ABSTRACT

This introduction provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains how the Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruiperez reviewed new children's books and elaborated lists of recommended readings through a reading promotion program called Servicio de Orientación a la Lectura infantil y juvenil (S. O. L.). The S. O. L. was a paradigmatic program in reading promotion because it aimed to survey the entire production of children's books in Spain. The book describes how resident experts at the Fundación explain their work, inquiring into how the ideas we have about childhood and the importance of reading shape what is written, published, and recommended to children. It focuses on the preferred narratives for dealing with cultural difference and explains why narrative analysis and critical theories related to identities guide the author's exploration of the stories told to explain migration and transnational adoption.