Germany

With this volume on the history of children's literature in the GDR from 1945 to 1990 ('Soviet occupation zone' 1945–9), this Handbuch zur Kinder- und Jugendliteratur [Handbook of children's and youth literature] takes its historical survey of German children's literature up to the present. Four previously published volumes cover the period from 1461 to 1850; further volumes are in preparation.

Due to postwar politics, East German children's literature evolved in a context that deserves to be considered as a distinct historical period. Accordingly, the editors aim to offer a comprehensive survey of GDR literature, its thematic, aesthetic and ideological spectrum, and to illuminate its function and political significance within the socialist regime. An extensive introduction is followed by fourteen chapters, which present areas such as realistic short stories and novels, literature for girls, poetry for children, historical narratives, anti-fascist literature, adventure and crime novels, fairy tales and others. This is the first volume of the Handbuch series to devote a detailed section to the art of illustration in picturebooks and illustrated children's books. The final section offers bibliographical information, including secondary literature, and an index searchable by name, book title and year of publication. Detailed annotations to 798 titles broaden the scope presented in the main section of this standard work of reference.