Suitable for parents keen to introduce their children to the wonderful world of books and for adults to update their knowledge of this specialized area of reading, this book takes you on a journey of discovery into fantasy, adventure, history and contemporary life.

Looking at key works from the eighteenth century onwards, this title explores topics such as genre, gender, crossvocalization, species, and picturebook images in order to demonstrate how a balance is maintained between the two opposite inherent goals of children's literature: to empower and to educate the child.

Published in 1963 to great critical acclaim, Maurice Sendak's Caldecott Award-winning Where the Wild Things Are has garnered countless awards, and been translated into twenty-one languages. This book pays tribute to Sendak and his work as both an illustrator and author.

Bringing together a lifetime's work on Lewis Carroll, this work looks at Carroll's puzzles and games of logic and focuses on topics ranging from Alice's influence on the Beat poet, Jack Kerouac to how mercury in hat linings turned hatters mad.

In 2008, Anne fans everywhere celebrated the 100th birthday of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables . Though Anne has always been recognised as a Canadian classic, her story is loved the world over. This book situates L M Montgomery's novel in its original historical and literary context, and discusses its timeless themes.

Looking at examples including picture books, young adult novels, and DC Comics, this book explores ethnic, national, and heroic identities. It examines the ways in which cultural identities are constructed within young adult and children's literature about the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Explores representations of modern technology in contemporary science fiction for young people. This book exposes the anti-technological bias existing within a genre usually associated with celebrating technology, and suggests that this bias is a form of resistance to the face of childhood and technology's contribution to this change.

This engaging study examines diverse genders and sexualities in a wide range of contemporary fiction for children and young people. Mallan's insights into key dilemmas arising from the texts' treatment of romance, beauty, cyberbodies, queer, and comedy are provocative and trustworthy, and deliver exciting theoretical and social perspectives.

Cliffs' complete Alice in Wonderland includes a personal history of the author, an overview of the author's body of work; an historical introduction; commentary on the significance, critical reception, synopsis, key concepts, symbols, themes and important images of the original work as a whole.

Argues that the Victorians created a concept of adolescence that lasted into the twentieth century and yet is strikingly at odds with post-Second World War notions of adolescence as a period of 'storm and stress'.

From John Agard to Jacqueline Wilson, Quentin Blake to J.K. Rowling, this book allows you to meet the people behind the stories, poems and illustrations that fill your school and your children's lives. It includes the lives, works, addresses and web sites of over 120 writers and illustrators.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the quintessential American fairy tale, but it is also a controversial children's book. This annoted edition illuminates the numerous contemporary references, provides character sources, and explains the actual meaning of the word Oz .

Reveals the creative force of children's narrative imagination and shows how this develops through childhood. This book offers a way of understanding of the significance of narrative for children's intellectual growth and for learning and teaching. It also explores a series of real stories written by children between the ages of five and fifteen.

Reveals the creative force of children's narrative imagination and shows how this develops through childhood. This book offers a way of understanding of the significance of narrative for children's intellectual growth and for learning and teaching. It also explores a series of real stories written by children between the ages of five and fifteen.

Alphabetised reference work on children's books from King Alfred to J. K. Rowling.

This work contains the annotations of Martin Gardner of the Alice books. It contains new discoveries and updates drawn from Gardner's knowledge of the texts.

Provides a history of children's literature, and relates it to everything from censorship and criticism to education and realism. Children's literature is one of the roots of Western culture, enjoyed by children and adults alike. Hunt is the author of Approaching Arthur Ransome .

Murder, mutilation, cannibalism and incest: the dark side of fairy tales figures as the subject matter for this study of the Grimms' Nursery and Household Tales . Tatar employs the tools of a psychoanalyst, folklorist, literary critic and historian to explore the harsher aspects of these stories.