Scarecrow Press
Pages: 222
•
978-0-8108-8517-2 • eBook • April 2012 • $90.00 • (£69.00)
Rebecca Knuth is professor of Library and Information Science at the University of Hawaii. She is an award-winning teacher and has taught children's literature, young-adult literature, and history of the book courses for over 15 years.
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: Creating “Good” Children
Chapter 2: Socialization: Duty and Self-Sacrifice
Chapter 3: Creating Manliness and the Boy Hero
Chapter 4: Romanticizing Childhood and England
Chapter 5: Being Playful and Emotionally Alive
Chapter 6: Small Adventures and Happiness
Chapter 7: Autonomy and Affirmation
Chapter 8: Into the Story-Pot: Harry and Heroism
Chapter 9: A Modern English Folklore
Bibliography
This is an informative, readable survey of the best-known literary works in English written for children from the mid-18th century to the present. Throughout, Knuth (library and information science, Univ. of Hawai'i) engages the issue of nomenclature, noting the distinction between "Britishness" and "Englishness," the latter term being more atmospheric, perhaps affectionate, and (despite the book's title) more widely suggested by the works discussed. Major shifts in the depiction of childhood and youth are treated, especially as they shaped national character. One example is the impact of WW I on young men trained in the "ethos of prewar Englishness (the logical extension of Romantic patriotism was dying for England)," which boys absorbed through reading Victorian and Edwardian school and adventure stories that "set them up to serve as cannon fodder." Especially useful is Knuth's discussion of the development of picture books and their illustrators, in particular Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott, and Kate Greenaway, who profoundly influenced public taste. Summing Up: Recommended.
— Choice Reviews
This valuable text deserves a place in large public and university libraries and on the departmental reference shelves of young adult literature and ethics curricula.
— American Reference Books Annual
The key to this book lies...in its structure. First and foremost, this is a potted history of British children’s literature, identifying the dominant concerns of each era, also managing to be thematic....As a primer on the history of children’s literature, Knuth’s book does have its appeal – it is succinct and perceptive in its analysis of the chosen authors and books....Knuth is seeking to identify the values and attitudes that have underpinned British children’s literature, and show how these changed over time, absorbing new ideas which reflected the evolving national consciousness.
— Children's Books History Society