Our Mythical Childhood... The Classics and Literature for Children and Young Adults

Katarzyna Marciniak, Ph.D. (2004), is Professor at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales,” University of Warsaw, and Ambassador Scientist of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. She has published monographs and papers both on Cicero and Classical Reception. She is an ERC Consolidator Grant laureate.Contributors are: Jerzy Axer, Elena Ermolaeva, Valentina Garulli, Agata Grzybowska, Elizabeth Hale, Edith Hall, Owen Hodkinson, Katarzyna Jerzak, Joanna Kłos, Przemysław Kordos, Beata Kubiak Ho-Chi, Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer, Helen Lovatt, Adam Łukaszewicz, Katarzyna Marciniak, Lisa Maurice, Barbara Milewska-Waźbińska, David Movrin, Sheila Murnaghan, Elżbieta Olechowska, Hanna Paulouskaya, Deborah H. Roberts, Ewa Rudnicka, Peter T. Simatei, Wilfried Stroh, Robert A. Sucharski, and Christine Walde.

• ContentsList of FiguresNotes on ContributorsWhat Is a Classic… for Children and Young Adults?Katarzyna MarciniakPart 1 - In Search of Our Roots: Classical References as a Shaper of Young Readers’ Identity1 From Aesop to Asterix Latinus: A Survey of Latin Books for ChildrenWilfried Stroh2 Childhood Rhetorical Exercises of the Victor of ViennaBarbara Milewska-Waźbińska3 The Aftermath of Myth through the Lens of Walter Benjamin: Hermes in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and in Astrid Lindgren’s Karlson on the RoofKatarzyna Jerzak4 A Latin Lesson for Bad Boys, or: Kipling’s Tale of the Enchanted BirdJerzy Axer5 Laura Orvieto and the Classical Heritage in Italy before the Second World WarValentina Garulli6 Saul Tchernichowsky’s Mythical Childhood: Homeric Allusions in the Idyll “Elka’s Wedding”Agata Grzybowska7 Jadwiga Żylińska’s Fabulous AntiquityRobert A. Sucharski8 A Child among the Ruins: Some Thoughts on Contemporary Modern Greek Literature for ChildrenPrzemysław Kordos9 The Reception of Classical Antiquity in Polish Lexicography for Children and Young AdultsEwa Rudnickapart 2 - The Aesop Complex: The Transformations of Fables in Response to Regional Challenges10 Our Fabled Childhood: Reflections on the Unsuitability of Aesop to ChildrenEdith Hall11 A Gloss on Perspectives for the Study of African Literature versus Greek and Oriental TraditionsPeter T. Simatei12 Aesop’s Fables in Japanese Literature for Children: Classical Antiquity and JapanBeata Kubiak Ho-Chi13 Vitalis the Fox: Remarks on the Early Reading Experience of a Future Historian of Antiquity in Poland (1950s–1960s)Adam Łukaszewicz14 Aemulating Aesopus: Slovenian Fables and Fablers between Tradition and Innovation David Movrinpart 3 - Daring the Darkness: Classical Antiquity as a Filter for Critical Experiences15 Armies of Children: War and Peace, Ancient History and Myth in Children’s Books after World War OneSheila Murnaghan and Deborah H. Roberts16 Classical Antiquity in Children’s Literature in the Soviet UnionElena Ermolaeva17 Katabasis “Down Under” in the Novels of Margaret Mahy and Maurice GeeElizabeth Hale18 ‘His Greek Materials’: Philip Pullman’s Use of Classical Mythology Owen Hodkinson19 Orpheus and Eurydice: Reception of a Classical Myth in International Children’s Literature Bettina Kummerling-Meibauerpart 4 - New Hope: Classical References in the Mission of Preparing Children to Strive for a Better Future20 Greek Mythology in Israeli Children’s Literature Lisa Maurice21 Telemachus in Jeans: Adam Bahdaj’s Reception of the Myth about Odysseus’s SonJoanna Kłos22 An Attempt on Theseus by Kir Bulychev: Travelling to Virtual AntiquityHanna Paulouskaya23 Graeco-Roman Antiquity and Its Productive Appropriation: The Example of Harry PotterChristine Walde24 J.K. Rowling Exposes the World to Classical AntiquityElżbieta Olechowska25 East, West, and Finding Yourself in Caroline Lawrence’s “Roman Mysteries”Helen Lovatt26 Create Your Own Mythology: Youngsters for Youngsters (and Oldsters) in Mythological Fan FictionKatarzyna MarciniakBibliographyIndex

"It [The book] has more than a few critically astute chapters and a number of hidden gems any humanist will appreciate, such as Łukaszewicz’s speculation on Vitalis the Fox as possibly representing Stalin, Maurice’s discussion of the evolving Israeli attitudes toward fantasy, or Hall’s reflections on our deep ambivalence about the nature of the child. Although the collection does not make any grand claims, it invites us to seek the connections we might have overlooked. If you have ever had the pleasure to talk about classical mythology with a young reader, you will appreciate the value of this book and the discussion it fosters." - Marek Oziewicz, in: Eos CIV 2017"[T]he volume will be a convenient reference work for scholars of children’s and young adult literature (the latter being quite a burgeoning field of study now), and thus its appeal is likely to extend well beyond scholars in the field of Classics proper." - Nadya Williams, in: BMCR 2017.06.47