This collection of essays offers diverse perspectives on what it means to be a male or female child in children's literature, presenting stimulating views from the field's best-known authors, illustrators, and educators. Among the authors and illustrators in the collection who talk about the creative process are: Jerry Pinckney, Katherine Paterson, Mem Fox, Cary Paulsen, Virginia Hamilton, Karen Cushman, Andrea Pinkney, Paul Zelinsky, and Patricia and Frederick McKissack. These discussions on creativity are Interspersed among essays by educators. The following essays in the collection are by educators: (1) "The Hidden Curriculum: Are We Teaching Young Girls to Wait for the Prince?" (Susan Lehr); (2) "The Unquenchable Source: Finding a Heroic Girl inside a Man" (T.A. Barron); (3)"Deconstructing Harry: Catching a Critical Eye on the Witches and Wizards of Hogwarts" (Deborah L. Thompson); (4) "Popular Series Books and the Middle-Class Children Inhabiting Them: Are Girls and Boys Really That Frivolous?" (Jennifer Armstrong); (5) "Picture Books for Preschool Children: Exploring Gender Issues with Three- and Four-Year-Olds" (Barbara Chatton); (6) "Are Authors Rewriting Folklore in Today's Image?" (Margaret Chang); (7) "Truth as Patchwork: Developing Female Characters in Historical Fiction" (Janet Hickman); (8) "Separating the Men from the Boys: Coming of Age in Recent Historical Fiction for Children" (Daniel P. Woolsey); (9) "Representations of Native American Women and Girls in Children's Historical Fiction" (Debbie A. Reese); (10) "Why Gender Stereotypes Still Persist in Contemporary Children's Literature" (Belinda Y. Louie); (11) "Parent Characters in Children's Novels: Lessons Learned" (Sylvia M. Vardell); (12) "Parallels, Polarities, and Intersections: Gender and Religion in Children's Books" (Ann Trousdale); (13) "Why Do Educators Need a Political Agenda on Gender?" (Kathy G. Short); and (14) "The Anomalous Female and the Ubiquitous Male" (Susan Lehr). (NKA)