Historical Dictionary of Children's Literature
By (author) Emer O'Sullivan
Publication date:
22 November 2010Length of book:
372 pagesPublisher
Scarecrow PressISBN-13: 9780810860803
Children's literature comes from a number of different sources-folklore (folk- and fairy tales), books originally for adults and subsequently adapted for children, and material authored specifically for them-and its audience ranges from infants through middle graders to young adults (readers from about 12 to 18 years old). Its forms include picturebooks, pop-up books, anthologies, novels, merchandising tie-ins, novelizations, and multimedia texts, and its genres include adventure stories, drama, science fiction, poetry, and information books.
The Historical Dictionary of Children's Literature relates the history of children's literature through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, a bibliography, and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on authors, books, and genres. Some of the most legendary names in all of literature are covered in this important reference, including Hans Christian Anderson, L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, Beatrix Potter, J.K. Rowling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jules Verne, and E.B. White.
The Historical Dictionary of Children's Literature relates the history of children's literature through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, a bibliography, and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on authors, books, and genres. Some of the most legendary names in all of literature are covered in this important reference, including Hans Christian Anderson, L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, Beatrix Potter, J.K. Rowling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jules Verne, and E.B. White.
For this entry in the publisher's Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts series, author O'Sullivan has written more than 500 entries for authors and genres as well as a few other topics, such as American Library Association, Ethnocentrism, Newbery Medal, and Wizards. Most of the entries are for authors, from Aesop to Stephenie Meyer. Although the emphasis is on literature in the U.S. and Great Britain, some individuals from other countries, such as Swedish author Astrid Lindgren and Dutch illustrator Dick Bruna, are also included. A handful of entries cover characters, among them Nancy Drew and Thomas the Tank Engine. There are also a few entries for works, such as The Arabian Nights; but in most cases, book titles serve as see references to author entries ("ALICE IN WONDERLAND. See CARROLL, LEWIS"). Preceding the entries are a list of acronyms, a chronology beginning circa 900 and ending in 2008, and an introduction to children's literature and its development....Closing the volume are an appendix of awards and a well-organized bibliography. Providing a concise overview to help the reader understand the historical development of children's literature, this work is recommended for academic and large public libraries. It could also find a place on the professional-development shelves of children's librarians.