Analyzes E. Nesbit's late Victorian time travel novel for children "The House of Arden." Suggests that Nesbit's deflation of the past stems from her radical ideology, and that the comic relief in which each time travel episode culminates reflects her desire not to harrow her child audience. (RS)

Explores the appeal of historical fiction for young readers and describes its place within any school curriculum. Describes a project in Dorset Middle Schools which used historical fiction to teach medieval history and English. Notes that students' historical thinking was improved, their knowledge of medieval world advanced, and their writing was…

Argues that, in "Island of the Blue Dolphins," Scott O'Dell offers a skeleton main character (Karana). Contends that O'Dell has sketched Karana as a stereotype and that readers complete her characterization, filling out the skeleton by perpetuating the stereotypes. Points out this trading of stereotype for true character development in…

Offers a rereading of Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden," finding in it the triumph of Apollonian male rationalism over the Dionysian female cult of nature. Examines images of primitivism and wildness in the book, connecting them to polarities in conceptions of primitivism. (SR)

Examines picture books portraying Asian societies as a means to discuss the criteria of authenticity (not simply nonstereotypes) in both the literature and artwork of picture books. Discusses authenticity and cultural acceptance in terms of both story selection and adaptation, authenticity and cultural conventions (in terms of value implications),…

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)

Explores the roles allocated to women in the famous collection. States that, although collaboration figures prominently in many of the more than 200 tales, the benefits of collective action are not extended to women. Examines the differences between male and female collaboration in the tales. Contemplates the implications of these differences for…

Describes an early intervention literacy program which brings books, children, and parents together in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. States that it provides low-income parents with the information, skills, and encouragement needed to promote the literacy development of their children. (PA)

Reflects on story and storytelling. Uses the "Mary Poppins" series to chart the increasing "literariness" of P.L. Travers' novels, contending that "Mary Poppins in the Park" is the most clearly and consistently metafictional (i.e., self-consciously reflexive). Calls for examining more children's books for how they…

Examines three books with different ways of writing about the desert. Discusses: "Here Is the Southwestern Desert" by Madeline Dunphy, "The Desert Is My Mother" by Pat Mora, and "The Desert Mermaid" by Alberto Blanco. (PA)

Claims that although the Harry Potter stories--with their old-fashioned plots, settings, and characterizations--entertain richly, they rarely provoke, question, or inform. Suggests other contemporary writers who are pushing forward are equally exciting. (NH)

Discusses the popularity in Britain and America in the 1920s of texts written by little girls. Suggests the child writer offers a private experience that seems to speak only to the reader but in reality speaks to everyone. Claims the child writer is at once perfectly ordinary and utterly extraordinary. (NH)

Discusses Jean Fritz's book "Homesick" as a work of art on the borderline between biography and fiction. Suggests young readers should be provided accurate historical knowledge in order to (1) understand the characters' emotions and experiences, and (2) prevent traditional misconceptions from being perpetuated. (NH)

Provides a model for studying the relationship between text and illustration in picture storybooks that employ interdependent storytelling--readers must consider both text and illustration to comprehend the story. Discusses the role of interdependent storytelling in children's literary, artistic, and intellectual development. (NH)

Notes that J.R.R. Tolkien's work is commonly supposed to be greatly influenced by Norse mythology and legend. Compares Tolkien's account of the creation of Middle Earth to the Norse myth of Yggdrasil. Concludes that Tolkien took qualities of language, a code of bravery and honor, and many incidental Norse details and absorbed them into a very…