Publishing for children between 1930 and 1960 has been denigrated as a relatively fallow period for creativity and quality, certainly in comparison with the 'golden ages' of children's literature that preceded and succeeded it. This book questions this perception by using archival evidence to argue that the work of what was predominantly a female group of editors, illustrators, authors and librarians (collectively referred to as bookwomen) resulted in many titles which are still considered as 'classics' today. The bookwomen reframed ideas about how children's publishing should be approached…mehr
Publishing for children between 1930 and 1960 has been denigrated as a relatively fallow period for creativity and quality, certainly in comparison with the 'golden ages' of children's literature that preceded and succeeded it. This book questions this perception by using archival evidence to argue that the work of what was predominantly a female group of editors, illustrators, authors and librarians (collectively referred to as bookwomen) resulted in many titles which are still considered as 'classics' today. The bookwomen reframed ideas about how children's publishing should be approached and valued and, in doing so, laid the foundations for a subsequent generation of children's authors and publishers who were to achieve far greater prominence. The key to the success of the bookwomen was their willingness to experiment, the strength of their relationships and their comprehensive understanding of the book production process. By focusing on a selection of women working acrossall aspects of the book production process, this book demonstrates that, both individually and collectively, women capitalised on their position as 'other' to the existing male institutions.
Elizabeth West received her PhD from the University of Reading, awarded in June 2021 in children's book history. She received the David Almond Fellowship, Seven Stories/University of Newcastle, 2018 and the Brotherton Fellowship, University of Leeds, 2022. She is currently ECR Fellow at Reading's Centre for Book Cultures and Publishing. Dr West has presented papers at the IRSCL Congress, 2019; Women in Publishing Symposium, 2019; 25th NCRCL MA/IBBY UK Conference, 2018; and Children's History Society Conference, 2018. Publications include an article in Roundtable, 2(1), 5, and a chapter in the forthcoming The Edinburgh Companion to Women in Publishing, 1900-2000.
Inhaltsangabe
Introduction
Children's Literature: the 'Brass Age'
The influence of progressive education
Good books for children
Publishing as a career for women
Chapter 1 'Brain, hand and heart' - the joint endeavours of UK and US bookwomen in the development of children's publishing
American and British bookwomen
The children's publishing scene in America
American influences in Britain
Bookwomen as mediators between the US and UK
Ideological and political differences
Bookwomen crossing boundaries
The beginning and end of an era
Chapter 2 From Bumpus to Puffin
Biographical background
Eleanor Graham and the 'good children's book'
Improving the quality of books for children
The Children who Lived in a Barn
Eleanor Graham's reputation and legacy
Chapter 3 Panning for Gold: How libraries stimulated the demand for the best books for children
Eileen Colwell and the development of children's librarianship
The Junior Bookshelf: Communicating the need for quality
How to select a good book for children
Two Case Studies
The Picts and the Martyrs
Dream Gold
'Sweeping away the cobwebs'
Chapter 4 Creating a classic children's book: The contribution of British bookwomen
Ursula Moray Williams' life and career
Moray Williams and the publishing industry
Classics, value and canonicity
Chapter 5 'Building the Book Beautiful': Children's books as material objects
The design and production of children's books
Puffin Story Books
Illustrations
The pivotal role of the bookwomen
Questions of ownership: the case of Henrietta the Faithful Hen
Chapter 6 Pioneering picture books: Kathleen Hale and photolithography
Mid-twentieth century children's book design
Advances in British photolithographed picture books: where craft intersected with modernism
Kathleen Hale: artist, illustrator and bookwoman
Autolithography and the opportunities it offered
Chapter 7 Amabel Williams-Ellis and links between radical ideology, progressive education and children's publishing
Amabel Williams-Ellis
In and Out of Doors
A radical text?
Conclusion: '1960 has rather an exciting sound to me'
