Boys and Girls Forever : Children's Classics from Cinderella to Harry Potter

by Lurie, Alison (Author)

• ISBN13: 9780142002520
• ISBN10: 0142002526
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

Are some of the world's most talented children's book authors essentially children themselves? In this engaging series of essays, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alison Lurie considers this theory, exploring children's classics from many eras and relating them to the authors who wrote them, including Little Womenauthor Louisa May Alcott and Wizard of Ozauthor Frank Baum, as well as Dr. Seuss and Salman Rushdie. Analyzing these and many others, Lurie shows how these gifted writers have used children's literature to transfigure sorrow, nostalgia, and the struggles of their own experiences.

Author Biography

Alison Lurie is the author of many highly praised novels, including The War Between the Tates, The Truth About Lorin Jones (Prix Femina Etranger), and Foreign Affairs (Pulitzer Prize for fiction). Her most recent book was Familiar Spirits. She teaches writing, folklore, and literature at Cornell University.

Table of Contents

Foreword
The Underduckling: Hans Christian Andersen	p. 1
Little Women and Big Girls: Louisa May Alcott	p. 13
The Oddness of Oz	p. 25
Is There Anybody There? Walter De La Mare's Solitary Child	p. 47
John Masefield's Boxes of Delight	p. 63
Moomintroll and his Friends	p. 79
Dr. Seuss Comes Back	p. 91
Haroun and the Sea of Stories	p. 105
The Perils of Harry Potter	p. 113
What Fairy Tales Tell Us	p. 125
Boys and Girls Come Out to Play: Children's Games	p. 139
Poetry by and for Children	p. 149
Louder than Words: Children's Book Illustrations	p. 159
Enchanted Forests and Secret Gardens: Nature in Children's Literature	p. 171
Notes	p. 187
Bibliography	p. 199
Index	p. 209
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.