This year, 2016, marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the much-loved author and illustrator of children's books. Although translation has made a vital contribution to her international success, Potter's work remains relatively under-researched from a translation studies perspective. This article aims to provide a…

African American children's literature has a potentially powerful role to play in increasing reading engagement for African American boys. Unfortunately, this body of literature is not always used effectively in schools. Many teachers use African American books as an add-on to pre-exisiting curriculum rather than fully exploring the topics,…

The first full biography of Ursula Moray Williams has been published to mark the centenary of her birth. In this article, its author, Colin Davison, assesses her work in the context of her life, paying particular attention to the way that her extraordinary childhood influenced her writing. He also examines new evidence about where her ideas came…

Author Virginia Hamilton had the gift of creating lyrical phrases that captured the complexities of life. Among her most notable phrase is the idea of the "hopescape," the metaphoric description of the pains and joys, triumphs and defeats, longing, and dreams that make us human. The publication of an edited volume that compiles a sampling of…

When Vaunda Micheaux Nelson donned a black Stetson to become the biographer of Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves, she had no idea that her square-shooting book about an unsung African-American hero of the Old West would win over a posse of fans and earn her the prestigious 2010 Coretta Scott King (CSK) Author Award. "Bad News for Outlaws"…

This is an autobiographical account of my geographical education. As a child I explored places far different from my home in S. Korea through my readings of children's literature--Pippi Longstocking in particular. My school experiences in Seoul did little to educate me geographically. This paper describes significant transformations during my…

Few twentieth century scientists have generated as much interest as Albert Einstein and Marie Currie. Their lives are centrally depicted in numerous children's biographies of famous scientists. Yet their stories reflect interesting paradoxes and tacit sets of unexplored sociocultural assumptions about gender in science education and the larger…

This article presents the 62 books chosen by "School Library Journal's" editors as the best of the year. While novels include some historical settings and contemporary concerns, it is fantasy that continues to reign supreme. More original, and more creative than ever, it includes selections that are frightening, edgy, wildly funny, electrifying,…

Stories about Abraham Lincoln have captivated children for generations. The Lincoln story has taken on almost mythic proportions, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction or exaggeration. Young readers never tire of talking about Lincoln's early days--from his birth in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky to his childhood in…

This study discusses the results of a content analysis of 75 Latina biographies for primary and pre-adolescent students that were published over a 16-year period, spanning from 1995 to 2010. Significant to this study was how Latinas were represented in the biographies and what changes can be seen over time. Using a rubric based on research by…

American publishers have published numerous children's books about Barack Obama over the past several years; most take the form of informational biographies. This article reports on a research project aimed at how these books incorporate sociohistorical narratives, particularly those related to the civil rights movement. Though the features of the…

In today's global age, it is important for young students to develop multiple perspectives. Some of the standards that today's teachers are required to adhere to include an understanding of different cultures. The National Council for the Social Studies, for example, indicates that teachers should provide instruction that complies with various…

One of the first places children encounter science and scientists is children's literature. Children's books about science and scientists have, however, received limited scholarly attention. By exploring the history of children's biographies of Marie Curie and Albert Einstein, the two most written about scientist in children's literature, this…

Who is an American, what is the American experience, and what historical events are important enough to include in books for youth? These complex ideas are examined in a bolder, intellectually fresh manner in information books, biographies, and histories that have been published over the past several decades. Some examples of recent works are…

This is an exploratory study of racism in a genre of children's literature that has been largely overlooked by research and teaching in multicultural children's literature: sports biographies and, in particular, the biographies of African American professional football players. By examining the race bias of this genre of children's literature, the…