Sticks and Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children's Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter

by Jack Zipes

Overview

Have children ever really had a literature of their own? In Sticks and Stones, Jack Zipes explores children's literature, from the grissly moralism of Slovenly Peter to the hugely successful Harry Potter books, and argues that despite common assumptions about children's books, our investment in children is paradoxically curtailing their freedom and creativity. Sticks and Stones is a forthright and engaging book by someone who cares deeply about what and how children read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781135206659
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/15/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Jack Zipes is Professor of German at the University of Minnesota. Among his many publications are Don't Bet on the Prince (Routledge), Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (Bantam), and most recently the Oxford Companion to the Fairy Tale.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Cultural Homogenization of American Children; Chapter 2 Do You Know What We Are Doing to Your Books?; Chapter 3 Why Children's Literature Does Not Exist; Chapter 4 The Value of Evaluating the Value of Children's Literature; Chapter 5 Wanda Gág's Americanization of the Grimms' Fairy Tales; Chapter 6 The Contamination of the Fairy Tale; Chapter 7 The Wisdom and Folly of Storytelling; Chapter 8 The Perverse Delight of Shockheaded Peter; Chapter 9 The Phenomenon of Harry Potter, or Why All the Talk?;

Editorial Reviews

Zipes (German, Univ. of Minnesota; Don't Bet on the Prince) contends here that American children are being "homogenized" by the big business of children's literature. In a series of essays, most originally delivered as lectures or papers between 1997 and 1999, he asserts that "the more we invest in children, the more we destroy their future." This destruction is caused by groups such as Disney and the large, successful publishers that, he feels, dictate taste and consumption solely to beef up profit margins. Consequently, children are not encouraged either to use their own imaginations or to develop critical taste independent of media hype. Zipes ends with an essay on Harry Potter, written exclusively for this book, which pans J.K. Rowling's books as not only insignificant literature but downright harmful. While not every reader will agree entirely with Zipes's thesis, professionals need to be aware of his point of view.--Katherine Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Is the success of children's literature troublesome? Is it phenomenal? How do we judge the value of children's literature within the current culture that fosters the commercialization of childhood itself? In a series of essays mostly based on speeches given at various conferences, a scholar and social critic examines these and other provocative questions. Describing his passionate essays as "active talk," Zipes is nevertheless sometimes dense and arcane especially when he ventures into the political arena. He is most interesting when he writes directly about children's literature-the fairy tales retold by Wanda G g, the checkered history of the Grimm tales and their retellers, the history of storytelling and the appeal of Struwwelpeter. The phenomenon of Harry Potter is the subject of his final essay, and as he moves from literary to social critic, he finds Harry "part of the eternal return to the same-and, at the same time, part of the success and process by which we homogenize our children." Though the book is sometimes tedious, Zipes is always thought-provoking in his arguments.-Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Zipes (German, U. of Minnesota) has a special interest in fairy tales, and warns that popular literature for children during the 19th and 20th centuries are not all sugar and spice. He says they are primarily stories about childhood that adults tell children, and even experts do not know what children make of them; and systematically reflect the current values and norms of society, which instead of empowering children, curtail their freedom, and indoctrinate and homogenize them. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"If [Zipes'] scholarship could be spread over several curricule vitae, the breadth and quality of it could certainly bring tenure to three or four scholars." — Donald R. Hettinga

From the Publisher