Children S Literature Studies

Children's literature is a rapidly expanding field of research which presents students and researchers with a number of practical and intellectual challenges. This research handbook is the first devoted to the specialist skills and complexities of studying children's literature at university level. Bringing together the expertise of leading international scholars, it combines practical advice with in-depth discussion of critical approaches. Wide- ranging in approach, Children's Literature Studies: A Research Handbook: - Considers 'children's literature' in its fullest sense, examining visual texts (such as picturebooks), films, computer games and other 'transformed' texts, as well as more traditional modes of writing for children - Offers a step-by-step guide to devising, starting and carrying out a research project (such as a dissertation or thesis), and advice on what kinds of research it is possible and profitable to undertake - Surveys the different methodologies and theoretical approaches used by children's literature scholars - Includes case studies, questions and exercises to reinforce ideas discussed in each chapter - Provides lists of further reading and a specialist glossary that will remain a useful reference resource This handbook will be an essential companion for those studying children's literature, whether as undergraduates, postgraduates, or beyond.

This book provides an introduction to some of the critical theories useful in the study of children's literature. The 14 chapters examine the context, application and relevance to this area of concepts such as feminism, ideology, psychoanalysis and literacy studies.

Edited by Peter Hunt, a leading figure in the field, this book introduces the study of children’s literature, addressing theoretical questions as well as the most relevant critical approaches to the discipline. The fourteen chapters draw on insights from academic disciplines ranging from cultural and literary studies to education and psychology, and include an essay on what writers for children think about their craft. The result is a fascinating array of perspectives on key topics in children’s literature as well as an introduction to such diverse concerns as literacy, ideology, stylistics, feminism, history, culture and bibliotherapy. An extensive general bibliography is complemented by lists of further reading for each chapter and a glossary defines critical and technical terms, making the book accessible for those coming to the field or to a particular approach for the first time. In this second edition there are four entirely new chapters; contributors have revisited and revised or rewritten seven of the chapters to reflect new thinking, while the remaining three are classic essays, widely acknowledged to be definitive. Understanding Children’s Literature will not only be an invaluable guide for students of literature or education, but it will also inform and enrich the practice of teachers and librarians.

This supplement to standard children's literature textbooks will be a help to instructors as they engage their students in discussions about selection of materials, censorship, dealing with curricular issues, the need to understand administrative policies, community beliefs, and their responses to these issues. It is designed to help instructors discuss books in ways that inspire collegiality, collaboration, and scholarship in book evaluation and selection. Using actual case studies, resource reviews and/or scenarios of censorship, religion, violence, ethnicity and other issues, the instructor will be able to encourage discussion and reflective thought about real issues faced by teachers and librarians as they select materials for classroom or school library use. This supplement to standard children's literature textbooks will be a help to instructors as they engage their students in discussions about selection of materials, censorship, dealing with curricular issues, the need to understand administrative policies, community beliefs, and their responses to these issues. It is designed to help them discuss books in ways that inspire collegiality, collaboration, and scholarship in book evaluation and selection. Using actual case studies, resource reviews and/or scenarios of censorship, religion, violence, ethnicity and other issues, the instructor will be able to encourage discussion and reflective thought about real issues faced by teachers and librarians as they select materials for classroom or school library use. Guides for possible resources for help in researching situations will be included. This will prove a very valuable resource in teaching children's literature courses in schools of education and library schools, and useful to practicing teachers and librarians as well. Though the book is slanted toward the use of books as classroom materials, it will be a valuable asset to a school library's professional collection and certainly valuable to the training of pre-service teachers and school librarians. Each chapter begins with a bibliographic essay that introduces the topic to the reader. The essay is designed as a starting point for further discussion and research. A list of references for each chapter is provided at the end of the chapter. These references represent sources teachers can use to conduct further research to find multiple perspectives about books.

This book provides scholars, both national and international, with a basis for advanced research in children’s literature in collections. Examining books for children published across five centuries, gathered from the collections in Dublin, this unique volume advances causes in collecting, librarianship, education, and children’s literature studies more generally. It facilitates processes of discovery and recovery that present various pathways for researchers with diverse interests in children’s books to engage with collections. From book histories, through bookselling, information on collectors, and histories of education to close text analyses, it is evident that there are various approaches to researching collections. In this volume, three dominant approaches emerge: history and canonicity, author and text, ideals and institutions. Through its focus on varied materials, from fiction to textbooks, this volume illuminates how cities can articulate a vision of children's literature through particular collections and institutional practices.

WINNER OF THE 2007 CHLA BOOK AWARD! Children's literature has transcended linguistic and cultural borders since books and magazines for young readers were first produced, with popular books translated throughout the world. Emer O'Sullivan traces the history of comparative children's literature studies, from the enthusiastic internationalism of the post-war period – which set out from the idea of a supra-national world republic of childhood – to modern comparative criticism. Drawing on the scholarship and children's literature of many cultures and languages, she outlines the constituent areas that structure the field, including contact and transfer studies, intertextuality studies, intermediality studies and image studies. In doing so, she provides the first comprehensive overview of this exciting new research area. Comparative Children's Literature also links the fields of narratology and translation studies, to develop an original and highly valuable communicative model of translation. Taking in issues of children's 'classics', the canon and world literature for children, Comparative Children's Literature reveals that this branch of literature is not as genuinely international as it is often fondly assumed to be and is essential reading for those interested in the consequences of globalization on children's literature and culture.

In this lively discussion Kim Reynolds looks at what children's literature is, why it is interesting, how it contributes to culture, and how it is studied as literature. Providing examples from across history and various types of children's literature, she introduces the key debates, developments, and people involved.

A concise but comprehensive overview of developments in children's literature over the past 100 years.