An Introduction to Children's Literature

Children's literature is a remarkable area of writing and a growing area of study. Its characters - Pooh Bear, the Wizard of Oz, the Famous Five, Peter Rabbit - are part of most people's psyche and have strong links to basic myth and archetypes. They arouse strong feelings, as demonstrated by recent debates over political correctness. An Introduction to Children's Literature combines a history of writing for children with an assessment of its literary, sociological, and pedagogical roles. Fundamentally a history of British children's literature, Hunt identifies key characteristics of the genre, such as fantasy, nostalgia, nature images, a sense of place or territory, testing and incitation, and the need of warmth or security.