Approaches and Territories

How has children’s literature been defined? In what ways has it changed over time? How are the classics of children’s literature established? What is the impact of digital media and globalization on books for children?

Children’s Literature: Approaches and Territories provides a social and literary overview of the field of Anglophone children’s literature: its history and genres, its current concerns and its possible future directions. Emphasising how children’s literature is embedded in the social life of children and adults, the collection brings together lively and accessible scholarly essays by leading scholars, some reprinted and others newly commissioned. It includes sections on poetry, drama and picture books and is supported by detailed introductory material, suggestions for further reading and a colour plate section reproducing illustrations from key children’s texts.

This lively and accessible collection of essays by leading scholars provides an overview of Children's Literature and is likely to become the standard textbook for courses in the area.

JANET MAYBIN is Senior Lecturer in Language and Communication at the Open University, UK. She researches and writes on children's informal language and literacy practices and creativity in language. Recent publications include Children's Voices: Talk, Knowledge and Identity and Using English.

NICOLA J. WATSON is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the Open University. Her research over the last fifteen years has focussed upon the reception, adaptation, transformation, and consumption of historical and literary narratives. Her publications include Revolution and the Form of the British Novel, 1790-1825, England's Elizabeth: An Afterlife in Fame and Fantasy (with Michael Dobson) and The Literary Tourist.