Educational Theory in British Children's Literary Classics

Drawing on over thirty years of teaching children's literature and education, including special topics courses on pedagogical imagery in popular media, the author has drawn those two enterprises together to apply an educational perspective to several giants in the canon of children's literature. Albritton finds and explores images of teaching and learning in Lewis Carroll's two Alice novels, a selection of tales by Beatrix Potter, both play and novel versions of Peter Pan, Kenneth Grahammes The Wind in the Willows, selected stories featuring Winnie-the-Pooh, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Hobbit, and the first three of J.K. Rowling's novels featuring the young wizard in training, Harry Potter. Through these works, the author finds traces of Plato, Rousseau, Dewey, and Vygotsky, portrayals of growth mindset and high stakes testing, and evidence of the pedagogical power of inquiry, teacher personality, and project-based learning. Albritton's intention is to give equal play to each analytical focus, resulting in a richer appreciation for the literature and a deeper understanding of the theory.