Children's Literature - a video guide
In this Oxford World's Classics video and audio guide, Peter Hunt, Professor Emeritus in Children's Literature at the University of Cardiff, who was responsible for setting up the first course in children's literature in the UK, introduces the newcomer to reading critically texts written for children.
Watch the video below to hear Peter's thoughts on the field and then click on the links below to hear him explore some of the texts he has written about in more detail.
Introducing Children's Literature
Listen to Peter respond to the following questions
- Is it possible to say when children's literature as a recognizable genre started?[0:30]
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"All children's books, even now, are didactic in some way."
- When, where and why did the academic study of children's books begin?[1:13]
- When Peter Hunt set up the first children's literature course in the UK, what was his intention?[0:58]
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What advice does Peter Hunt have for someone embarking on the study of children's literature for the first time?
- When studying children's books, is it important to remember that they are often first encountered by being read aloud by an adult?[1:02]
- Peter Hunt reflects on the fact that the classics of children's literature have been extraordinarily productive of other texts, sequels, prequels, adaptations as well as films.[0:41]
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When children's books first appeared on university courses, they were regarded as non-canonical texts. Has that changed in the past forty years?
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Biographical and psychological criticism seems to be particularly popular in discussing children's texts.
- Are children's books able to address an adult and a child audience simultaneously, thereby becoming vehicles for satire and social comment?[1:26]
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When did a market for children's books develop?