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  • Introduction
  • Maria Nikolajeva

“Greek children’s literature” probably does not ring a bell to most of us. Of course, we all have heard of Hercules (through Disney?), and we may have seen some of the numerous picturebooks based on Greek myths—Shirley Climo’s Atalanta’s Race, for instance. We may know Eugene Trivizas’s hilarious book, The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, but are we aware that the author comes from Greece? There is, however, a vivid contemporary children’s literature in Greece that, with few exceptions, never reaches the English-language market. Still less are we aware of the tradition of children’s literature scholarship and promotion in Greece, with its conferences, professional journals, libraries, organizations, and annual children’s book competitions that stimulate new generations of writers. We are seldom, if ever, invited to these events, and there are very few Greek scholars appearing at events in Western Europe and North America. Occasional articles in Bookbird can hardly fill the gap, even though the titles themselves give a fairly good idea of some major issues. Alexandra Zervou, featured in the present overview, and Dominique Sandis herself are among the pioneers who are trying to open the exciting world of Greek children’s literature for those who are curious. Both attempt to identify the national traits in Greek literature for the young, which exists in a remarkable paradox: ancient Greek culture is the base of Western civilization, Greek myths and Aesop’s fables have become the natural part of world children’s literature, yet modern Greek children’s literature is still not quite established within the country itself and practically unknown outside the country. It seems from Dominique Sandis’s presentation that children’s literature research in Greece goes its own way rather than borrowing ready methods and tools. This may yield interesting and unexpected results, which we certainly can learn from.

Works Cited

Katsiki-Givalou, Ada. ”Society, History and the Environment: Contemporary Concerns in Greek Children’s Literature.” Bookbird 40 (2002) 1: 47–51.
Papantonakis, Georgios. “Globalization, National Awareness, and Children’s [End Page 304] Literature: Evidence from Greek Children’s Literature.” Bookbird 42 (2004) 2: 37–43.
Sandis, Dominique. “A review of the portrayal of Greek reality in English-language children’s books.” In Text, Culture and National Identity in Children’s Literature edited by Jean Webb. Helsinki, Nordinfo, 1999, pp. 89–105.
———. “Proposing a Methodology for the Study of Nation(ality) in Children’s Literature.” In New Voices in Children’s Literature Criticism edited by Sebastien Chapleau. Lichfield: Pied Piper, 2004, pp. 105–118.
Zervou, Alexandra. “Les mythes grecs sur la Méditerranée et la littérature pour enfants: usages et métamorphoses.” In Imaginaire du jeune méditerranéen edited by Jean Foucault. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2002, pp. 127–147.
———. “Children’s Picture Books in Greece or the Interplay of Antitheses: Reverie and Initiation, Tradition and Innovation. In Europe, a Dream in Pictures edited by Jean Perrot. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2001, pp. 113–120.
———. “Historicity and Nature—Text and Image: The Game of Oppositions in Greek Illustrated Books.” Bookbird 40 (2002) 1: 6–15. [End Page 305]
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