Man, all kinds of children’s lit greatness this weekend on NPR — Lois Lowery on the Willoughby’s, a new award named for Roald Dahl honoring the “funny” in kidlit, and a fun piece on superheroes. The SF Chronicle also adds to the fun with a review of a great piece of nonfiction — dealing with fiction: A Reader’s History From Aesop to Harry Potter, by Seth Lerer. This book looks like a must-have for those who are interested in the history of children’s literature, as it also deals with the adult perception of the child, and how that’s changed through the years, from the days when Pilgrim’s Progress was thought to be especially entertaining for children, to the nasty hidden messages in fairy tales (for girls, anyway) and beyond. Some great stuff.
