The Oxford Handbook of Children's Literature

This comprehensive academic collection offers a rigorous exploration of children's literature through multiple critical lenses, examining works from the U.S., Britain, and Canada with remarkable scholarly depth. The essays employ diverse theoretical frameworks including formalism, Marxism, and approaches grounded in psychology, postcolonialism, and queer studies, creating a multifaceted examination of the field. This boundary-pushing analysis challenges conventional genre classifications and reexamines fundamental notions of childhood through sophisticated literary criticism.

What distinguishes this handbook is its commitment to expanding the conversation beyond traditional literary analysis to include reception studies, feminist perspectives, and performance theory. Serious students of literature and cultural studies will find this an indispensable resource that illuminates how children's texts reflect and shape societal values across different national contexts. The collection's intellectual breadth ensures it will become a foundational reference for understanding the complex cultural work performed by literature written for young readers.