Over the past fifty years, children's literature has freed itself of many traditional restrictions and has become a field of exciting innovations in both form and content. The new status of children's literature has been accompanied by an unprecedented growth in research on children's literature internationally. This volume explores the many changes that have taken place in the past half-century in children's literature, showing how those changes reflect our rapidly-changing world and attempt to prepare children for the new millennium. Among the issues discussed are the shifting boundaries between children's literature and adult literature, postmodern trends, paradigm shifts, national literatures, and the reconceptualization of the past.
Many Victorian and Edwardian fantasy stories began as extemporaneous oral tales told for the delight of children and, like Alice in Wonderland and The Wind in the Willows, were written down by chance. These fanciful stories, told with child-like spontaneity, are analyzed here to argue their role in the revolution not only of children's literature, but of the general conception of childhood. In contrast to the traditional moral tales of the 18th century that were written with the express purpose of instructing children how to become adults, this literature that Sandner identifies as the "fantastic sublime" reveled in the imagination and the enjoyment of reading. By looking at the structure of the Romantic sublime and inventing and exploring the structure of the fantastic sublime, this work offers a completely new way to examine 19th-century children's fantasy literature, and perhaps, fantastic literature in general.
How do you select the best recent works of fiction, oral tradition, and poetry about African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic-American, and Native-American Indian experiences and traditions from the profusion of titles being published today? This annotated bibliography of titles for children and young adults published from 1985 through the end of 1993--with 60% published since 1990--provides a one-stop selection tool. The authors, who are recognized authorities in children's literature and have written six previous references, provide insightful critical appraisals of 559 books, as well as information about an additional 188 recent books and 90 earlier books of importance. An advisory board of librarians and teachers, each of whom specializes in the literature of a particular ethnic group, have provided expertise and guidance in the selection of titles.
Literature often is central to individual maturation. It typically reflects, in one way or another, the experiences of the reader and the larger strains of society. This book examines representative works of science fiction, children's literature, and popular culture as mirrors of what it means to grow up in the contemporary world. That world is permeated by technology, and technology thus figures prominently in the process of growing up and in these literary works. Included are chapters on Superman, the Hardy Boys, Star Trek, music videos, and other topics.
This book introduces the major works and debates in Chinese children's literature within the framework of China's revolution and modernization. It demonstrates that the guiding rationale in children's literature was the political importance of children as the nation's future.
One of the best-selling books of all time, The Pilgrim's Progress holds a unique place in the history of English literature. Bunyan captures the speech of ordinary people as accurately as he depicts their behavior and appearance and as firmly as he realizes their inner emotional and spiritual life.
This classic story of the March family women and their lives in New England during the Civil War has remained enduringly popular since its publication in 1868. Poor, argumentative, loving, and optimistic, the March sisters struggle to supplement their family's meager income and realize their own dreams. This highly autobiographical novel shows us women who are strong-minded and independent in their determination to control their own destiny. The introduction to this edition provides a fascinating history of the Alcotts, and a biographical history of Louisa Alcott's own struggles as a writer.
"Treasure Island will surely become--it must already have become, and will remain--in its way a classic."--Henry James. An absorbing tale of buccaneers and a romantic quest for treasure, Treasure Island is also the portrait of the briliantly drawn character, Long John Silver.