Publisher's Synopsis
This work combines a history of writing for children with an assessment of its literary, sociological and pedagogical roles. It is fundamentally a history of British children's literature, though American and other works are discussed when they have had an influence on children and children's writers in this country;Hunt identifies the use of fantasy as a key characteristic of children's literature, offering children different ways of experiencing the world through imagination. Other features which emerge from Hunt's study as typical of children's books are - strong nostalgia, nature images, a sense of place or territory, testing and incitation and warmth and security. He also looks at the uses to which children's literature is put, the claims which are made for it, and the difference between children's and adults' ways of reading;The book is aimed at: students of English literature making a special study of children's literature; students of criticism, sociology, history; schoolteachers; teachers of courses mentioned above; parents; general readers and book collectors;Peter Hunt is the author of: studies in criticism - "Approaching Arthur Ransome" and "Criticism, Theory and Chi
