The Courage to Imagine: The Child Hero in Children's Literature

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The act of imagining lies at the very heart of childrens engagements with literature and with the plots and characters they encounter in their favorite stories. The Courage to Imagine is a landmark new study of that fundamental act of imagining. Roni Natov focuses on the ways in which childrens imaginative engagement with the child hero figure can open them up to other peoples experiences, developing empathy across lines of race, gender and sexuality, as well as helping them to confront and handle traumatic experience safely. Drawing on a wide range of theoretical approaches from the psychological to the cultural and reading a multicultural spectrum of authors, including works by Maya Angelou, Louise Erdrich, Neil Gaiman and Brian Selznick, this is a groundbreaking examination of the nature of imagining for children and re-imagining for the adult writer and illustrator.

Reviews

Natov pulls from a variety of childrens and young adult books, including Dahls Matilda, Myers Monster, and Selznicks The Inventions of Hugo Cabret, to explore how diversity and difference, trauma, empathy, politics, and identity in literature can encourage young readers to engage with experiences both similar to and different from their own. * The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books *
[A]ttractive and enjoyable both for professional and non-professional readers. * International Research in Children's Literature *
Roni Natovs The Courage to Imagine: The Child Hero in Childrens Literature is a splendid study of the vital role imagination plays in contemporary international childrens literature. Given the vast socio-political changes in childhood that often create anxiety and ambiguity, Natov argues that children need a serious literature that will encourage them to become self-reliant and hopeful. It is from the imaginative stories of such authors as David Almond, Julius Lester, Louise Erdrich, Walter Dean Myers, Kate DiCamillo and such illustrators as Shaun Tan, Brian Selznick, and Peter Sis that Natov points to alternative ways about heroic action that can serve as models for young readers. Her book is an engaging defense of the potential of the imagination to transform the lives of children. * Jack Zipes, Professor, University of Minnesota, USA *
An illuminating look at how childrens literature emboldens children to imagine, and thereby to embrace complexity, diversity, and challenge. A timely account of how and why childrens books matter, recommended for specialists and nonspecialists alike. * Kenneth Kidd, Professor of English, University of Florida, USA *
The Courage to Imagine takes an original focus on childrens creativity as it is reflected in books for the young. It offers a unique blend of literary analysis with personal stories and touches of creative writing. The entire book breathes a love of children, art and literature and shows convincingly how creativity can give agency and hope to child characters and young readers. * Vanessa Joosen, Associate Professor of English Literature, University of Antwerp, Belgium *

Author Bio

Roni Natov is Professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, USA. A multi-award winning teacher and scholar, she is the founding editor of The Lion and the Unicorn: A Critical Journal of Children's Literature and her previous publications include The Poetics of Childhood (2005).