How has children's literature been defined? Emphasising how children's literature is embedded in the social life of children and adults, the collection brings together lively and accessible scholarly essays by leading scholars, some reprinted and others newly commissioned.

List of figures .- List of plates .- Acknowledgements.- Introduction; J.Maybin & N.Watson.- PART I: PURPOSES AND HISTORIES Introduction; H.Montgomery.- Instruction and Delight; P.Hunt.- Origins: Fairy Tales and Folk Tales; J.Zipes.- Children's Literature: Birth, Infancy, Maturity; M.Grenby.- The First Golden Age; H.Carpenter.- The Same But Different: Conservatism and Revolution in Children's Fiction; P.Hunt.- Multicultural Agendas; L.Paul.- Transformative Energies; K.Reynolds.- PART II: PUBLISHING, PRIZES AND POPULARITY Introduction; J.Maybin.- Boys' and Girls' Reading, 1884; E.Salmon.- Empire Boys; J.Bristow.- 20th Century British Publishing; N.Tucker.- Prizes! Prizes! Newbery Gold; K.Kidd .- In Defence of the Indefensible? Some Grounds for Enid Blyton's Appeal; D.Rudd.- Marketing at the Millennium; C.Squires.- PART III: POETRY Introduction; N.Watson.- 'From the Garden to the Street': The History of Poetry for Children; M.Styles.- The Language of Poems for Children: A Stylistic Case Study; L.Jeffries.- 'From the Best Poets?' Anthologies for Children; M.Styles.- PART IV: STORY-TELLING, STAGE AND SCREEN Introduction; N.Watson.- Stories in Performance; J.Swann.- Drama; S.Greenhalgh.- Screen Classics; D.Cartmell.- PART V: WORDS AND PICTURES Introduction; S.Goodman.- Texts and Pictures: A History; J.Whalley.- Picturebook Codes W.Moebius.- Postmodern Experiments; B.Goldstone.- PART VI: CONTEMPORARY TRANSFORMATIONS.- Introduction; A.Hewings.- In Praise of Adaptation; L.Hutcheon.- Harry Potter Goes to China; S.Gupta with C.Xiao.- Reading Transformations; R.Flewitt.- Cross-reading and Crossover Books; R.Falconer .- Index.

'This is a challenging and rich collection of essays which students of children's literature in particular will find appealing and illuminating.' - NATE Journal English Drama Media 'This collection consists of dynamic and approachable essays and has been designed to be used by both teachers and students of Children's Literature...This is a book that challenges the old whilst exploring the new. It is, I would suggest, an ideal book, either as an introduction to, or as a further exploration of, the field of Children's Literature, particularly as it has a companion volume. I would also suggest that those who study how to write for children would also benefit from this book.' - Vanessa Harbour, Journal of Children's Literature

This is a challenging and rich collection of essays which students of children's literature in particular will find appealing and illuminating.' - NATE Journal English Drama Media 'This collection consists of dynamic and approachable essays and has been designed to be used by both teachers and students of Children's Literature...This is a book that challenges the old whilst exploring the new. It is, I would suggest, an ideal book, either as an introduction to, or as a further exploration of, the field of Children's Literature, particularly as it has a companion volume. I would also suggest that those who study how to write for children would also benefit from this book.' - Vanessa Harbour, Journal of Children's Literature