Behold the Child: American Children and Their Books, 1621-1922

Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1994. First Edition. Large Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. 8x1x10. First edition. Tears to jacket spine base, jacket edges lightly bumped. 1994 Large Hardcover. xiii, 226 pp. In Behold the Child, Gillian Avery offers an engaging account of children's literature in America from colonial times to the early twentieth century. Exploring a variety of social, cultural, and practical forces, Avery shows how the literature of the old world influenced that of the new and describes the emergence of uniquely American styles and themes in children's books. Her topics include the early days of colonial publishing, the defenders and detractors of Mother Goose, the influence of Sunday schools and tract societies, the "chaste eroticism" of romantic fiction for young readers, and changing notions of American heroes and heroines.