Space and Place in Children�s Literature 1789 to the Present

Focusing on questions of space and locale in children’s literature this collection explores how metaphorical and physical space can create landscapes of power knowledge and identity in texts from the early nineteenth century to the present. The collection is comprised of four sections that take up the space between children and adults the representation of 'real world' places fantasy travel and locales and the physical space of the children’s book-as-object. In their essays the contributors analyze works from a range of sources and traditions by authors such as Sylvia Plath Maria Edgeworth Gloria Anzaldúa Jenny Robson C.S. Lewis Elizabeth Knox and Claude Ponti. While maintaining a focus on how location and spatiality aid in defining the child’s relationship to the world the essays also address themes of borders displacement diaspora exile fantasy gender history home-leaving and homecoming hybridity mapping and metatextuality. With an epilogue by Philip Pullman in which he discusses his own relationship to image and locale this collection is also a valuable resource for understanding the work of this celebrated author of children’s literature.