Reading Kids’ Books Without the Kids from the New York Times is supposed to be an article on the newly released Norton’s Anthology of Children’s Literature which is a book designed to be used in children’s literature classes. Rothstein argues that removing the child from the literature is damaging to it, because there is power in sharing books with children. Of course! But there is also power in having adults aware of what great children’s books are and what qualities they share. That way we can lead children to them.
An additional problem I have with the article is the potshots it takes at teen literature along the way. I suppose the target is just so easy that it is hard to pass up. But in this article on children’s literature it is strange to see newly published teen fiction compared to Heidi and Anne of Green Gables. The classics are lovely, but we need to have space beside them on our shelves for the new fiction, even the “teen pulp” that will have kids looking at the books in the first place.

bookshelves of doom is a blog that reviews books with a focus on juvenile and teen literature mixed in with all sorts of other genres. It is obviously the work of a book lover and I am so glad to see the children’s and teen books mixed in and shared.