Cirrus@Austlit

'From the Harry Potter series to urban fairy roman, the Middle Ages comprise a rich source of stories, symbols, characters and setting sin texts for the young. The Middle Ages in Children's Literature is the first thorough study of medievalism for the young - that is, post-medieval imaginings of the Middle Ages - in fiction, non-fiction and films.

In this book Clare Bradford shows that medievalism for the young both provides moments of enchantment and also serves as a distancing strategy which enables texts to address contentious and difficult topics. the Middle Ages in Children's Literature examines how changing conceptions of history have influenced the writing of historical fiction. Examining representations of disabilities, monstrous bodies, and animals, Bradford shows that medievalist texts use the medieval to reflect on modernity. The book ends with a chapter which explains why so many texts for the young treat the Middle Ages as a source of comedy.'

Source: Back cover.

Looking at a range of picture books involving the Middle Ages, this chapter considers their possibilities for 'personal and social capability', showing how fantasy addresses real-life questions by providing readers with critical distance which enables them to approach contentious or 'difficult' ideas. Because the Middle Ages constitutes a fantasy world to young readers, picture books set in medieval times readily address contemporary topics such as relations between people of different ethnicities. Through the use of humour, visual and verbal interaction and intertextual references, these picture books create light-hearted and engaging narratives with clear relevance to the lives of young readers.