Books in the Studies in Childhood, 1700 to the Present series

Argues that the social construction of the public schoolboy, a figure made ubiquitous by a huge body of fictional, biographical, and journalistic work, had a role to play in the development of social perceptions of adolescence and in forming ideas of how young people should be educated to become citizens in an age of increasing democracy.

In her exploration of China in British children's literature, Shih-Wen Chen considers travelogue storybooks, historical novels, adventure stories and periodicals to demonstrate the diversity of images of China in the Victorian and Edwardian imagination.

States that the 19th-century representations of childhood and adolescence - in paintings, various forms of visual culture, and in diverse written discourses of the period - are critical for understanding modernity. This book contains chapters structured according to such themes as parent-child relations, modes of discipline, work, and others.

Reflects the advanced developments in Disney and Disney-Pixar animation such as the apocalyptic tale of earth's failed ecosystem, "WALL-E". This title examines a range of Disney's feature animations, in which images of wild nature are central to the narrative.

Adopts a cultural studies framework to explore the range of scholarly concerns awakened by Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" novels and their filmic adaptations. This title examines "Twilight's" debts to its predecessors in young adult, vampire, and romance literature; and issues in fan and critical reception in the United States and Korea.

How did the 'flat' characters of eighteenth-century children's literature become 'round' by the mid-nineteenth? While previous critics have pointed to literary Romanticism for an explanation, this book argues that this shift can be understood by looking to the discipline of history.

Conceived to explore the relationship between children's vernacular play cultures and their media-based play, this collection challenges two popular misconceptions: that children's play is dying out and that it is threatened by contemporary media such as television and computer games.

By analysing the competing discourses within girls' periodicals, this book demonstrates how they were able to frame feminine behaviour in ways that both reinforced and redefined the changing role of girls in nineteenth-century society while also allowing girl readers the opportunity to respond to these definitions.

Pearson examines British children's literature during the period widely regarded as a 'second golden age', giving particular attention to children's book publishing. Making use of archival resources, she explores the careers of influential children's book editors.

Conceived to explore the relationship between children's vernacular play cultures and their media-based play, this collection challenges two popular misconceptions: that children's play is dying out and that it is threatened by contemporary media such as television and computer games.

Examining the experiences of very young 'native' children in three British colonies, the authors focus on the shared as well as unique aspects of the colonial experience in infant schools across the northern part of the North Island of New Zealand, Upper Canada, and British-controlled India. Informed by archival research.

Focusing on dystopian novels featuring a female protagonist, this collection explores the liminal nature of a young woman contending with societal and governmental threats at the same time that she is navigating the treacherous waters of young adulthood. Essays on writers that include Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld, Tahereh Mafi, Veronica Roth.

Respected as a writer by critics and commentators, Hesba Stretton (1832-1911) was a vigorous campaigner for the rights of oppressed minorities and a founding member of the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. This book examines Stretton's writing for children and adults.