ABSTRACT
Age is not only central to definitions of children’s literature, it is also a key factor in the production of children’s books and often thematized in the stories themselves. This chapter draws on childhood studies and age studies to offer different concepts of age that are relevant to the study of children’s literature. It reflects on the age norms that children’s books rely on, reinforce, and challenge as part of their age ideology. An analysis of a case study, Malorie Blackman’s Grandma Gertie’s Haunted Handbag, illustrates how children’s books may promote intergenerational solidarity while also reproducing ageist stereotypes.
