From Kiddie Lit to Kiddie Porn: The Sexualization of Children's Literature

Retellings of children’s literature constitute a booming literary phenomenon, and among those retellings are sexualized versions that recast children’s books as adult erotica. Focusing on Chris Kent’s retellings of The Coral Island and Tom Brown’s Schooldays, this essay examines the sexualization of children’s literature and argues that it represents an adult wish to (re)experience or (re)imagine a fantasized childhood that combines the virtues of “childhood innocence” and naiveté with the possibilities of adult empowerment and sexual agency. This suggests a broader understanding of children’s literature as reflecting a desire to improve upon the limitations of childhood in its quotidian forms.