Associate Professor Elizabeth Hale is currently researching nineteenth-century children’s literature, and has always loved children’s stories. During Book Week, we asked her what she loves in a children’s story, and how stories have changed over time.   

What’s your favourite children’s story and why?

I have many favourite children’s stories. One that I love for many reasons is a picture book called Toestomper and the Caterpillars, by Sharleen Collicott. Toestomper is mean and rude, and cheats at poker against his friends, the ‘lowlife rascals,’ but he changes his ways when he becomes the unwilling carer of group of abandoned baby caterpillars. The whole story is deeply silly, and I love its wit in words and pictures.

What children’s stories did you enjoy as a child?

I read a huge amount as a child. I really liked stories that had a bit of adventure in them. Some of my favourites were by the British author Joan Aiken. They were set in an imaginary period in the nineteenth century, and involved smart children saving the country from various scoundrels. One was set in Welsh mining country; another was in a Northern woollen mill; another was a seafaring novel set near Nantucket; another took place in a silver colony in South America. I liked the heroine, Dido Twite, who was scrappy and clever, and I found the settings fascinating. I suspect I became a Victorianist partly because these books introduced me to what life might have been like in those times. 

What children’s stories have you spent time exploring in your research, and what has stood out to you about them?

I am currently working on nineteenth-century children’s literature for a large project of resources in the field. I’m working on stories about home – stories set at home, stories that show nineteenth-century ideas about what is good, and bad, about home. The project requires me to be selective, and I’ve really enjoyed discovering the range of interesting stories and writers from the period.  For instance, the Boston-based writer Lydia Child, who established a popular children’s magazine The Juvenile Miscellany, which ran for decades. She was an anti-slavery advocate, and her magazine was notable for its cultural breadth. I’ve also been fascinated by the inventiveness of early children’s publishers: for instance, the books of Dean Munday, which are early pop-up and moveable books. 

What do you love about researching children’s literature? 

For me it’s the sheer range. I’ve been able to pursue all kinds of interests through the field. It’s fascinating seeing how writers for children communicate their ideas. There’s a misconception that children’s books are somehow less sophisticated than books for grownups: I think the best ones are incredibly thoughtful and deep, and while they may be expressed more simply, that simplicity goes along with a richness and resonance. On the other hand, there are also many children’s books that are simply very good fun. 

How have stories changed over time? 

That’s a hard one to answer in a nutshell! In publishing terms, the story of children’s literature is one of continual expansion and growth, but at the core is the balance between education and entertainment.  Children’s stories have multiple purposes: helping children learn to read, entertaining them, providing a window onto the world, and encouraging reflection about how to live well. The emphasis is different depending on the author, target readership, publisher’s ideas, or the topic. What the world looks like changes, as do ideas about happiness, good behaviour, or success. So, yes, stories have changed, but there are universal elements to them. 

Has the way we read or consume children’s stories changed?

For me the most exciting development in children’s stories is the current explosion of graphic novels for young readers. They range from being quite traditional coming-of-age stories, such as Raina Telgemeier’s stories about middle-school life, to deep and dramatic explorations of teen life such as Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki’s Skim, or Reimena Yee’s amazing fantasy stories The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiya or My Aunt is a Monster. 

Are there elements of a ‘classic’ children’s story that you’d like to see more of in modern stories?

I guess it’s more a matter of what makes for a good or successful children’s book. Probably the key one for me is that stories are told with conviction, and reach the kids who enjoy reading. That’s the key – that stories reach kids who are serious, or like melodrama or humour, or want to read stories that allow escapism into other worlds, or want to read stories that reflect their own experiences, or like stories that are a bit anarchic or naughty. It’s such a huge field that it’s hard to pin down! Which is good.