Through the Looking Glass: Further Adventures & Misadventures in the Realm of Children's Literature - Hardcover

Lanes, Selma G

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1567922627 ISBN 13: 9781567922622

Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher, 2005

Synopsis

A writer and critic with a a firm grasp of her subject, an acute eye for talent, and a sure prose style, Selma Lanes is the grande dame of children's literature. She wrote the definitive book on Maurice Sendak, and her essays and articles on children's books and their creators have almost single-handedly raised critical standards for the entire field. Like her previous collection, Down the Rabbit Hole, her new book includes classic essays on the masters she admires most: Sendak, Steig, Gorey, L. Frank Baum, Zemach, Rowling, and others.

What concerns Lanes most is the integration of text and image, the abilities of authors and artists of picture books to somehow change our perceptions. In a larger sense, she asks, "What makes some children's books work and others fail? How does art for the young reflect, distort or create a social perspective?" Earlier she observed, "With the possible exception of advertising and film, no popular medium in our time has been as experimental, inventive, and simply alive as children's books."

In the present atmosphere of mergers and corporate conglomerates that now define "mainstream publishing," she wonders if this remains true. Is the field still dominated, as formerly, by a devoted cadre of geniuses able to spot and encourage talent, willing to take risks, and ferocious in their desire to bring children the best that authors and illustrators have to offer? This book provides her answers, as well as affectionate salutes to the writers and artists whose work deserves to be remembered.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Praise for Selma G. Lanes and Down The Rabbit Hole

It's all first rate. -- Houston Chronicle

Getting into this book is like falling down the rabbit hole -- fast, fun, and interesting. Best of all, it lets you touch childhood again. . . . Selma G. Lames brings a respect for children's literature and judgment and wit to the study of it. -- Chicago Sun-Times

Bouncy and exuberant and bristling with opinion . . . an exhilarating trip. -- The New York Times

Selma Lanes is as ardent in her hates as in her loves. Her book will engender fierce arguments. -- Publishers Weekly

A brilliant book. -- Dr. Seuss (Theodor S. Geisel)

The only work of mature evaluation of children's books in recent years. . . . a find for any concerned parent and for any conscientious librarian or school teacher. -- Boston Sunday Herald

About the Author

SELMA G. LANES is the author of The Art of Maurice Sendak and a previous collection of essays and reviews, Down the Rabbit Hole. She is the former editor-in-chief of Parents' Magazine Press and a reviewer of children's literature for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, and other publications.

About this edition

• Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1567922627
• ISBN 13: 9781567922622
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 248