Handbook of Research on Children's and Young Adult Literature

In their description of the project, the editors note that this collection of essays "is the first to bring together the leading scholarship on children's and young adult literature from three intersecting disciplines: Education, English, and Library and Information Science." It includes the perspectives of popular authors, too. From the scholarly to the personal, the selections provide an amazing array of points of view, separated into three sections: "The Reader," "The Book," and "The World Around." Topics range from the historical roots of children's and young adult literature to teaching it, book awards, school libraries, creating readers, and even the politics of reviewing children's and young adult literature. Many entries, in fact, have follow-up "Point of Departure" essays from well-known authors such as Lois Lowry, Joseph Bruchac, Jacqueline Woodson, and Katherine Paterson, who provide their own takes on a particular topic. The contributors—who likewise represent various scholarly fields—have worked hard to put together a truly interdisciplinary, highly readable collection that will have meaning to a diverse body of readers, and that will enlighten and expand all of our considerations of the literature. This resource should get a lot of attention.—Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA