Philosophy in Children's Literature

This book allows philosophers, literary theorists, and education specialists to come together to offer a series of readings on works of childrens literature. Each of their readings is focused on pairing a particular, popular picture book or a chapter book with philosophical texts or themes. The book has three sectionsthe first, on picturebooks; the second, on chapter books; and the third, on two sets of paired readings of two very popular picturebooks. By means of its three sections, the book sets forth as its goal to show how philosophy can be helpful in reappraising books aimed at children from early childhood on. Particularly in the third section, the book emphasizes how philosophy can help to multiply the type of interpretative stances that are possible when readers listen again to what they thought they knew so well. The kinds of questions this book raises are the following: How are childrens books already anticipating or articulating philosophical problems and discussions? How does childrens literature work by means of philosophical puzzles or language games? What do childrens books reveal about the existential situation the child reader faces? In posing and answering these kinds of questions, the readings within the book thus intersect with recent, developing scholarship in childrens literature studies as well as in the psychology and philosophy of childhood.