Children's Literature and its Effects

While there have been a number of histories of children's literature, they have been mainly uncritical and look at the texts through the eyes of an adult rather than those of a child. At the same time there have been various studies dealing principally with fairy story, but these again take no account of what children really read. Nor has there been any work which systematically analyses the appeak which certain writers hold out to children. This book rederesses these imbalances. It concentrates on particular authors who are typical of their time, as well as on some of the prevailing themes, Enid Blyton, for example, is often villified, yet children continue to read her - this book tries to explain why. The idea behind the book has been to select material which genuinely appeals to children. In doing so, the author explores popular writers and themes, and explains what is in them that appears to children. Children's Literature and its Effects is a thought-provoking and revealing study of popular children's literature, which will be of immense use to teachers and parents alike in understanding children's responses to books.Cedric Cullingford is Professor of Education at the University of Huddersfield.