The Routledge Companion to Children's Literature is a vibrant and authoritative exploration of children's literature in all its manifestations. It features a series of essays written by expert contributors who provide an illuminating examination of why children's literature is the way it is. Topics covered include:

• the history and development of children's literature
• various theoretical approaches used to explore the texts, including narratological methods
• questions of gender and sexuality along with issues of race and ethnicity
• realism...

The Routledge Companion to Children's Literature is a vibrant and authoritative exploration of children's literature in all its manifestations. It features a series of essays written by expert contributors who provide an illuminating examination of why children's literature is the way it is. Topics covered include:

• the history and development of children's literature
• various theoretical approaches used to explore the texts, including narratological methods
• questions of gender and sexuality along with issues of race and ethnicity
• realism...

Rudd explores and challenges the critical representation of the child in children's literature, looking at the child's positioning from a psychoanalytically informed perspective. He shows students how to work productively with theory, combining conceptual analysis with close-textual readings of key texts in a sophisticated yet readable manner.