The Hidden Adult
eBook - ePub

The Hidden Adult

Defining Children's Literature

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Hidden Adult

Defining Children's Literature

About this book

What exactly is a children's book? How is children's literature defined as a genre? A leading scholar presents close readings of six classic stories to answer these questions and offer a clear definition of children's writing as a distinct literary form.

Perry Nodelman begins by considering the plots, themes, and structures of six works: "The Purple Jar," Alice in Wonderland, Dr. Doolittle, Henry Huggins, The Snowy Day, and Plain City—all written for young people of varying ages in different times and places—to identify shared characteristics. He points out markers in each work that allow the adult reader to understand it as a children's story, shedding light on ingrained adult assumptions and revealing the ways in which adult knowledge and experience remain hidden in apparently simple and innocent texts.

Nodelman then engages a wide range of views of children's literature from authors, literary critics, cultural theorists, and specialists in education and information sciences. Through this informed dialogue, Nodelman develops a comprehensive theory of children's literature, exploring its commonalities and shared themes.

The Hidden Adult is a focused and sophisticated analysis of children's literature and a major contribution to the theory and criticism of the genre.

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Yes, you can access The Hidden Adult by Perry Nodelman in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & English Literary Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Frontmater
  5. Contents
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Chapter One Six Texts
  8. Chapter Two Exploring Assumptions
  9. Chapter Three Children’s Literature as a Genre
  10. Specific Markers
  11. Chapter Four The Genre in the Field
  12. Conclusion: Children’s Literature as Nonadult?
  13. Notes
  14. Bibliography
  15. Index