Issue Details: First known date: 2003... 2003 The Sky Is Falling : Children as Environmental Subjects in Contemporary Picture Books
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

"The metanarratives that circulate in Western culture around environmental topics rarely have happy endings; many, indeed, are apocalyptic in their depictions of ecological outcomes. [In this chapter, Bradford considers] what happens when these two categories of metanarrative meet in contemporary picture books, which thematize environmental topics."

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Children's Literature and the Fin de Siécle Roderick McGillis (editor), Westport : Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc , 2003 7654066 2003 anthology criticism

    The close of a century invites both retrospection and prognostication. As a period of transition, it also brings a sense of uncertainty, finality, and apocalypticism. These feelings stem from various events, such as political turmoil, scientific advancements, and social change. As might be expected, literature reflects such changes and the feelings they engender. But perhaps more surprisingly, children's literature is especially sensitive to such matters, and fiction for children often struggles with dark and unpleasant issues. This book examines fin de siécle tensions in 19th- and 20th-century children's literature from around the world.

    Each chapter is written by an expert contributor, and the volume ranges over a disparate variety of topics. These include poetry, series books, pacifist fiction, gender issues, religion and literature, eco-criticism, minority experiences, humor and the Holocaust, fantasy and science fiction, and computer culture. In exploring these issues in relation to children's literature, the contributors reveal the shifting nature of our values and the world in which we live. Global in nature, the chapters look at children's literature from such places as Germany, Holland, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. (Amazon)

    Westport : Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc , 2003
    pg. 111-120
Last amended 12 Oct 2020 16:14:40
111-120 The Sky Is Falling : Children as Environmental Subjects in Contemporary Picture Bookssmall AustLit logo
Subjects:
  • Window Jeannie Baker , 1991 single work picture book
  • One Child Chris Cheng , 1997 single work picture book
  • Green Air Jill Morris , 1996 single work picture book
  • Birdman Jiri Tibor Novak , 1994 single work picture book
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