Editor's Note
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUPWith the publication of this issue, I will be stepping down as an editor of L&U. I joined the L&U staff with George Bodmer as book review editors beginning with issue 16.2 (December 1992). Later, I was invited to guest edit the special issue "Kiddie Lit(e): The Dumbing Down of Children's Literature" 17.1 (June 1993). Bodmer and I were asked to take over the editorial roles of the journal by Jack Zipes and Louis Smith in 2001 and we subsequently invited Lissa Paul to join the editorial staff. The three editors revised the editorial board and began serving as editors of the journal beginning with issue 27.2 (April 2003).
I wish to thank Louisa Smith and Jack Zipes for the opportunity to serve as a book review editor, guest editor for a special issue, and as an editor of such a remarkable journal. I also want to thank the various staff members at the Journal Division of Johns Hopkins University Press who, over the years, have been so instrumental in making L&U possible. Thanks are owed to Bill Breichner, Carol Hamblen, Lynn Logan, Heather Rounds, and Mary K. Hashman, all of whom have been a pleasure to work with and have made my role as an editor easier. A special debt of gratitude goes to Jodie Slothower who has served as a long time, unpaid copyeditor of L&U in an academic world where many writers act as if MLA style is optional.
As an editor, I have tried to make some gradual changes at the journal. These include moving to a schedule of two general issues and one special or focus issue per year and putting L&U on a more peer-review basis. But with multiple editors, it is only natural to have competing goals and visions for the journal. After fourteen years with L&U, it seemed appropriate for me to step back and allow others the demanding responsibilities that come with editing a scholarly journal. I am certain that they will continue an excellent job in editing L&U and I wish them the best of luck.
After fourteen years of working with George Bodmer as an editor, I would be remiss not to thank him for his knowledge, good humor, and [End Page vii] profound good sense. It doesn't seem possible that we have worked together so long at L&U. Time flies when you are having fun.
Serving as an editor at L&U has been both a great pleasure, but on occasion it can be difficult. An editor is called upon to make some hard choices. Publications play a significant role in the academic lives of scholars; acceptances, rejections, and delays of publication have serious implications in the lives of those who submit material to a scholarly journal. I have tried to acknowledge and respond to submitted material in a timely fashion as best as I could. Serving as an editor at L&U has also been a valuable learning process. Unfortunately, working as an editor is the sort of form of education where errors sometimes appear in print. Mistakes have been made and I regret that. While serving as both the book editor and editor of L&U, I have tried to encourage scholarship that thoughtfully examines the study of children's texts, in all their forms, within the broader terms of children's culture. Thanks to the efforts of all the editors and JHUP, L&U continues to be an essential journal for the international study of children's literature and culture.
