The Nimble Reader: Literary Theory and Children's LiteraturePractical criticism of three "classic" or soon-to-be-classic children's books - Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, E. B. White's Charlotte's Web, and Chris Van Allsburgh's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick - provides the substance of the Nimble Reader. McGillis employs these texts as well as others to explain the basic tenets and processes of criticism and to discuss criticism's usefulness in enhancing our understanding of children's literature. He skillfully balances theoretical discussions of various types of criticism - archetypal, psycho-analytical, political, structuralist, poststructuralist, reader response, and the New Criticism - with practical analysis of his primary texts and other works. With his engaging choice of texts, emphasis on practical criticism, and inclusion of bibliographies of both children's literature and works on literary theory and criticism, McGillis has succeeded in producing a dual-purpose volume: The Nimble Reader not only demonstrates a new approach to children's literature as a serious object of study but also represents one of the clearest presentations of literary theory published to date. |
Contents
Activity | 129 |
Response Criticism | 177 |
A Beginning Again | 201 |
Copyright | |
3 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
accept adult Alice Alice's Allsburg's Anatomy of Criticism appears approach argues authority Bleich book's Brothers Grimm Carroll's chapter Charlotte Charlotte's Charlotte's Web chil child children's books children's literature children's literature critics concern criticism culture death deconstruction desire discourse dream example experience fairy fantasy father female fiction Formalist Freud's Freudian Frye garden Grimm Grimm's Fairy Tales Harris Burdick human ideological illustration images imagination interpretation Jack be nimble Jack Zipes Lacan language Lewis Lewis Carroll literal literary text male Max's meaning metaphor mother Mysteries of Harris myth Narnia nature Northrop Frye object offer parody Patrick Roy pattern perhaps picture book poem poetry political postmodern Pussy Pussy's question reading reality reminds response rhyme romance Sendak's sense Snow White social speak spider story structuralist structure symbolic theory tion unconscious White Knight Wilbur Wild Things Winnie-the-Pooh words Wordsworth writing York young readers
References to this book
Change and Renewal in Children's Literature Thomas van der Walt,Felicité Fairer-Wessels,Judith Inggs No preview available - 2004 |
Understanding Children's Literature: Key Essays from the Second Edition of ... Peter Hunt No preview available - 2005 |