Wild things : the joy of reading children's literature as an adult Cover Image

Book

Wild things : the joy of reading children's literature as an adult / Bruce Handy.

Summary:

"In Wild Things, Vanity Fair contributing editor Bruce Handy revisits the classics of every American childhood, from fairy tales to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and explores the back stories of their creators, using context and biography to understand how some of the most insightful, creative, and witty authors and illustrators of their times created their often deeply personal masterpieces. Along the way, Handy learns what The Cat in the Hat says about anarchy and absentee parenting, which themes are shared by The Runaway Bunny and Portnoy's Complaint, and why Ramona Quimby is as true an American icon as Tom Sawyer or Jay Gatsby."-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781451609950
ISBN: 1451609957
ISBN: 9781451609967
ISBN: 1451609965
Physical Description: xxiii, 307 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2017.
Copyright: ©2017

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

New eyes, new ears: Margaret Wise Brown and Goodnight Moon -- Runaways: family drama in picture books, and well beyond -- Once upon a time and in and out of weeks: fairy tales and Maurice Sendak -- Why a duck? The uses of talking animals from Aesop t Beatrix Potter to Olivia the Pig -- You have to know how: Dr. Seuss vs. Dick and Jane -- Kids being kids: Ramona Quimby, American pest -- God and man in Narnia -- One nation: Washington's cherry tree, Rosa Parks's bus, and Oz -- Going on seventeen (or not): Little Women, Little Houses, and Peter Pans -- The end: Dead pets, dead grandparents, and the glory of everything.