Cirrus@Austlit

Kim Waters argues that, The Magic Pudding 'is a classic of Australian literature because it is infused with a national spirit that celebrates the Australian way of life and outlook' and that Norman Lindsay 'freed his fellow children writers from their European ancestry by creating a work that was credible in its own right and clearly Australian (9). This includes the bush values and image of the Australian bushman which came to define the national self-image in World War I and a narrative which maintains and perpetuates the masculinist tradition which permeates constructions of Australian national and individual identity (4-7). For Waters, the novel and its characters represent a 'genuine typification of the Australian self-image' distinguished by 'bravery, independence, enterprise and initiative' and the characteristics seen as 'essential to Australian maleness - comradeship, nationalism and humour' (5).

O'Sullivan seeks to 'identify attitudes to war in Australian children's literature' in the period 1914-1994, noting in particular the movement from identification with Britain and the Empire in the early decades of this period to an affinity with Asia and the Pacific in the latter decades (34). The discussion begins with a literature review of Australian and overseas critical research in this field and then surveys a large number of (mainly Australian) novels with war as the central/pivotal theme. O'Sullivan concludes that there has been a change in attitudes to war in Australian children's literature, whereby 'once Australia was part of the British Empire and prepared to fight for that anywhere in the world, now multicultural Australia takes a broader view and sees herself as part of a global family' (47).