Keywords for Children’s Literature

The study of children's literature and culture has been experiencing a renaissance, with vital new work proliferating across many areas of interest. Mapping this vibrant scholarship, this work presents 49 original essays on the essential terms and concepts of the field with scope, clarity, and interdisciplinary play between concepts. From Aesthetics to Young Adult, a multidisciplinary cast of scholars explores the vocabulary central to the study of children's literature. Following the growth of his or her word, each author traces its branching uses and meanings, often into unfamiliar disciplinary territories. Award-winning novelist Philip Pullman writes about Intentionality, Education expert Margaret Meek Spencer addresses Reading, literary scholar Peter Hunt historicizes Children's Literature, Psychologist Hugh Crago examines Story, librarian and founder of the influential Child Lit litserv Michael Joseph investigates Liminality. In the spirit of Raymond Williams' seminal Keywords, this book is a snapshot of a vocabulary of children's literature that is changing, expanding, and ever unfinished.