Editors' Introduction: Celebrating Our Twenty-Fifth Anniversary, Celebrating Children's Literature Criticism

Little did Geri DeLuca and Roni Natov know, when they founded The Lion and the Unicorn in 1975, that the journal would survive 25 years and march triumphantly into the twenty-first century. The fact that The Lion and the Unicorn has accomplished more than its original mission is not only a reflection of the great dedication of work and time that they and others invested in it, but the journal's accomplishment reflects the remarkable maturation of the field of children's literature criticism and the quality and diversity of the scholarship.

When Geri and Roni began the journal, they had a socio-political mission that had been influenced by the 1968 movement at American universities. Not only did they want children's literature to be taken more seriously at the university, but they wanted the critiques published in the magazine to be more "relevant" to our own lives and to the cultural debates about racism, gender, identity politics, sexuality, social hegemony, political systems, socialization, and the canonization of genres. To this end, they worked tirelessly and recruited the assistance of dedicated scholars inside and outside the academy: Edward Barrett, Michael Patrick Hearn, Herbert Kohl, Leonard Marcus, Milton Meltzer, Alan Ostrom, Suzanne Rahn, and Ellen Tremper. In addition, Roni and Geri helped organize conferences on children's literature at Brooklyn College, and they also forged important ties across the ocean with the Institut für Kinder- und Jugend Literatur under the directorship of Klaus Doderer in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

During the first fifteen years of its publication, The Lion and the Unicorn appeared twice a year. Geri and Roni had to struggle to maintain its publication even though they were somewhat funded and supported by Brooklyn College. Fortunately, in 1986, they reached an agreement with Johns Hopkins University Press to become the publisher of the journal, and this arrangement has enabled The Lion and the Unicorn to improve the format, expand distribution, and to embark on new projects.

In 1992, we assumed the editorship of the journal, and it was not by chance that our first issue focused on "Political Correctness and Cultural Literacy" with a lead article by Herbert Kohl, one of the most progressive educators in America. In keeping with the journal's mission, we sought and keep seeking to respond to crucial debates in our field. In addition, with the backing of Marie Hansen, we negotiated with Johns Hopkins in 1994 to increase the publication of the journal, and the Press graciously agreed to publish the journal three times a year. This change has enabled us to publish two thematic issues a year edited by guest editors and to expand our book review section, which has greatly improved under the expert guidance of George Bodmer and Jan Susina. While the thematic issues have permitted us to explore the development of children's literature in other countries and to analyze topics in great depth as the most recent issue on "Violence in Children's Literature," edited by Liz Goodenough and Mitzi Myers, demonstrates, the general issues allow us to introduce the work of young scholars into the field and to explore a diverse range of subjects that often lead to special issues. In addition, we have tried to include more articles by international critics and to bring in the "marginalized" from the margins. None of the progress that we feel we have made with our journal would have been possible without the support of the scholars in our field and our board of editors.

We owe a great debt to Marie Hansen, who has supported our development at Johns Hopkins University Press, and we cannot lavish enough praise on Carol Hamblen, our managing editor at the Press, for she has been generous with her time and wise with her counsel. We are also most appreciative to Minnesota State University, Mankato, for its support...