At the start of the new millennium, children's literature emerged as one of the most dynamic areas of scholarship. This book brings together established figures and challenging new voices in the field, and provides a clear sense of the range and diversity of research taking place in this complex and evolving area around the globe. It contains articles that reflect both the truly international scope and the orientations of contemporary research on children's literature, based on proceedings and plenaries from the 16th biennial congress of the International Research Society in Kristiansand in 2003.