ABSTRACT
Family in Children's and Young Adult Literature is a comprehensive study of the family in Anglophone children’s and Young Adult literature from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Written by intellectual leaders in the field from the UK, the Americas, Europe, and Australia, this collection of essays explores the significance of the family and of familial and quasi-familial relationships in texts by a wide range of authors, including the Grimms, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Rudyard Kipling, Enid Blyton, Judy Blume, Jaqueline Wilson, Malorie Blackman, Melvin Burgess, J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, and others. Author-based and critical survey essays explore evolving depictions of LGBTQIA+ and BAME families; migrant and refugee narratives; the popular tropes of the orphan protagonist and the wicked stepmother; sibling and intergenerational familial relationships; fathers and fatherhood; the anthropomorphic animal and surrogate family; and the fractured family in paranormal and dystopian YA literature. The breadth of essays in Family in Children's and Young Adult Literature encourages readers to think beyond the outdated but culturally privileged ‘nuclear family’ and is a vital resource for students, academics, educators, and practitioners.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|54 pages
Beyond Wicked Stepmothers and Absent(-minded) Fathers
chapter 2|13 pages
Perspectives on Fathers and Fatherhood within Children's Literature
part II|54 pages
Home, Nation, and Empire
chapter 7|12 pages
A Gift to the Family of Britain
part III|72 pages
Growing Pains and Teenage Dreams
chapter 10|12 pages
From First Born to Second Fiddle
chapter 11|12 pages
‘Mum's no fun now’
chapter 14|12 pages
Queering the Family in Young Adult Literature
part IV|52 pages
Alternative Families in Alternative Worlds