Maria Nikolajeva is een vooraanstaand internationaal academicus, wier primaire focus ligt op literatuurtheorie, met een bijzondere nadruk op kinderliteratuur en literair cognitivisme. Haar werk duikt diep in de complexe manieren waarop literatuur ons begrip en onze cognitie vormgeeft. Door uitgebreide academische bijdragen en wereldwijde betrokkenheid heeft zij de studie van kinderliteratuur en de bredere literaire betekenis ervan aanzienlijk bevorderd.
Focusing on characterization, the author explores the distinctions between story and discourse, analyzing their application in children's literature versus general fiction. By employing various critical perspectives, the book delves into how these narrative elements shape storytelling, offering insights into the unique techniques used in children's fiction.
Focusing on significant works from the eighteenth century to today, the author examines themes like genre, gender, and visual elements in children's literature. By analyzing these aspects, the book reveals how children's literature strives to balance its dual objectives of empowering and educating young readers.
Focusing on the art of characterization, the book explores the distinctions between story and discourse, emphasizing their unique applications in children's literature versus general fiction. Through diverse critical perspectives, it delves into how these elements shape narrative and character development, offering insights into the techniques that define storytelling in different genres.
Focusing on analytical approaches, this work equips students of children's literature with practical tools to explore aesthetic dimensions rather than educational ones. It presents contemporary literary theories, such as semiotics, hermeneutics, and feminist theory, tailored specifically for children's literature. Through concrete examples, the book demonstrates how these theories can be effectively applied, making complex concepts accessible for deeper literary analysis.
Originally published in 1996. A detailed analysis of the art of children's literature covering world literature for children, children's literature as a canonical art form, the history of children's literature from a semiotic perspective, and epic, polyphony, chronotope, intertextuality, and metafiction in children's literature.