Description
Book SynopsisOver the past century, much attention has been paid to the literature written for adults in response to the First World War, but there has been comparatively little consideration of how the war influenced literature for young readers at the time. Based on extensive archival research, this study examines an array of wartime writing for young people and provides a new understanding of the complexities and nuances within children's literature of the period. In its discussion of nearly 150 primary sources from Britain, Canada, and the United States, this volume considers some well-known texts but also brings to light forgotten children's literature of the era, providing new insights into how WWI was presented to the young people whose lives were indelibly impacted by the crisis. Paying special attention to the varied ways in which child figures were depicted, it reflects on what these portrayals reveal about adult conceptualizations of youth, and it considers how these may have shaped y
Table of Contents
Introduction: Wartime Tales of Innocence and Experience
Chapter One: Family Ties and Family Feuds: National Identities in a Time of War
Chapter Two: ‘What Have We Done?’ The Vulnerable and Victimized Child
Chapter Three: The Child at Play: Blurring the Boundaries between Children’s Pastimes and the Business of War
Chapter Four: Tinker, Tailor, Farmer, Thrift-Maker: The Child Contributor on the Home Front
Chapter Five: Young Recruiters and Youthful Recruits: Promoting Enlistment and Other Participation on the Frontlines
Chapter Six: A Babe in Arms: The Conflicted Figure of the Boy Soldier
Chapter Seven: ‘Why We Fought the Hun’: Portraying the German Enemy to Child Readers
Conclusion: The Child as the Embodiment of Hope
