Children's Readings: Studies in Children's Literature

Issue 26 of Children's Readings is devoted to the study of the representation of geographical space in children's literature. Various approaches to the representation of geographical space clearly illustrate the factors on which this “sharpening” depends. These factors may include not only ideological fluctuations—when, under different political circumstances, the depiction of the same geographical object or ethnographic fact changes dramatically—but also shifts between an exoticizing perspective and one that conveys interest in and respect for another space or people, only for the former wariness and rejection to resurface. The genre constraints of children's publications can also exert influence: the structural and thematic features of serialized publications impose strict limitations on the selection and presentation of geographical material. The “geographical” issue of Children's Readings explores these and other aspects of the representation of literary space in works for children.