This literary analysis draws upon navigational identity theory to examine the experiences of female protagonists who choose to play on boys' athletic teams. The study analyzes ten middle grade and young adult novels published between 2005 and 2017 to explore the question, How are the female protagonists represented in the navigation of changing…

This paper examines six recent retellings of Robin Hood and concentrates on the representation of class, religion and gender in the texts. The question is asked: "what values do the texts implicitly or explicitly arm?" The idea that Robin Hood retellings are systematic of a socially and politically conservative ideology is interrogated by…

In this article, the life and writings of Antonia Forest, who died in 2003, are considered. An attempt is made to put her books into their literary, cultural and religious contexts, and to examine possible reasons for the critical reception of her books during the last 30 years of the twentieth century; from neglect and even disapproval to…

This article provides a rationale for using literature in the classroom to explore conceptions of curriculum and teaching. We discuss a number of exemplars from children's and young adult fiction, both mainstream and less well known; offer a taxonomy for categorizing the range of visions of curriculum and teaching in the literature; and describe…

Discusses new trends in children's literature on growing up. (HOD)

Outlines an approach to children's responses to literature that (1) builds upon the knowledge available from different disciplines; (2) offers a conceptual model that accounts for the nature and dimensions of the "Secondary World"; and (3) argues that children's responses to stories can be most satisfactorily described in relation to…

This article reviews a number of works of fiction about the Holocaust intended for children and young adult readers and discusses the strategies used by their authors to educate their readers without overwhelming them with highly emotional information. Several popular and effective strategies are highlighted, along with examples of works of…

Like their counterparts elsewhere, Australian children favour humorous novels; comedic writers consistently dominate the preteen and early teen fiction market in Australia. Regardless of its popularity, however, in comparison to more serious writing, humorous literature has received little critical attention. Of the studies aimed at this area,…