Neal A. Lester

Once Upon a Time in a Different World, a unique addition to the celebrated Children’s Literature and Culture series, seeks to move discussions and treatments of ideas in African America Children’s literature from the margins to the forefront of literary discourse. Looking at a variety of topics, including the moralities of heterosexism, the veneration of literacy, and the "politics of hair," Neal A. Lester provides a scholarly and accessible compilation of essays that will serve as an invaluable resource for parents, students, and educators. The much-needed reexamination of African American children’s texts follows an engaging call-and-response format, allowing for a lively and illuminating discussion between its primary author and a diverse group of contributors; including educators, scholars, students, parents, and critics. In addition to these distinct dialogues, the book features an enlightening generational conversation between Lester and his teenage daughter as they review the same novels. With critical assessments of Toni and Slade Morrison’s The Big Box and The Book of Mean People, bell hooks’ Happy to Be Nappy, and Anne Schraff’s Until We Meet Again, among many other works, these provocative and fresh essays yield a wealth of perspectives on the intersections of identity formations in childhood and adulthood.

Issues and Ideas in African American Children’s Literature

Once Upon a Time in a Different World

Lynette D. Myles

The first collection focused on the writing of provocative author and performance artist Sapphire, including her groundbreaking novel PUSH that has since become the Academy-award-winning film Precious.

Erotic Literacies, Feminist Pedagogies, Environmental Justice Perspectives

Sapphire’s Literary Breakthrough

Ntozake Shange

First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A Critical Study of the Plays

A rich sourcebook of materials on African-American folk culture, history, and society that illuminates the novel.

A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents

Understanding Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Elizabeth McNeil

DoVeanna S. Fulton

This thoughtful collection explores the writing of provocative poet, author, and performance artist Sapphire. Like James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and other important writers, Sapphire challenges narratives that limit human imagination and possibility. PUSH, and its award-winning film adaptation Precious, have sparked national debate about the intentions and responsibilities of black literature and cinema. Sapphire's Literary Breakthrough enlists new and established scholarly voices to elucidate Sapphire's social justice concerns and to locate her contributions within larger African American literary traditions and cultural landscapes.

Neal A. Lester

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