf and ends with bestsellers, is primarily a guide for teenagers, and John Sutherland brings to the vast and unruly subject some order, clarity and commonsense."—Frances Wilson, New Statesman"John Sutherland is among the handful of critics whose every book I must have. He's sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued, with a generous heart and a wise head."—Jay Parini

Read more less

Book Synopsis''As soon as I began to read, I was filled with that kind of engrossed blossoming that happens somewhere inside of you when you start a really nourishing book.'' - Pandora SykesA conversation-changing look at the social, familial, neurological, and psychological benefits of reading aloud, especially for parents and children. A miraculous alchemy occurs when one person reads to another, transforming the simple stuff of a book, a voice, and a bit of time into complex and powerful fuel for the heart, brain, and imagination. Grounded in the latest neuroscience and behavioural research, and drawing widely from literature, The Enchanted Hour explains the dazzling cognitive and social-emotional benefits that await children who are read to, whatever their class, nationality or family background. Meghan Cox Gurdon argues that this ancient practice is a fast-working antidote to the fractured attention spans, atomized families and unfulfilling ephemera of the tech era, helping to replenish what our devices are leaching away. For everyone, reading aloud engages the mind in complex narratives; for children, it''s an irreplaceable gift that builds vocabulary, fosters imagination, and kindles a lifelong appreciation of language, stories and pictures.Bringing together the latest scientific research, practical tips, and reading recommendations, The Enchanted Hour will both charm and galvanize, inspiring readers to share this invaluable, life-altering tradition with the people they love most.Trade ReviewParents and grandparents shouldn't miss The Enchanted Hour, but more important, we all need to heed this delightful book's wise advice: Please read to your kids. It's not the school's job to get our kids reading, it's our job - and it's a wonderful, magical act of love and caring. * James Patterson *Don't pick up this bewitching book! It's so enchanting you won't be able to put it down * Mem Fox, author of Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes and Reading Magic *Meghan Gurdon has given today's parents much needed wisdom to raise attentive and curious children in the Age of Distraction. I hope her book finds a huge audience * Rosemary Wells *An inspiring argument for sharing the joys of reading * Kirkus *The Enchanted Hour enthralled me . . . Gurdon's book is the most charming, gentle encouragement to step away from your phone, and into the embrace of your family's most vivid imaginations * Sarah Ivens, author of Forest Therapy *As soon as I began to read, I was filled with that kind of engrossed blossoming that happens somewhere inside of you when you start a really nourishing book -- Pandora Sykes * Sunday Times *A joyous book that'll have you scrambling to the library * Yours *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe much-loved tale read by generations of children, now annotated and with over one hundred stunning illustrations.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat made the United States what it is began long before a shot was fired at a redcoat in Lexington, Massachusetts in 1775. The theories of reading developed by John Locke were the means by which a revolutionary attitude toward authority was disseminated throughout the British colonies in North America.Trade ReviewAccording to Brown, Locke furnishes American culture with a key political and psychological innovation: the understanding of the provisional state of childhood as simultaneously a social institution and a paradigm of freedom. Locke's entitlement of childhood with rights and desires is a critical element in the formation of the liberal state. Brown convincingly demonstrates that the story of the consenting child (whose desires constantly play off constraints to those desires) is 'the original story of the American republic.' The Consent of the Governed offers a penetrating and often dazzling account of the 'liberal paradox of freedom and determinism' as it is engaged by early American literature and pedagogy. -- Jay Fliegelman, author of Declaring IndependenceWhen all the talk is of the manipulation of the governed, it is particularly useful to understand just how the information revolution was waged in the cause of informing consent. Gillian Brown's erudite and elegantly argued new book recovers the viability of that cause and proposes a historically sophisticated and nuanced vision of the liberal polity, in the eighteenth century and today. -- Myra Jehlen, author of American IncarnationMoving from the political and education philosophy of John Locke through the education of the newly discovered 'child' in eighteenth-century and early national America to the equally newly emergent American woman as described in novels, this superb book tells a fascinating story about the insertion of the consenting person into the American political psyche. This is a work that should be read by political theorists, cultural and literary historians, and cultural critics who are willing to have their conventional views challenged. -- Gordon Schochet, author of The Authoritarian Family and Political Attitudes in 17th-Century EnglandTable of ContentsI. The Lockean Legacy Introduction: The Informed Consent of the Governed 1. The Child's Consent, the Child's Task 2. The Liberal Lessons of the New England Primer 3. Fables and the Forming of Americans 4. Paine's Vindication of the Rights of Children II. Consent and the Early American Novel Introduction: The Feminization of Consent 5. Coquetry and Its Consequences 6. The Quixotic Fallacy Epilogue Notes Acknowledgments Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisStep-by-step essay plans to help achieve higher grades in the closedbook AQA English Literature examination. With hints and tipsto plan and structure 'great answers' this title will help studentsto see how a great answer meets the required Assessment Objectivesand to perfect their own technique.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAfter the success of How Did Long John Silver Lose His Leg?, Dennis Butts and Peter Hunt take their forensic lenses to more mysteries that have troubled readers of children''s books over the centuries. Their questions range from the historical to the philosophical, some of which are puzzling, some of which are controversial:- Why does it seem there are no Nursery Rhymes before 1744?- Why did God start to die in children''s books long before Nietzsche noticed it?- Why are the schoolgirls at Enid Blyton''s St Clare''s so horrible?- Why are there so many dead parents littering children''s books?- Why does C.S. Lewis annoy so many people?The book also explains why an elephant captures Adolph Hitler, who was Biggles''s great love, and whose side G.A. Henty was on in the American civil war, and delivers a plethora of erudite, entertaining answers to questions that you may not have thought of asking. And notably, of course, it reveals why William George Bunter, the Fat Owl of the Remove, was Trade Review"Once again Dennis and Peter take us on an often unexpected but entertaining journey through the world of children's authors, books, stories, and rhymes that we all know and love, but with their unique line of questioning and analysis. This long-awaited sequel is an essential gem of a publication for anyone with an interest in children's literature or who, like me, had a bookish childhood." Nigel Gossop, founder of The Westerman Yarns There is much to enjoy in this varied and stimulating little book, much to ponder, and much to argue about. -Robert Kirkpatrick,Childrens books History Society, Newsletter N1235 December2019 This Book is a provocative and fun way to think about children's books: Dennis Butts and Peter Hunt's new book, "Why Was Billy Bunter Never Really Expelled" Published by #lutterworthbooks -@MichaelRosenYes Michael Rosen Twitter Butts and Hunt provide succint and entertaining responses to a series of questions related to children's literature. Mark I. West, Children's Literature Association, pp80-81, 2020 The authors' wit and passion for the play of thought in these extemporaneous essays do not compromise their scholarly merit. They are captivaing to read, a true firework of erudition - instruction and delight at their best Jutta Reusch, BookBird Journal, Vol 28 no.2, 2020 Why Was Bill Bunter Never Really Expelled is a readable, thought-provoking, enlightening, valuable and learned collection without a wiff of theory. Jean Webb, International Research Society for Children's LiteratureTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Introduction 1. Should Children Read Fairy Tales? / Dennis Butts 2. What Makes a Children's Classic? / Peter Hunt 3. Why Were there no Nursery Rhymes before 1744? / Dennis Butts 4. Who Wrote Little Goody Two-Shoes? / Dennis Butts 5. What (and Where) Are the Secret, Lost Books of Childhood - and Why Do They Matter? / Peter Hunt 6. The Curious History of Three Bears . . . and a Lamb / Dennis Butts 7. Charles Kingsley: Christian Socialist, Evangelical Storyteller, or Sexual Sadist? / Dennis Butts 8. Who Was the Real William Brighty Rands? / Dennis Butts 9. Why Are there so many Dead Parents in Children's Books? / Peter Hunt 10. Was Lorna Doone really Married? / Dennis Butts 11. Whatever Happened to God in Children's Books? / Peter Hunt 12. Whose Side Was Henty really on in the American Civil War? / Dennis Butts 13. What Do Children's Books Do about Christmas? / Peter Hunt 14. Is Little Lord Fauntleroy a Children's Story - and Does the Subplot Work? / Dennis Butts 15. Why Was Billy Bunter never really Expelled from Greyfriars School? / Dennis Butts 16. Why on Earth Are there Children's Books about War? / Peter Hunt 17. Biggles: Tough Guy or Romantic Hero? / Dennis Butts 18. Why Is there Nobody Nice at St Clare's? / Peter Hunt 19. Were there Two Flutes? Time Present and Time Past at Green Knowe / Dennis Butts 20. Why Does C.S. Lewis Annoy so many People? / Peter Hunt 21. What Happened Next? The Problem of Sequels / Dennis Butts 22. To See Ourselves ... What Image of the British Do Children's Books Give the World? / Peter Hunt 23. Why Is there no such Thing as Children's Poetry? / Peter Hunt 24. Which Are the Best 100 Children's Books? / Dennis Butts 25. And Which Is the Best? The Carnegie Medal and other Awards / Peter Hunt 26. A Mystery Solved: How Adults Read Children's Books / Peter Hunt Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book provides an engaging and informative insight into the experiences, dreams and hopes of children and teenagers in contemporary Ireland.Table of ContentsAcknowledgementsList of tables and figures1. Young people in Irish Society: context and key concepts2. Methodology3. Love and work4. Discourses about time 5. Discourses about space 6. Other aspects of narratives of the self7. Young people’s life styles8. Relationship between the written texts and drawings/lyrics 9. Summary and conclusions ReferencesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisOffering a critical analysis of the Struwwelpeter stories, this title looks beyond the history of child rearing practices and children's literature. It considers the socio-historic context in which the book was written and makes comparisons to contemporary children's fare that is similarly violent, but intended to be humorous.Trade ReviewDr. Chalou's book is an insightful and refreshing synthesis of the literature on the ever fascinating, though violent, 19th century children's cautionary tale, Struwwelpeter. Her in-depth analysis combined with comparisons to contemporary children's fare make for entertaining as well as scholarly reading.... -- Masha K. Rudman, University of Massachusetts, AmherstDr. Chalou's book is an insightful and refreshing synthesis of the literature on the ever fascinating, though violent, 19th century children's cautionary tale, Struwwelpeter. Her in-depth analysis combined with comparisons to contemporary children's fare make for entertaining as well as scholarly reading. -- Masha K. Rudman, University of Massachusetts, AmherstTable of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Childhood and Children's Literature Chapter 3 Violence as Entertainment Chapter 4 The Struwwelpeter Stories Chapter 5 Parodies, Spin-Offs, and Other Nineteenth Century Children's Stories Chapter 6 Contemporary Children's Literature and the Absence of Didacticism Chapter 7 Appendices

Read more less

Book SynopsisA recent upsurge in interest in Der Struwwelpeter, written by Heinrich Hoffman has initiated a new wave of spin-offs, parodies, and retellings of these immensely popular stories. Hoffman''s style, which is instructive and moralistic, coupled with the sadistic content of his works lend a unique quality to the stories that we don''t see in contemporary children''s literature. Struwwelpeter: Humor or Horror? is a critical analysis of the now infamous Struwwelpeter stories. While Hoffman intended his depictions of amputated limbs and burning children to be humorous and to warn children against misbehavior, some find the punishments can be excessively vicious. Looking beyond the history of child rearing practices and children''s literature, Barbara Smith Chalou considers the socio-historic context in which the book was written and makes comparisons to contemporary children''s fare that is similarly violent, but intended to be humorous.Trade ReviewDr. Chalou's book is an insightful and refreshing synthesis of the literature on the ever fascinating, though violent, 19th century children's cautionary tale, Struwwelpeter. Her in-depth analysis combined with comparisons to contemporary children's fare make for entertaining as well as scholarly reading.... -- Masha K. Rudman, University of Massachusetts, AmherstDr. Chalou's book is an insightful and refreshing synthesis of the literature on the ever fascinating, though violent, 19th century children's cautionary tale, Struwwelpeter. Her in-depth analysis combined with comparisons to contemporary children's fare make for entertaining as well as scholarly reading. -- Masha K. Rudman, University of Massachusetts, AmherstTable of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Childhood and Children's Literature Chapter 3 Violence as Entertainment Chapter 4 The Struwwelpeter Stories Chapter 5 Parodies, Spin-Offs, and Other Nineteenth Century Children's Stories Chapter 6 Contemporary Children's Literature and the Absence of Didacticism Chapter 7 Appendices

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewEditor Costello (Providence College) brings together an excellent sequence of examinations of the philosophical ideas in various children's literature. The text is split into unequal thirds that discuss picture books (nine chapters), chapter books (five chapters), and multiple readings/interpretations of the same text (four chapters, two per text). The contributors are primarily philosophers, but Costello's introduction situates the book both within the context of the philosophy and children movement and within scholarly interest in children's literature. In many ways, this volume owes less to the tradition of Matthew Lipman and Gareth Matthews than to the field of literary criticism. Thus, readers gain insight into reading and using these texts, but the texts remain objects to be examined by scholars--not readings to be shared with children. The chapters on Shel Silverstein's Missing Piece books and The Giving Tree are among the most engaging. The chapter on Robert C. O'Brien's Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, written by his daughter, Sarah O'Brien Conly, follows closely behind. This is a valuable resource for those who do philosophy with children, scholars of children's literature, and educators looking for innovative readings of standard children's literature. Summing Up: Highly recommended. * CHOICE *As we read children’s literature to our children, we always knew that the writers of many of these little books were engaged in philosophizing. Now a wonderful, focused, and informed study of particular children’s books explores the philosophical thinking and theorizing that is taking place in these writings. With continental philosophy in the background, the philosophical world of these books is opened up for those who want to find more out of what we read to our children and grandchildren, and what they read to themselves. The philosophical and moral language of these short works of fiction is taken seriously through philosophical essays by multiple contributors. Peter Costello’s introduction situates this enterprise in terms of contemporary continental thinking about the meaning of an engagement with human, personal, social, and moral issues with the caveat that such works must not be used for propaganda or to diminish human freedom and experience, but rather as an opening up of the child’s imagination, perception and thought. -- Hugh J. Silverman, Executive Director, The International Association for Philosophy and Literature, and Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies at Stony Brook UniversityPhilosophy in Children's Literature is a nostalgic revisit of childhood favorites combined with a readable, introspective examination of the relationship between children's literature and philosophy. This book supports the premise that children are, by nature, philosophers, and that philosophy has meaning for humans of all ages. -- Debra Dew, Rockford CollegeChildren's literature is an especially important part of culture, because of the formative role it plays in shaping the souls of future adults. This volume opens up the field of children's literature by way of allowing philosophy, and philosophers, to mark out new paths of understanding through many of our culture's familiar children's stories. By bringing together an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars, many of whom are directly connected to the production or criticism of children's literature, Costello invites us to re-connect to texts we thought we knew and to see them in a new, provocative light. This book should be of interest to any educated reader but will be of particular use in college courses on literature, philosophy, literary theory, and education. -- John Russon, University of GuelphWhat do Kant, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Derrida, and Badiou have to do with books like The Velveteen Rabbit, Where the Wild Things Are, and Pollyanna? This book’s exploration of the intriguing conjunction of philosophy and children’s literature has much to tell us not only about the relevance of ethical, ecological, feminist, existentialist (and many other) issues to children’s books, but also about the way children already have philosophical lives. In a series of sustained readings of short fiction for children, from picture books for the very young to books with chapters for adolescents, this volume takes a radical theoretical approach which yields many original insights. -- Ruth Parkin-Gounelas, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GreeceIs philosophical thinking relevant to children’s literature? The very presence and details of each individual essay would be a resounding yes These essays are written very accessibly, for an audience who is unfamiliar with academic philosophy and they are written with a conviction that shows the real value in focusing on children’s literature with a philosophical lens. * Metapsychology Online *Scholars of children's literature will be introduced to applications of philosophy to this field not usually found in its journals (though the linguistic and gender approaches will be familiar); philosophy students will be exposed to the richness of children's texts as vehicles for understanding those philosophies. It lives up to its promise to offer both children's literature scholars and philosophers new ways of thinking about familiar texts. * Children's Literature Association Quarterly *Table of ContentsPart I. Picturebooks Chapter 1: Heidegger, Winnicott, and The Velveteen Rabbit: Anxiety, Toys, and the Drama of Metaphysics Kirsten Jacobson Chapter 2: Slave Morality in The Rainbow Fish Claudia Mills Chapter 3: Absolutely Positively Feeling that Way and More: Paradoxes of Fiction and Judith Viorst’s Alexander stories Dina Mendonca Chapter 4: Are You My Mother? Finding the Self in (M)others Licia Carlson Chapter 5: Horton Hears Badiou!: Ethics and an Understanding of Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! Carl F. Miller Chapter 6: Mapping Chris Van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick Kelly Jones Chapter 7: Silverstein’s Missing Pieces: Lessons in Love and Incompleteness Matthew F. Pierlott Chapter 8: Is Arthur’s Anger Reasonable? Karin Murris Chapter 9: Gift-Giving, Waiting, and Walking—The (Non-)Reciprocal, (Im-)Possible Apprenticeship of Frog and Toad Peter Costello Part II. Chapter Books Chapter 10: Word Play, Language-Games, and Unfair Labels in Beverly Cleary’s Ramona the Pest Aaron A. Schiller and Denise H. B. Schiller Chapter 11: The things that are not among the things there are to do: Harriet the Spy and Maurice Blanchot’s Passivity Oona Eisenstadt Chapter 12: Intelligence and Utopia in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Sarah O’Brien Conly Chapter 13: The Cricket in Times Square: Crickets, Compassion, and the Good Life Court Lewis Chapter 14: Pollyanna, Moral Sainthood, and Childhood Ideals Claire M. Brown Part III. Multiple Avenues of Criticism Chapter 15: The Giving Tree and Environmental Philosophy: Listening to Deep Ecology, Feminism and Trees Ellen Miller Chapter 16: The Giving Tree, Women, and the Great Society Milena Radeva Chapter 17: King of the Wild Things: Children and the Passionate Attachments of the Anthropological Machine Tyson E. Lewis Chapter 18: Lovingly Impolite Lindsay Lerman

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewEditor Costello (Providence College) brings together an excellent sequence of examinations of the philosophical ideas in various children's literature. The text is split into unequal thirds that discuss picture books (nine chapters), chapter books (five chapters), and multiple readings/interpretations of the same text (four chapters, two per text). The contributors are primarily philosophers, but Costello's introduction situates the book both within the context of the philosophy and children movement and within scholarly interest in children's literature. In many ways, this volume owes less to the tradition of Matthew Lipman and Gareth Matthews than to the field of literary criticism. Thus, readers gain insight into reading and using these texts, but the texts remain objects to be examined by scholars--not readings to be shared with children. The chapters on Shel Silverstein's Missing Piece books and The Giving Tree are among the most engaging. The chapter on Robert C. O'Brien's Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, written by his daughter, Sarah O'Brien Conly, follows closely behind. This is a valuable resource for those who do philosophy with children, scholars of children's literature, and educators looking for innovative readings of standard children's literature. Summing Up: Highly recommended. * CHOICE *As we read children’s literature to our children, we always knew that the writers of many of these little books were engaged in philosophizing. Now a wonderful, focused, and informed study of particular children’s books explores the philosophical thinking and theorizing that is taking place in these writings. With continental philosophy in the background, the philosophical world of these books is opened up for those who want to find more out of what we read to our children and grandchildren, and what they read to themselves. The philosophical and moral language of these short works of fiction is taken seriously through philosophical essays by multiple contributors. Peter Costello’s introduction situates this enterprise in terms of contemporary continental thinking about the meaning of an engagement with human, personal, social, and moral issues with the caveat that such works must not be used for propaganda or to diminish human freedom and experience, but rather as an opening up of the child’s imagination, perception and thought. -- Hugh J. Silverman, Executive Director, The International Association for Philosophy and Literature, and Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies at Stony Brook UniversityPhilosophy in Children's Literature is a nostalgic revisit of childhood favorites combined with a readable, introspective examination of the relationship between children's literature and philosophy. This book supports the premise that children are, by nature, philosophers, and that philosophy has meaning for humans of all ages. -- Debra Dew, Rockford CollegeChildren's literature is an especially important part of culture, because of the formative role it plays in shaping the souls of future adults. This volume opens up the field of children's literature by way of allowing philosophy, and philosophers, to mark out new paths of understanding through many of our culture's familiar children's stories. By bringing together an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars, many of whom are directly connected to the production or criticism of children's literature, Costello invites us to re-connect to texts we thought we knew and to see them in a new, provocative light. This book should be of interest to any educated reader but will be of particular use in college courses on literature, philosophy, literary theory, and education. -- John Russon, University of GuelphWhat do Kant, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Derrida, and Badiou have to do with books like The Velveteen Rabbit, Where the Wild Things Are, and Pollyanna? This book’s exploration of the intriguing conjunction of philosophy and children’s literature has much to tell us not only about the relevance of ethical, ecological, feminist, existentialist (and many other) issues to children’s books, but also about the way children already have philosophical lives. In a series of sustained readings of short fiction for children, from picture books for the very young to books with chapters for adolescents, this volume takes a radical theoretical approach which yields many original insights. -- Ruth Parkin-Gounelas, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GreeceIs philosophical thinking relevant to children’s literature? The very presence and details of each individual essay would be a resounding yes These essays are written very accessibly, for an audience who is unfamiliar with academic philosophy and they are written with a conviction that shows the real value in focusing on children’s literature with a philosophical lens. * Metapsychology Online *Table of ContentsPart I. Picturebooks Chapter 1: Heidegger, Winnicott, and The Velveteen Rabbit: Anxiety, Toys, and the Drama of Metaphysics Kirsten Jacobson Chapter 2: Slave Morality in The Rainbow Fish Claudia Mills Chapter 3: Absolutely Positively Feeling that Way and More: Paradoxes of Fiction and Judith Viorst’s Alexander stories Dina Mendonca Chapter 4: Are You My Mother? Finding the Self in (M)others Licia Carlson Chapter 5: Horton Hears Badiou!: Ethics and an Understanding of Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! Carl F. Miller Chapter 6: Mapping Chris Van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick Kelly Jones Chapter 7: Silverstein’s Missing Pieces: Lessons in Love and Incompleteness Matthew F. Pierlott Chapter 8: Is Arthur’s Anger Reasonable? Karin Murris Chapter 9: Gift-Giving, Waiting, and Walking—The (Non-)Reciprocal, (Im-)Possible Apprenticeship of Frog and Toad Peter Costello Part II. Chapter Books Chapter 10: Word Play, Language-Games, and Unfair Labels in Beverly Cleary’s Ramona the Pest Aaron A. Schiller and Denise H. B. Schiller Chapter 11: The things that are not among the things there are to do: Harriet the Spy and Maurice Blanchot’s Passivity Oona Eisenstadt Chapter 12: Intelligence and Utopia in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Sarah O’Brien Conly Chapter 13: The Cricket in Times Square: Crickets, Compassion, and the Good Life Court Lewis Chapter 14: Pollyanna, Moral Sainthood, and Childhood Ideals Claire M. Brown Part III. Multiple Avenues of Criticism Chapter 15: The Giving Tree and Environmental Philosophy: Listening to Deep Ecology, Feminism and Trees Ellen Miller Chapter 16: The Giving Tree, Women, and the Great Society Milena Radeva Chapter 17: King of the Wild Things: Children and the Passionate Attachments of the Anthropological Machine Tyson E. Lewis Chapter 18: Lovingly Impolite Lindsay Lerman

Read more less

Book SynopsisMoxie and a Good Sense of Balance acknowledges the fictional character of Nancy Drew as a role model for young women of the twenty-first century; an independent young woman, willing to take on injustices in her world. She is a sister of contemporary female detectives Veronica Mars and Jessica Jones.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1 Nancy’s Timeless Appeal 2 The Stratemeyer Syndicate and the Modern Woman 3 Authoring an Icon 4 Editing Nancy 5 Drew-ness in the Twenty-First Century Bibliography Index About the Author

Read more less

Book SynopsisA comprehensive bibliography that includes books written about or set in Appalachia from the 18th century to the present. It features titles that represent the entire region as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission, including 13 states stretching from southern New York to northern Mississippi.

Read more less

Book Synopsis St. Nicholas has been called the best children''s magazine ever published, particularly during the tenure of its founding editor, Mary Mapes Dodge. From 1873 to 1905, Dodge worked to create what she called a pleasure ground for children--a magazine that would have great impact on several generations of children. The list of authors who wrote for her includes Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Rudyard Kipling, Theodore Roosevelt, and Mark Twain. The quality of the magazine''s illustration was equally high. The magazine was also the launching pad for a new generation of authors and artists, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, E.B. White, Jack London, and Eudora Welty. This anthology of critical writing on St. Nicholas includes some of the most influential articles already published and newly commissioned essays on a variety of subjects, including the impact of the St. Nicholas league, the utopian thrust of the magazine''s fiction

Read more less

Book SynopsisExamines folktale revisions from many angles, drawing on examples from revisions of Western European tales. Also discussed are folktales that combine traditional storylines with commentary on modern life. This work also considers how revisionists poke fun at and struggle to understand stories that sometimes made little sense to start with.

Read more less

Book SynopsisElie Wiesel is a rare master storyteller with the ability to use storytelling as a form of activism. This work contains an essay that examines Wiesel's roots in Jewish storytelling traditions; influence from religious, folk and secular sources; education; Yiddish back ground; Holocaust experience; and writing style.

Read more less

Book SynopsisConsiders the development of science fiction for children and teens between 1950 and 2010, exploring why it differs from science fiction aimed at adults. This book sheds light on changing attitudes toward children and teenagers, toward science education, and toward the authors' expectations and sociological views of their audience.

Read more less

Book SynopsisExplores the psychological subtexts of a number of children's books, including Carlo Collodi's ""Pinocchio"", Roald Dahl's ""James and the Giant Peach"", Kenneth Grahame's ""The Wind in the Willows"", Louise Fitzhugh's ""Harriet the Spy"", Mark Twain's ""The Prince and the Pauper"", and EB White's ""Charlotte's Web"".Trade ReviewThe absence of jargon and psychobabble and the tight focus of the essays make them eminently readable and enlightening. For all collections - Choice.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOffers a history of children's literature, and an analysis of the modern conception of childhood. This book provides a study of the stylistics of children's literature, and a rhetorical examination of children's novels.

Read more less

Book Synopsis By the middle 1800s, toys were appearing in forms that drew upon--and that inspired--advances in areas such as optics, biology, geography, transportation, and automation. In these decades, too, a new type of wonder tale was being brought to maturity by a Poe-inspired Jules Verne. The modern wonder tale''s highly-charged vision expressed the hopes and the fears, and the delights and the traumas, engendered by new worlds idealism--that Western pursuit of both mechanical and geographical conquest. Exploring realms belonging to childhood, literature, science, and history, this innovative study weaves together the histories of wonder tales and children''s toys, focusing specifically on their modern aspects and how they reflect and express the social attitudes of that time period beginning around 1859 and ending around 1957.

Read more less

Book Synopsis This book explores representations of girlhood and young womanhood in recent English language children''s fantasy by focusing on two fantastic body transformation types: invisibility and age-shifting. Drawing on recent feminist and queer theory, the study discusses the tropes of invisibility and age-shifting as narrative devices representing gendered experiences. The transformations offer various perspectives on a girl''s changing body and identity and provide links between real-life and fantastic discourses of gender, power, invisibility and aging. The main focus is on English-language fantasy published since the 1970s but the motifs of invisibility and age-shifting in earlier tales and children''s books is reviewed; this is the first study of children''s fantasy literature that considers these tropes at length. Novels discussed are from both critically acclaimed authors and the less well known. Most of the novels depicting invisible or age-shifting girls are neither thoroughly conventional nor radically subversive but present a range of styles. In terms of gender, children''s fantasy novels can be more complex than they are often interpreted to be.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisExamines three types of female monstrous Others in young adult fiction - the haunted girl, the female werewolf and the witch - and considers what each has to tell us about feminine subordination in a supposedly post-feminist world, where girls continue to be pressured to silence their voices and stifle their desires in conformity with contemporary ideas about what it means to be a good woman.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Reviewthe Marantzes approach their subject with a respect for...picture books and an evident background in the arts - Booklist/RBB ""[the] illustrators...provide quite interesting glimpses into their own working processes"" - Choice ""a significant contribution.... Highly recommended"" - ARBA

Read more less