The telling of lies is significant in fiction written for children, and is often (though not in all cases) performed by child protagonists. Lying can be examined from at least three perspectives: philosophical, moral and aesthetic. The moral and the aesthetic are the most significant for children's literature. Morality has been subtly dealt with…

This paper sketches a "map" of certain patterns in current children's fantasy. Beginning with literal maps of fantasy worlds, I point out the similarities of the physical layout of a number of invented worlds, suggesting that sameness of geography often indicates a lack of innovation in the ideological or philosophical ideas behind the stories.…

The subject of this article is "The Royal Readers", a group of reading anthologies published in Britain by Thomas Nelson between 1872 and 1881 for use in elementary schools. The focus is not on their contribution to the teaching of reading but rather on how they functioned as the tools of an education system conceived primarily as an agent of…

In this article, we explore one of the important peritextual features of picturebooks--the endpapers. In order to represent the rich diversity of form and function displayed by endpapers, we group examples along two dimensions: whether the endpapers are illustrated or unillustrated, and whether the front and back end papers are identical or…

This article considers J.M. Barrie's satirical treatment of the Platonic doctrine of reminiscence in "Peter Pan," and how Barrie's work both honors and undercuts it. It will first analyze the Platonic notion of the doctrine of reminiscence in Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood" (1807). It will then…

This article argues that Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" may be read as a series which attempts to assault the Christian doctrine of God. We believe that this demonstrably accords with Pullman's personal views, and that, through his story, he seeks to foster such views in his readership. However, the accuracy of his attack falls short of its…

Numerous children face abuse at home and in the workplace. These situations of domestic and societal abuse are found depicted in children's books for younger and younger ages. This manuscript examines books in several genres, both fiction and non-fiction. The books are analyzed for the quality of the writing, the depiction of an authentic story,…

Examining six texts about the traumatic experience of the internment either in Canada or the United States during World War II, we focus not only on their stylistic shift from visualization to verbalization as targeted ages of readers increase, but also on the effects, both historical and personal, social and domestic, on children of their…

This article explores the question of how children's literature reflects national identity in a diverse society. Drawing parallels with Ellison's "Invisible Man," it speculates on how literary omissions and misrepresentations of diverse groups may influence the minds of young readers in their attitudes toward themselves, their nation,…

The intensifying globalization has made street survival more brutal and miserable for homeless children, especially in Third World countries. "Sanmao, the Vagrant" is a wordless picture book which tells of the adventures of a boy named Sanmao in streets of Shanghai during WWII. The essay analyzes how the artist's ingenious visual…

The British novelist Nicky Singer talks about becoming a writer, the role of editors and about who decides what can--and what cannot--be published on either side of the Atlantic. Her three novels explore territory which can make publishers nervous: "Feather Boy" (initiation rites and domestic violence), "Doll" (self-harm) and…

This essay examines the interplay between Jane Andrews's purpose and her pedagogy in "The Seven Little Sisters Who Live on the Round Ball that Floats in the Air." The book demonstrates the teaching strategies she learned at the First State Normal in Massachusetts, moving from what the child knows to new material, engaging the child in…

"Elsie Dinsmore," the first book in a late 19th century children's series, is unique because it had not been adapted, just reprinted, until 1999. It is also unique in the setting, the mythic Southern plantation life of the 1850s. The 1999 edition ameliorated what is now recognized as racist language based on the images of the minstrelsy tradition,…

Voted the greatest book of all time in several polls, J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has been made into three films between 2001-2003 by New Zealand director Peter Jackson with the complete trilogy out on DVD in 2004. Prompted by the question: "What would Tolkien have made of them?" Mark Sinker discusses the films and the books by way of…

In the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, Pullman reworks the fall of humanity into an ascent and suggests that ascent into adulthood through sexual experience is the desired goal for children. Although this ascent is accompanied by a radical reconceptualization of life and death, Pullman fails to offer any genuinely new ideas of the world with respect…