Customer Reviews

Don't Tell the Grown-Ups: The Subversive Power of Children's Literature

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In this excellent overview, Lurie points out the subtle ways that many classic children's authors such as Barrie, Burnett, Milne, Nesbit, and Carroll embedded social criticism within their stories. Lurie has a smooth, intelligent style, and a refreshing dry wit that sets this book apart from much literary criticism. My only complaint is that I would have preferred a bit more focus on the subversive texts themselves, rather than on the life stories of their authors; but then, I'm not too fond of biographical criticism as a whole. All in all, highly recommended.

A collection of essays - in some ways uneven - covering a wide range of children's literature and so-called children's authors. The biographies are intriguing and combined with Ms Luries's wit and scholarship, the book makes for an excellent introduction to the theme.
The word "subversive" in the title may be a little misleading - "the great books that bridge the gap between infant reading and adult reading" might be a better title but not nearly as catchy!

After reading this book, one might think that to be a good children book writer, one needs to be somewhat disfunctional in adult society!
All the chapters in the book are very interesting, with biographical data about the authors themselves. This book also introduces many classic children book titles, some of which I read later and enjoyed.
Lurie's remarks are always very intelligent and realistic, and it is a pleasure to read her commentary. The purpose of the book is not to tell which books are subversive, nor which books you should buy for your children. Instead it says which titles have survived through the ages and continue to be popular among children, even if they are somewhat dated, and some of the author's explanations as for why.

Good book for introducing you, and your kids, to the kinds of authors that should be read by both you and your kids. While the book suggests attention to subversive literature (and in many ways it is), it delves in more depth in the lives of the authors, in terms of what shaped them to write their classics, than in the nature of the literature itself. Nevertheless, this remains an important, and terribly interesting, book that will shed light on some classic tales (as well as, perhaps, question some of our basic assumptions about these stories). Worth the read.