Introduction : politics and ideology in children's literature / Marian Thérèse Keyes & Áine McGillicuddy -- Little tweaks and fundamental changes : two aspects of sociopolitical transformation in children's literature / Clémentine Beauvais -- Ecocriticism, ecopedagogy and the life and works of Beatrix Potter / Eithne O'Connell -- 'Creaturely life' : biopolitical intensity in selected children's fables / Victoria de Rijke -- 'That imprudent Old Person of Chili' : individual and They in Edward Lear's limericks / Olga Springer -- 'Don't let the fire go out' : echoes of the past, aspirations for the future in the teenage novels of Eilís Dillon / Anne Marie Herron -- Recovery of origins : identity and ideology in the work of O.R. Melling / Ciara Ní Bhroin -- Distant districts and dark days : national identity in The hunger games / Susan Shau Ming Tan -- 'You are the hope of the world! : the figure of the child in First World War children's literature / Elizabeth A. Galway -- 'A noi!' : the emergence of the gallant Fascist in Italian children's literature of the inter-war period / Jessica D'Eath -- Out of the Hitler time : growing up in exile / Áine McGillicuddy -- Paratexts and gender politics : a study of selected works by Anna Maria Fielding Hall / Marian Thérèse Keyes -- Young women dealing with abuse : Catherine Breillat's cinematic perspective on Bluebeard / Brigitte Le Juez -- Sexual violence and rape myths in contemporary young adult fiction / Marion Rana.
Summary:
This volume examines how children's books retain the ability to transform, activate, indoctrinate or empower their readers. From utopian and dystopian voices to children's literature written in response to war situations to critiques of misogynistic assumptions that normalize or eroticize violence, these essays demonstrate the potential of children's literature to radically challenge cultural norms.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.