Beyond Babar: The European Tradition in Children's Literature

…essential background reading for librarians and teachers who seek to promote international understanding through children”s books.

…a top pick for children”s librarians or any teacher or parent regularly working with kids….A top pick, especially for college-level children”s literature studies collections.

Beyond Babar is meant to be used as a text in college courses in children”s literature, but with its thoughtful, engaging essays, blessedly free of academic jargon, it should have an appeal far beyond that.

Providing valuable insights into landmark works of European children”s literature, this volume will prove a valuable source for scholars, teachers, and librarians.

Beckett (modern languages, literature, and culture, Brock U., Canada) and Nikolajeva (comparative literature, Stockholm U.) present this collection of 12 essays with the intention of expanding the canon of commonlystudied European children”s literature to include 11 notable non-English language novels. Of interest primarily to literary scholars and professors of children”s literature, and secondarily to librarians and teachers, the essays offer a variety of theoretical perspectives on children”s novels from Poland, Norway, France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and Denmark. The texts discussed include the Pippi Longstocking series, The Little Prince, The Neverending Story, and the novel-cum-introduction to philosophy”s history Sophie”s World. In the concluding essay, Nikolajeva discusses approaches, challenges, and lessons of translation into English.