Brave New Worlds. Old and New Classics of Children's Literatures (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Brave New Worlds. Old and New Classics of Children's Literatures J. Igor Prieto-Arranz Brave New Worlds. Old and New Classics of Children's Literatures Ed. Elena Paruolo. Brussels: Peter Lang. 2011. 231 pages. Brave New Worlds is a careful selection of papers on European children's literature whose leitmotif is the very issue of canonicity (with)in the field. While pointing to the canon as a discursive formation, Paruolo claims in her introductory chapter that there are also clear advantages surrounding canonicity, including authors' visibility and perceived legitimacy for researchers (9-28). In the light of this perception, the volume focuses on four different countries: Britain and three important literary polysystems, namely Germany, France and Italy, which are currently in various stages of the way towards a children's literary canon. The volume is divided into three main parts. Of these, Part 1, by far the strongest section in the book, looks at the texts themselves. First, Sandra L. Beckett discusses "crossover" classics, a rare status which the author somehow connects to works having been written in, or else translated into, English (31-44). An encyclopaedic list of both past and present-day classics rounds out this chapter. The next contribution is Peter Hunt's close reading of three [End Page 83] well-known British canonical works: Carroll's Alice books and Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Effectively deconstructing the notion of the canon, Hunt suggests that Alice remains a true children's work that also appeals to adults, whereas Kenneth Grahame's pastoral idyll is a novel that the adult world has systematically thought suitable for children (45-53). Jean Perrot then considers the French canon. Although going back to the 17th century, the works he identifies as French classics are more recent, including Saint-Exupéry's Le petit prince [The Little Prince] and Pergaud's La guerre des boutons [War of the buttons]. The value of this chapter lies in the rich intertextual connections delineated between these and other works within and outside the French literary polysystem (54-66). Anja Müller's equally enticing chapter takes us to Germany. Following very much the same principles successfully used in previous chapters, Müller provides an extensive revision of German children's literature since the 18th century, often considering the role played by extra-literary criteria in the creation of German children's classics. As a post-scriptum of sorts, Müller argues that the realistic mode that has characterised much of Germany's children's fiction has not been entirely superseded by the recently successful fantasy works the country has produced (67-88). From Germany the reader travels back to Britain and is invited to consider children's poetry. Morag Styles' account rejoices in the official recognition this subgenre receives in Britain whilst bitterly resenting the very little presence it has in British school curricula (89-103). Part 1 comes to a close pointing to the future with Stefania Ciocia's "Vernon God Little: A Future Crossover Classic" (105-120). Even if it has already found its place in British school curricula, the author convincingly argues, this novel may never become an established part of the children's literary canon, mostly because it lacks two essential ingredients: it does not build empathy with the main character or a sense of catharsis. Part 2 is devoted to the fascinating issue of the translation or adaptation of children's classics. A strong point of this part is that the pieces of children's literature the different chapters explore from this different perspective are works already analysed in Part 1: Alice, La guerre des boutons, and a staple of the German folk tradition compiled by the Brothers Grimm, namely "Hansel and Gretel." However, it must also be said that Serpieri's considerations on the translation of Alice, rich as they are in practical detail (and therefore of immense value for translation practitioners) lack the scholarly tone that has hitherto dominated the volume (123-139). This is equally applicable to D'Ajello's chapter on the translation of Alice into Neapolitan Italian, which becomes more of a political vindication (considering the status of...