From Boys to Men

The Boy Problem and the Childhood of Famous Americans Series

Häftad, Engelska, 2024

549 kr

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While adult concern about gender in children’s books has made recent headlines, this discussion is far from new. As Gregory M. Pfitzer reveals, the writers and editors at Bobbs-Merrill, the publisher of the Childhood of Famous Americans book series published between 1932 and 1958, thought carefully about how their books would influence the development of their male readers. These books emphasized inspiring tales over historical accuracy and were written in simple language, with characters, dialogue, and stories that were intended to teach boys how to be successful men. But this was a specific image of American manhood. Published in an era when sociologists, psychologists, and other experts worried about male delinquency, the men envisioned in these books were steeped in Cold War racial and gender stereotypes, and questions about citizenship and responsibility. Based on deep archival research into the publication history of the series, “From Boys to Men” sheds light on current controversies on children’s books and presentations of gender diversity.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2024-07-31
Mått152 x 229 x 26 mm
Vikt599 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieStudies in Print Culture and the History of the Book
Antal sidor440
FörlagUniversity of Massachusetts Press
ISBN9781625347954

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List of IllustrationsPreface“Fiction Is the Lie through Which We Tell the Truth”Part I: Moral Education: Exemplary FiguresChapter OneThe Boy ProblemAbe Lincoln and the Childhood of Famous Americans SeriesPart II: Public Servants: Statesmen and PoliticiansChapter TwoSeeking a National AudienceLee and Jefferson as Honorable VirginiansChapter ThreeThe Series ConceptThe Founding Fathers as Male Role ModelsPart III: Military Readiness: War and PeaceChapter Four“Mama’s Boys” and “Infantile” MenThe Roosevelts and the Masculine MystiqueChapter FiveCitizen Soldiers and Fetishizing the Military MalePart IV: Social Relationships: Exclusivity and RaceChapter SixFrontier Manhood and the Dangers of “Going Native”Chapter Seven“Persecution Hounds” and the “Threat” of African American MasculinityPart V: The Vocational and Recreational: Balancing Work and PlayChapter Eight“Boys at Work”Technology and Business as Manly PursuitsChapter Nine“Muscular Masculinity”Protecting Our Boys from Delinquency through SportsPart VI: The Intellectual Boy: The Power of LiteracyChapter TenMale Delinquency and the Challenges of Historical LiteracyConclusion“Welcome Back, Miss Hazelrod”NotesIndex

“The Childhood of Famous Americans books had tremendous reach and richly deserve the kind of careful attention Pfitzer gives them. The back-and-forth between author and creators is fascinating in terms of recent questions in the children’s lit field around who creates children’s books and the way mainstream publishing as an institution has been a barrier to diversity of authors and themes.”—Sara L. Schwebel, author of Child-Sized History: Fictions of the Past in U.S. Classrooms“‘From Boys to Men’ has an impressive amount of archival research and provides a vivid, telling rendering of the inner working of an American publishing house.” —Paige Gray, author of Cub Reporters: American Children’s Literature and Journalism in the Golden Age