Exploring the way food is used to seduce, pleasure and coerce not only the characters within children's literature, but also its readers, this book tackles a number of gripping questions concerning the quantity and quality of the food featured in children's fiction, such as: why are feasting fantasies so prevalent, especially in the British classics? What exactly is their appeal to historical and contemporary readers?
What do literary food events do to readers? Is food the sex of children's literature? The subject of children eating is compelling, but why is it that stories about children being eaten are not only horrifying but also incredibly alluring? Covering timely topics such as childhood obesity and anorexia, and looking at classics texts from "Little Red Riding Hood" to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", the author demonstrates how children's literature routinely attempts to regulate childhood eating practices and only award subjectivity and agency to those characters who demonstrate 'normal' appetites. An outstanding and unique enquiry into the function of food in children's literature, this book is a significant contribution to the fields of both children's literature and the growing interdisciplinary domain of food, culture and society.
Carolyn Daniel teaches children's literature at Monah University. This is her first book.
