Suffer the Little Children: Uses of the Past in Jewish and African American Children's Literature

Title Page, Series Page, Copyright, Dedication

Suffer the Little Children North American Religions Series Editors: Tracy Fessenden (Religious Studies, Arizona State University), Laura Levitt (Religious Studies, Temple University), and David Harrington Watt (History, Temple University) In recent years a cadre of industrious, imaginative, and theoretically sophisticated scholars of religion has focused its attention on North America. As a result the field is far more subtle , expansive, and interdisciplinary than it was just two decades ago. The North American Religions series builds on this transformative momentum. Books in the series move among the discourses of ethnography, cultural analysis, and historical study to shed new light on a wide range of religious experiences, practices, and institutions. They explore topics such as lived religion, popular religious movements, religion and social power, religion and cultural reproduction, and the relationship between secular and religious institutions and practices. The series focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on religion in the United States in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The Notorious Elizabeth Tuttle: Marriage, Murder, and Madness in the Family of Jonathan Edwards Ava Chamberlain Suffer the Little Children: Uses of the Past in Jewish and African American Children’s Literature Jodi Eichler-Levine Suffer the Little Children Uses of the Past in Jewish and African American Children’s Literature Jodi Eichler-Levine a NEW YORK UNIVER SIT Y PRE SS New York and London NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London www.nyupress.org© 2013 by New York University All rights reserved References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Eichler-Levine, Jodi. Suffer the little children : uses of the past in Jewish and African American children’s literature / Jodi Eichler-Levine. pages cm. — (North American religions) Includes bibliographical references (pages ) and index. ISBN 978-0-8147-2299-2 (cl : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8147-2400-2 (e-book) ISBN 978-0-8147-2401-9 (e-book) 1. Children’s literature, American—History and criticism. 2. Children’s literature, Jewish— History and criticism. 3. American literature—African American authors—History and criticism. 4. History in literature. 5. Suffering in literature. 6. Jews in literature. 7. African Americans in literature. I. Title. PS490.E37 2013 810.9’9282—dc23 2012043769 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For my parents, Miriam and Ray Eichler, and for my daughter, Thalia Eichler Levine This page intentionally left blank ...