Outlines a brief history of "Signal," a journal on children's literature. Includes the reflections of 10 contributors to "Signal" on the importance of the journal. Explains that "Signal" ceased publication after its 100th issue in the summer of 2003. (PM)

Presents responses of directors of five undergraduate and postgraduate children's literature programs to questions concerning whether their courses explore the work of living writers, whether students elect to study and write about these authors, and whether students prefer to write in areas where a body of criticism already exists. (RS)

Uses the case of a 1988 children's book called "Abigail at the Beach" to discuss censorship (both visible and invisible) of children's books in Britain. Discusses issues of power, economics and politics, and the status of the Children's Book in a world that is suspicious of it and unsympathetic to it. (SR)

Suggests that books be evaluated by a cliche count which might show what is actually on the page, explain at least some of the riddles of the child and the book, and clear away some of the partisan fog from book selection. (HOD)

Provides a comparative analysis between the work of Kenneth Grahame and Enid Blyton. Finds that a truly unbiased comparison is impossible. States that Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" is most often seen as a "classic," and that Blyton's work is seen as "popular trash." Cautions that definitions of "literature" are not always fair or accurate.…