ABSTRACT
Much of children's literature is concerned with the need of children to gain autonomy and pass into adulthood. In part because children's literature is frequently seen as a tool for socializing the child and because the process of growing into adulthood is of ferocious interest to children, the “most pervasive theme in children's fiction is the change within the individual from infantile solipsism to maturing social awareness,” 1 although as Melvin Burgess proved with Junk , and Lady, My Life as a Bitch , the result is not always regarded by adults as a desirable outcome.
