Why Children's Books?
(lrb.co.uk)
In 1803, Samuel Taylor Coleridge sat in his astronomer’s study in Keswick, and wrote in his notebook his central Principle of Criticism:
In 1803, Samuel Taylor Coleridge sat in his astronomer’s study in Keswick, and wrote in his notebook his central Principle of Criticism:
An Illustrator Dies, His Last Book Unfinished. In Steps His Son
(nytimes.com)
Charles Santore was in the middle of illustrating the children’s book he did not know would be his last when he began to feel weak.
Charles Santore was in the middle of illustrating the children’s book he did not know would be his last when he began to feel weak.
Beatrix Potter's Quiet Rebellion
(neh.gov)
In a 1918 storybook, Beatrix Potter describes an encounter between a humble country mouse named Timmy Willie and his urbane counterpart, Johnny Town-Mouse.
In a 1918 storybook, Beatrix Potter describes an encounter between a humble country mouse named Timmy Willie and his urbane counterpart, Johnny Town-Mouse.
Writing in Pictures: Richard Scarry and the art of children's literature
(yalereview.org)
As a boy, I knew I was supposed to like cars and trucks and things that go. But as an unathletic and decidedly unboyish kid, I only got close to liking one car—my mom’s blue Volkswagen Ghia, which she used to ferry me to and from school (and, when she needed some time to herself, to her parents’—my grandparents’—house for an overnight visit).
As a boy, I knew I was supposed to like cars and trucks and things that go. But as an unathletic and decidedly unboyish kid, I only got close to liking one car—my mom’s blue Volkswagen Ghia, which she used to ferry me to and from school (and, when she needed some time to herself, to her parents’—my grandparents’—house for an overnight visit).
The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading
(literaryreview.co.uk)
Children’s literature is a Snarky beast: hunt for it and you’ll find a Boojum. Texts written for adults, like J R R Tolkien’s _The Lord of the Rings_, snuck into children’s hands; editions of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter books appeared with ‘adult’ covers to spare their grown-up readers’ blushes. It’s an unstable, intertextual field, with books referring to and borrowing from each other endlessly. Critically, it’s a battleground, with some swooning at the symbolism of castles and princesses, and others finding power struggles and colonialism under every enchanted stone. Many children’s books address an adult reader above the child’s head, so who are they really aimed at? Some academics even insist that true children’s literature can only be written by children. Those academics, incidentally, are off their rockers.
Children’s literature is a Snarky beast: hunt for it and you’ll find a Boojum. Texts written for adults, like J R R Tolkien’s _The Lord of the Rings_, snuck into children’s hands; editions of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter books appeared with ‘adult’ covers to spare their grown-up readers’ blushes. It’s an unstable, intertextual field, with books referring to and borrowing from each other endlessly. Critically, it’s a battleground, with some swooning at the symbolism of castles and princesses, and others finding power struggles and colonialism under every enchanted stone. Many children’s books address an adult reader above the child’s head, so who are they really aimed at? Some academics even insist that true children’s literature can only be written by children. Those academics, incidentally, are off their rockers.