ABSTRACT
The definition of ‘children's literature’ lies at the heart of its endeavour: it is a category of books the existence of which absolutely depends on supposed relationships with a particular reading audience: children. The definition of ‘children's literature’ therefore is underpinned by purpose: it wants to be something in particular, because this is supposed to connect it with that reading audience—‘children’—with which it declares itself to be overtly and purposefully concerned. But is a children's book a book written by children, or for children? And, crucially: what does it mean to write a book ‘for’ children? If it is a book written ‘for’ children, is it then still a children's book if it is (only) read by adults? What of ‘adult’ books read also by children—are they ‘children's literature’? As the British critic John Rowe Townsend points out:
Surely Robinson Crusoe was not written for children, and do not the Alice books appeal at least as much to grown ups?; if Tom Sawyer is children's literature, what about Huckleberry Finn?; if the Jungle Books are children's literature, what about Kim or Stalky? and if The Wind in the Willows is children's literature, what about The Golden Age?; and so on.
Townsend 1980:196