The Bloomsbury Handbook of Childrens and Young Adult Literature in Education

This handbook provides a comprehensive review of the research and practice of engaging with childrens and young adult literature in education. Drawing across scholarship focused on genre, creation, and utilization of childrens literature, it provides a unique perspective on the role that childrens literature can play in educational spaces from age 2 to 18, and from picture books to YA literature. The volume is divided into three main sections: first, a review of the history of childrens literature and its application in education; second, a discussion of methodological approaches for studying childrens literature in educating young people - particularly in relation to critical literacy and multimodality; and third, a cross section of research organized by the developmental use of childrens literature in school settings. The chapters cover a range of topics including diversity, intersectionality, transactional theory, representation, trauma-informed pedagogy, anti-racism, immigration, folk and fairy tales and more. Written by leading scholars based in Australia, South Africa, South Korea, and the UK, the handbook represents the global use of childrens literature in schools, revealing connections across international contexts while also honoring the differences in how literature is conceptualized and utilized across the world.