The purposes of this collection of 15 essays on specific works of fiction for children and adolescents are threefold: to explore some of the similarities and differences in fiction for children in England and the United States; to point out some of the qualities of American literature that are of particular interest to children in England and to reveal which authors are, or are not, successful in that country; and to call attention to certain writers whose work has been ignored and others whose work has been overpraised. The authors whose works are considered are: Penelope Farmer, E. L. Konigsburg, Paul Zindel, Philippa Pearce, Alan Garner, E. B. White, Doris Buchanan Smith, Ursula K. Le Guin, Rodie Sudbery, Beverly Cleary, Mildred Taylor, Paula Fox, Nina Bawden, Jill Paton Walsh, Robert Cormier, Jill Chaney, Judy Blume, and Penelope Lively. (FL)