Scarecrow Press / Children's Literature Association
Pages: 336
Trim: 5¾ x 8¾
978-0-8108-5415-4 • Paperback • August 2006 • $93.00 • (£72.00)
978-1-4616-5679-1 • eBook • August 2006 • $88.00 • (£68.00)
Sandra L. Beckett is Professor of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Brock University in Canada. She is the author of numerous books, including Recycling Red Riding Hood (2002).
Maria Nikolajeva is Professor of Comparative Literature at Stockholm University (Sweden). She is the author of numerous books and articles on children's literature, including Aesthetic Approaches to Children's Literature: An Introduction (Scarecrow, 2005).
Part 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 1. Earth Hanging in Infinity: Janusz Korczak's King Matt the First
Chapter 3 2. The Taming of the Two: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Little Prince
Chapter 4 3. A Misunderstood Tragedy: Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking Books
Chapter 5 4. Creating the Eternal Farewell: Tove Jansson's Moomin Novels
Chapter 6 5. Blue Train, Red Flag, Rainbow World: Gianni Rodari's The Befana's Toyshop
Chapter 7 6. Modernism for Children? Cecil Bødker's Silas and the Black Mare
Chapter 8 7. Michel Tournier Retells the Robinson Crusoe Myth: Friday and Robinson: Life on Speranza Island
Chapter 9 8. About a Factory-Made Boy: Christine Nöstlinger's Story about Conrad
Chapter 10 9. A Neverending Success Story? Michael Ende's Return Trip to Fantastica
Chapter 11 10. "We Were a Pair": Peter Pohl's Johnny, My Friend
Chapter 12 11. Philosophical Homework or Universal Amazement? Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World
Chapter 13 12. What Do We Translate When We Translate Children's Literature?
Part 14 Bibliography
Part 15 Index
Part 16 About the Contributors
...essential background reading for librarians and teachers who seek to promote international understanding through children's books.
— School Library Journal
...a top pick for children's librarians or any teacher or parent regularly working with kids....A top pick, especially for college-level children's literature studies collections.
— The Bookwatch
Highly recommended.
— Choice Reviews
Beyond Babar is meant to be used as a text in college courses in children's literature, but with its thoughtful, engaging essays, blessedly free of academic jargon, it should have an appeal far beyond that.
— Green Man Review
Providing valuable insights into landmark works of European children's literature, this volume will prove a valuable source for scholars, teachers, and librarians.
— Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature
Beckett (modern languages, literature, and culture, Brock U., Canada) and Nikolajeva (comparative literature, Stockholm U.) present this collection of 12 essays with the intention of expanding the canon of commonlystudied European children's literature to include 11 notable non-English language novels. Of interest primarily to literary scholars and professors of children's literature, and secondarily to librarians and teachers, the essays offer a variety of theoretical perspectives on children's novels from Poland, Norway, France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and Denmark. The texts discussed include the Pippi Longstocking series, The Little Prince, The Neverending Story, and the novel-cum-introduction to philosophy's history Sophie's World. In the concluding essay, Nikolajeva discusses approaches, challenges, and lessons of translation into English.
— Reference and Research Book News