The Cambridge Companion to Children's Literature (review)

Essay collections about children's literature can be tricky. There should be enough diversity and variety to satisfy nearly everyone, and the articles should feel complete but allow room for expansion. With some fine collections already in print—Peter Hunt's An Introduction to Children's Literature (Routledge, 2004) and Andrea Schwenke Wyile and Teya Rosenberg's Considering Children's Literature (Broadview, 2008), to name just two—another collection might seem unnecessary. However, M. O. Grenby and Andrea Immel's The Cambridge Companion to Children's Literature is a wonderful and surprisingly innovative addition.

In their introduction Grenby and Immel discuss the challenges of trying to assemble a collection of essays about a large and constantly expanding genre of literature and note that "the study of children's literature is far from simple" (xiv). They go on to explain that while the collection cannot include everything, it does "try to present a useful sample of the different critical approaches that have been taken to children's literature" (xv). Ultimately, Grenby and Immel are successful in their efforts. The chapters in the collection are broad but not typical in how they approach children's literature. As a whole, the collection is well structured and diverse in its critical approaches. The editors have divided the book into three parts: "Contexts and Genres," "Audiences," and "Forms and Themes." Each part contains several essays written by some of the most important critics in the field. Overall, there is not a weak essay in the entire collection.

The first essay, Grenby's own "The Origins of Children's Literature," explores not simply the historical origins of children's literature but also the domestic and symbolic origins. Grenby shows how important each of these origins was, and is, to the genre of children's literature. What is especially impressive about Grenby's short chapter is how he manages to include so many titles yet still make the chapter accessible to novices. Someone unfamiliar with the history of children's literature will come away knowing titles ranging from John Bunyan's A Book for Boys and Girls to John Newbery's A Pretty Little Pocket-Book; however, the reader will also learn about the importance of domestic life and early education to children's literature and come to a better understanding of the ways in which the origin stories of specific books shape our understanding of the entire genre.

Judy Simons's "Gender Roles in Children's Fiction" is another fine example of an essay in which a large and overwhelming topic is handled with ease. Simmons discusses gender roles and their evolution in children's literature beginning with Newbery's A Pretty Little Pocket-Book and ending with J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. Most intriguing about Simons's chapter is how she not only covers a very long span of time but also how she addresses the differences in books for boys and books for girls, finally stating, "Unambiguous and inflexibly enforced gender boundaries can provide the reassurance and stability which young readers crave, while at the same time offering a delightful opportunity for transgression and socio-cultural adventure" (157).

For me, the chapter that perfectly showcases the ways in which this collection is not only informative for novices but also necessary to established scholars in the field is Richard Flynn's "The Fear of Poetry." Flynn's chapter brilliantly shows the ways in which poetry has been one of the most influential genres within children's literature. Most importantly, Flynn points out that critics have largely ignored poetry. Flynn beautifully explores the history and importance of children's poetry but leaves enough room for those inspired by his chapter to seek out more information or perhaps explore new territory themselves.

The only concern for many readers might be the lack of contemporary literature discussed in the chapters. The editors acknowledge an inability to cover everything in children's literature; there are moments where the authors mention titles...