20th Century Children’s Literature: Exploring the Past, Understanding the Present

I am pleased to announce the publication of a new website, 20th Century Children’s Literature: Exploring the Past, Understanding the Present.  This digital exhibition traverses the complex terrain of 20th century children’s literature, a fascinating rubric through which one can understand the tenor of our past.  Ranging from optimistic and inclusive to racist and historically problematic, the works selected for this exhibition mirror the radical changes occurring in the United States during the post-World War II period.  Stories tended to emphasize both patriotic values and American history, the ideals for which the “Greatest Generation” fought. Democracy, American entrepreneurship, and technical innovation are portrayed as core to the United States’ ascendancy as a world power.  The dark side of these narratives, of course, can be seen in the white-washing of American history that sugarcoats the harsh realities of the slavery of African-Americans, and represents the genocide of the Native American population as part of the inevitable “forward march of progress.”

This project is the culmination of a two-year grant from the National Historical Publications & Records Commission to reprocess, conserve, and promote three illustrator/author collections from Special Collections & University Archives.  The Edwin Tunis Collection, the Kurt Wiese Collection, and the Kurt Werth Collection are all available for use in the Special Collections & University Archives reading room.  Wiese and Werth illustrated for a wide range of significant authors, including Ann Nolan Clark, Lucy Sprague Mitchell, and Walter R Brooks, whose works can also be explored in the digital exhibition.

If you were interested in the October 28 panel discussion on race and identity in children’s literature but were unable to attend, you may find a recording of the talk here.