36.240, Reviews: Children’s Literature and Childhood Discourses: Anna Cermakova, Michaela Mahlberg (eds.) (2024)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-36-240. Fri Jan 17 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.240, Reviews: Children’s Literature and Childhood Discourses: Anna Cermakova, Michaela Mahlberg (eds.) (2024)

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Date: 17-Jan-2025
From: Hyunisa Rahmanadia [hyunisa at student.elte.hu]
Subject: Computational Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, General Linguistics: Anna Cermakova, Michaela Mahlberg (eds.) (2024)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/35-2429

Title: Children’s Literature and Childhood Discourses
Subtitle: Exploring Identity through Fiction
Series Title: Corpus and Discourse
Publication Year: 2024

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
           http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/
Book URL:
https://www.bloomsbury.com/childrens-literature-and-childhood-discourses-9781350176980/

Editor(s): Anna Cermakova, Michaela Mahlberg

Reviewer: Hyunisa Rahmanadia

SUMMARY
"Children’s Literature and Childhood Discourse," edited by Anna
Cermakova and Michaela Mahlberg, is a comprehensive volume that
collects 11 chapters exploring various perspectives on children's
literature and discourse.
Chapter 1: ‘Sensitive Girls, Purposeful Boys and Embodied Emplacement’
by Catherine Olver and Maria Nikolajeva
This chapter offers a thoughtful exploration of gendered sensory
experiences in children’s literature, focusing on 1950s novels such as
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Tom’s Midnight Garden, and
Marianne Dreams. The author highlights how boys in these stories tend
to navigate unfamiliar places with a goal-oriented, empirical mindset,
while girls exhibit a more open, embodied sensitivity to their
surroundings. This distinction sheds light on traditional gender roles
within literature, where girls are often portrayed as more emotionally
attuned yet vulnerable in their interactions with the world. The
discussion expands to contrast these earlier depictions with the
contemporary female protagonist in Coraline. Unlike her 1950s
counterparts, Coraline actively explores her environment with purpose
and agency, marking a significant evolution from the passivity often
seen in earlier portrayals of girls. The chapter concludes by
emphasising how cultural factors shape sensory and embodied
experiences in fictional worlds while cautioning that outdated gender
dynamics may still influence modern readers’ interpretations of older
texts, inadvertently reinforcing traditional stereotypes.
Chapter 2: ‘Can Children Read Irony? A Cautionary Tale’ by Peter
Stockwell
This section provides a compelling analysis of children's developing
capacity to understand irony, particularly through responses to
Cautionary Tales. The author highlights how eleven-year-old girls can
identify textual signals of irony, such as exaggeration and hyperbole,
but struggle to interpret their effects due to a lack of schematic and
historical knowledge. This limitation results in partial recognition
(ironically described as "a bit weird") but not a full grasp of parody
or historical irony. The chapter situates this challenge within
psychological and developmental research, emphasising the distinction
between recognising literary features and understanding their deeper
implications. The author further contrasts this struggle with
children’s responses to contemporary works like those of Roald Dahl or
David Walliams, where ironic intent is more accessible, often as
humour. This comparison underscores how historical and contextual
distancing adds complexity to irony recognition, which requires
advanced attentional skills and literary competence. Overall, the
analysis sheds light on the nuanced interplay between children’s
cognitive development and their ability to process irony. It offers
valuable insights into the gaps between recognition and interpretation
in young readers.
Chapter 3: ‘The Rhetoric of Orphanhood’ by Marion Gymnich
This chapter offers an engaging look at how the portrayal of
orphanhood in children’s literature has changed over time. In The
Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson-Burnett takes a fresh approach to the
classic “pathetic orphan” trope by depicting Mary Lennox in a stark,
unsentimental way. Instead of inviting the reader's pity, the narrator
uses sharp and often critical language, portraying Mary as selfish and
unpleasant rather than vulnerable or pitiable. On the other hand, J.K.
Rowling’s Harry Potter series sticks to a more traditional portrayal
of orphans, presenting Harry as a victim of abuse and neglect, similar
to the Victorian narratives. Harry’s struggles with the Dursleys
naturally inspire sympathy, showing the lasting appeal of this
familiar trope. The discussion also highlights how orphanhood remains
a powerful narrative tool, capable of both preserving and reinventing
itself. Successful series like Harry Potter and A Series of
Unfortunate Events showcase the trope’s timeless relevance, offering
emotional and thematic depth. While works like The Secret Garden
challenge old conventions, others, such as Harry Potter, lean into the
sentimental and moral aspects of orphan narratives, proving how
flexible and impactful this theme continues to be in children’s
literature.
Chapter 4: ‘Caroline Hewins and Making Space for Books for the Young
in America Public Libraries’ by Rebekah Fitzsimmons
This analysis takes a thoughtful look at the legacy of early
librarians like Hewins, recognising both their achievements and the
limitations of their time. Hewins played a key role in shaping
children’s literature, advocating for young readers to explore a wide
range of books that fostered curiosity and discovery. However, her
work also reflected the biases and narrow assumptions of her era,
leaving out certain authors, experiences, and children who didn’t fit
her vision of the “child reader.” The chapter encourages us to revisit
these gaps critically, asking who was left out and what stories went
untold. At the same time, it acknowledges Hewins’ important
contributions, particularly in carving out space for professional
women in the field and establishing a foundation for children’s
literature as we know it. As scholars today, we’re challenged to build
on her work, expanding the boundaries she worked within and pushing
for a more inclusive and diverse understanding of children’s
literature that reflects all voices and experiences.
Chapter 5: ‘Children’s Geographies and (Spatial) Literacy’ by Peter
Kraftl
This chapter offers a thoughtful exploration of how children’s
geographies and literacies intersect, revealing a largely
underexplored opportunity for collaboration between geographers and
literacy scholars. It shows how children’s experiences of place,
whether walking through urban spaces or using tools like Google Maps™,
can be understood as forms of literacy, helping them navigate,
interpret, and make sense of their surroundings. These experiences
allow children to “read” their environments and develop practical,
place-based knowledge. The chapter also highlights how children’s
storytelling, inspired by their interactions with places, reflects
their understanding of identity and community. Whether these stories
are imaginative, mythical, or rooted in reality, they help children
connect to landscapes while also envisioning possible futures.
However, the discussion doesn’t shy away from the complexities of
storytelling, noting how narratives can sometimes reinforce harmful
stereotypes or historical exclusions, particularly around issues of
gender, ethnicity, or class. Overall, the chapter emphasises the
importance of understanding how children “read” and “write” the world
around them, offering rich insight into how these experiences shape
their sense of self and connection to place.
Chapter 6: ‘Revisioning Lewis Carroll’s Alice and Their Afterlives
Through Male Performance’ by Kiera Vaclavik
This research examines the performative history of Alice’s Adventures
in Wonderland, focusing on the historical prevalence of male
portrayals of Alice. These performances, rooted in the cultural norms
of the time, reflected traditions of role play and theatrical
conventions that were integral to the text’s creation and reception.
While these male portrayals may seem unusual today, they were once
commonplace, particularly in school productions, where societal
expectations around gender roles were less rigid. The chapter argues
that although such performances were not radical or overtly queer by
contemporary definitions, they reveal the inherently performative and
often subversive elements of the Alice texts. By tracing these
practices, the chapter highlights how Alice in Wonderland continues to
invite reinterpretation, offering valuable insights into the
intersections of gender, performance, and literary history.
Chapter 7: ‘Exploring Representation of Girls and Boys in the Text
Printed on Slogan T-shirts’ by Marianne McKinley
This chapter investigates how text on children’s graphic t-shirts
reinforces gender stereotypes, shaping perceptions of identity and
future roles. Boys’ t-shirts often highlight traits like hegemonic
masculinity, ambition, and educational aspirations with phrases such
as future scientist, while girls’ shirts emphasise positivity,
emotional labour, and frivolity with statements like happy or ponies
eat glitter for breakfast. These differences limit girls’ exposure to
aspirational or STEM-oriented messaging, restricting their imagined
futures. Behavioural labels further diverge, with boys’ clothing
glorifying mischief as innate and attractive, while girls’ clothing
reinforces traditional norms like dance and romance. The chapter
argues that such clothing perpetuates the outdated gender binary,
influencing children’s behaviour and attitudes through “enclothed
cognition” and calls for greater awareness of how these products shape
gender socialisation.
Chapter 8: ‘Discovering What It Means to Be Unladylike in Children’s
Fiction’ by Anna Cermakova and Michaela Mahlberg
This paper explores the intersection of fiction and reality in
children's literature, emphasising how fictional texts shape societal
understanding, particularly in terms of gender. By focusing on
language and the use of evaluative adjectives, the chapter
demonstrates how fiction serves as a space for children to learn the
meanings of words used to categorise, label, and assess the world
around them. Through a case study of Robin Stevens’s detective
fiction, the chapter highlights the complexities of gender
representation in traditionally male-dominated genres like crime
fiction, offering opportunities for young readers to engage with
non-conforming female characters. Additionally, the authors employ
basic corpus linguistic methods to analyse language patterns,
underscoring how frequently used words reflect social values and raise
awareness of gendered labels. This approach not only encourages
critical reading but also empowers children to engage with language
and society more consciously.
Chapter 9: ‘Gendered Reporting Verbs in the Italian Translation of
Harry Potter’ by Lorenzo Mastropierro
This chapter analyses the gendered voices of the protagonists in the
Italian translation of the Harry Potter series, employing a corpus
stylistic approach to examine the reporting verbs used for Harry, Ron,
and Hermione. The study reveals that the Italian translation not only
maintains but also amplifies the gendered characteristics of the
characters' voices found in the original English texts. By altering or
adding gendered traits, such as using more assertive verbs for male
characters and more emotional or squeamish terms for female
characters, the translators reinforce stereotypical gender roles. The
analysis further shows how the translation process can standardise
nuances, contributing to a homogenised portrayal of gender
differences. The chapter underscores the significant impact of
translation in shaping the sociocultural interpretation of gender
ideologies in popular literature, highlighting the manipulative
potential of translation in reinforcing or altering gender perceptions
across cultures.
Chapter 10: ‘Hegemonic and Counter-Discourses of Happiness’ by
Wolfgang Teubert
Looking for the meaning of happiness is the center point of this
chapter. It examines the evolving discourse on happiness, emphasising
its connection to childhood, adulthood, and societal structures. It
reflects on a nostalgic longing for the simple joys of childhood, such
as reading and spending time with family, and critiques the modern
societal pressure to pursue happiness, particularly through the lens
of the "happiness industry" driven by economists like Richard Layard.
The chapter contrasts hierarchical systems, such as capitalism and
socialism, with the egalitarian ideals of anarchism, suggesting that
societies with less hierarchy foster greater well-being. It also
explores how modern economic insecurity and inequality render
happiness unattainable for the "precariat" class. By questioning the
role of children's literature in shaping a more just and balanced
world, the chapter calls for new narratives that inspire a vision of
happiness as a right, not a privilege, promoting equality and a life
of leisure free from excessive labour.
Chapter 11: ‘Reading Children’s Books Aloud’ by Caroline Radcliffe
The personal and collective journey of exploring gender in children's
literature is reflected in this chapter. Through recounting their
childhood reading memories, they realised that many of the books they
cherished challenged or subverted traditional gender roles, allowing
them to engage critically with these narratives even as children. The
authors were surprised to find that, despite generational differences,
they had shared many of the same beloved books, suggesting a timeless
appeal of these childhood classics. Their reflection starts from
children’s books included in the ChiLit corpus and is supported by
tools like the CLiC application from the GLARE project. The discussion
not only reinforced their perceptions of gender but also upended
expectations, revealing the power of literature to shape and subvert
ideologies across generations. The process of revisiting these stories
allowed them to reconnect with the joy of childhood reading while
fostering a deeper understanding of gender dynamics in the literature
they grew up with.
EVALUATION
This book offers a unique interdisciplinary perspective that sets it
apart from other books in the field. By integrating corpus linguistics
and cognitive comprehension, the authors provide a multifaceted
analysis of children's literature, focusing on how it shapes and
reflects societal norms, particularly regarding gender. The ChiLit
corpus plays a central role in the book’s analysis, providing valuable
linguistic tools to examine the subtleties of gendered language in
children’s texts. This method proves essential in enhancing critical
reading, as it allows readers to objectively analyse how gender is
inscribed in literature across different periods and cultures. From
personal reflections to critical analysis, the use of the ChiLit
corpus proves invaluable in understanding the deep connections between
language, identity, and gender in children’s literature.
Compared to other works, such as Perry Nodelman’s "The Hidden Adult:
Defining Children's Literature" (2008) or Jack Zipes’ "Sticks and
Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children's Literature from Slovenly
Peter to Harry Potter," (2001) Cermakova and Mahlberg's book places a
stronger emphasis on the cognitive and developmental aspects of
reading. For instance, their analysis of children's ability to
understand irony (Chapter 2) is grounded in psychological research,
providing a nuanced view of how young readers process complex literary
devices. This contrasts with Nodelman's focus on the adult
perspectives embedded in children's literature and Zipes' historical
and socio-political critique of the genre. The book’s exploration of
gender representation, particularly in chapters like "Sensitive Girls,
Purposeful Boys and Embodied Emplacement" and "Exploring
Representation of Girls and Boys in the Text Printed on Slogan
T-Shirts," offers fresh insights into how gender norms are perpetuated
and challenged in children's literature. This focus on gender aligns
with the works of scholars like Kimberley Reynolds (2007), whose
"Radical Children's Literature: Future Visions and Aesthetic
Transformations" also examines the subversive potential of children's
texts.
Moreover, the insights from this book disperse valuable directions for
both practical implementation in education and future research.
Educators can apply the results of these studies by integrating
diverse and inclusive texts into their curricula, fostering critical
thinking about societal norms, and tailoring reading programs to
children's developmental stages. Future research could explore the
impact of diverse representation on children's attitudes, the
cognitive development of irony comprehension, and the use of corpus
linguistics to analyse trends in children's literature. These efforts
can enhance literary education, promote inclusivity, and provide a
deeper understanding of how children's literature shapes and reflects
societal values.
REFERENCES
Nodelman, P. (2008). The hidden adult: Defining children's literature.
Johns Hopkins University Press.
Zipes, J. (2001). Sticks and Stones: The troublesome success of
children's literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter. Routledge.
Reynolds, K. (2007). Radical children's literature: Future visions and
aesthetic transformations. Palgrave Macmillan.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Hyunisa Rahmanadia is a Ph.D. candidate at Eötvös Loránd University.
She focuses her study on the pragmatic area of the Indonesian
language.



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