Over the River and Through the Wood

An Anthology of Nineteenth-Century American Children's Poetry

Karen L. Kilcup, Angela Sorby

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781421411446
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

Rediscover nineteenth-century American children's poetry with period illustrations.

Outstanding Academic Title, Choice

Over the River and Through the Wood is the first and only collection of its kind, offering readers an unequaled view of the quality and diversity of nineteenth-century American children's poetry. Most American poets wrote for children—from famous names such as Ralph Waldo Emerson to less familiar figures like Christina Moody, an African American author who published her first book at sixteen. In its excellence, relevance, and abundance, much of this work rivals or surpasses poetry written for adults, yet it has languished—inaccessible and unread—in old periodicals, gift books, and primers. This groundbreaking anthology remedies that loss, presenting material that is both critical to the tradition of American poetry and also a delight to read.

Complemented by period illustrations, this definitive collection includes work by poets from all geographical regions, as well as rarely seen poems by immigrant and ethnic writers and by children themselves. Karen L. Kilcup and Angela Sorby have combed the archives to present an extensive selection of rediscoveries along with traditional favorites. By turns playful, contemplative, humorous, and subversive, these poems appeal to modern sensibilities while giving scholars a revised picture of the nineteenth-century literary landscape.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Statement of Editorial Principles
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Growing Things
• 2. Landscapes And Seasons
• 3. Creepy Crawlies
• 4. Feathered Friends
• 5. Domestic Animals
• 6. Wild Animals
• 7. Toys And Play
• 8. Nonsense
• 9. Cautionary Tales
• 10. Learning Lessons
• 11. Slavery And Freedom
• 12. Politics And Social Reform
• 13. Death And Affliction
• 14. Fairy And Folk
• 15. Holidays
• 16. Histories
• 17. Science And Technology
• 18. Homework And Handwork
• 19. Family Ties
• 20. Dreams And Visions
• Appendix
• Works Cited
• Author Index
• Title Index