Beyond Babar

The European Tradition in Children's Literature

Sandra L. Beckett, Maria Nikolajeva

• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Year: 2006
• eBook ISBN: 9781461656791
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

All too often, attention is paid only to those children's novels that were written in English, with non-English-language works being passed over and neglected. Beyond Babar: The European Tradition in Children's Literature examines eleven of the most celebrated European children's novels in substantial, critical essays written by well-known international scholars. This approach provides a comprehensive discussion of the selected works from a variety of theoretical perspectives. Each essay offers a critical introduction to the text that can serve as a point of departure for literary scholars, professors of children's literature, primary and secondary school teachers, and librarians who are interested in texts that cross languages and cultures. Beyond Babar is especially meant to assist instructors of children's literature who would like to use these texts in the classroom, in order to begin to redress the English-language dominance of many children's literature courses. This volume will also be of interest to the general public, as its ultimate aim is to bring to the attention of all English-speaking readers the literature from other parts of the world, in this case from Europe. Beyond Babar helps to facilitate the border crossings of these European masterpieces of children's literature into the English-speaking world.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Earth Hanging in Infinity: Janusz Korczak’s King Matt the First
• 2 The Taming of the Two: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince
• 3 A Misunderstood Tragedy: Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking Books
• 4 Creating the Eternal Farewell: Tove Jansson’s Moomin Novels
• 5 Blue Train, Red Flag, Rainbow World: Gianni Rodari’s The Befana’s Toyshop
• 6 Modernism for Children? Cecil Bødker’s Silas and the Black Mare
• 7 Michel Tournier Retells the Robinson Crusoe Myth: Friday and Robinson: Life on Speranza Island
• 8 About a Factory-Made Boy: Christine Nöstlinger’s Story about Conrad
• 9 A Neverending Success Story? Michael Ende’s Return Trip to Fantastica
• 10 “We Were a Pair”: Peter Pohl’s Johnny, My Friend
• 11 Philosophical Homework or Universal Amazement? Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World
• 12 What Do We Translate When We Translate Children’s Literature?
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Contributors