As Hunt (1990: Introduction) points out, critical writing on literature written with children in mind is a young discipline. Hunt (1990:3) cites Darton (1932) as ‘the first example of extended first-class work in the field’, though his own collection of critical essays begins with Fielding (1749). This, and other early critical work included in Hunt’s collection, evidences a long tradition of concern among those engaged with the socialisation of children about the degree to which children may be influenced by the literary works to which they are exposed. It is also clear that a number of those who have produced such works have done so with a view to affecting child socialisation in various ways.