ABSTRACT
The three essays in this section illustrate the application of current critical techniques and terminologies to aspects of children's literature. They have in common a link with the Modern Language Association of America: Geoff Moss and Lissa Paul delivered versions of their essays at the MLA Convention in New Orleans in 1988, while Sarah Gilead's work was published in PMLA. Otherwise, their approaches and tones of voice are very different: Moss comes closest to the accessible yet scholarly attitude that is becoming characteristic of the mainstream, synthesizing children's literature criticism; Paul's discourse, as befits her material, is experimental; while Gilead's selection of language is characteristic of the dialect of critical theory (and as such, perhaps less immediately approachable by the layperson). Together, however, they give a good impression of the range, diversity and essential commonality of contemporary criticism.
