A Long Time Ago

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A Long Time Ago
Article · December 2016

DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0021
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Prikazi
Reviews
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 239
Endless Change
Sylvie Geerts & Sara Van den Bossche, eds. 2014. Never-Ending Stories:
Adaptation, Canonisation, and Ideology in Children’s Literature. Ghent:
Academia Press. 254 pp. ISBN 978-90-382-2254-7
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0010
Adaptations and rewritings of children’s literature are often determined by the

prevalent ideology and attitudes in a particular society. Numerous scholars have supported
this assertion, such as Zohar Shavit in Poetics of Children’s Literature (1986), Göte
Klingberg in Children’s Fiction in the Hands of the Translators (1986) and Nike Kocijančić
Pokorn in Post-Socialist Translation Practices (2012). Stories are adapted to fit the needs
of readers in different contexts, and translators have the power to decide what should be
adapted and for what purpose. Taking a broad view of adaptation in the specific field of
children’s literature, the volume under review tackles a variety of adaptation processes,
such as transmediality, the orientation of adaptations towards the ideology associated with
the pre-text, reverse adaptation, etc. The volume covers a variety of topics, ranging from
fairy tale and story adaptations, through retellings of South African stories and ancient
myths, to adaptations of comics.
The volume contains a collection of essays presented at the 2011 “Adaptation of
Canonical Texts in Children’s Literature” Conference, held at Ghent University and aimed
at bridging the gap between adaptation and canonisation studies. The preface is followed
by an introductory chapter (both texts are written by the editors), which explains that many
stories live on by means of adaptation. However, since stories are frequently adapted so
as to correspond with the new context, they are constantly being reshaped in order to live
on and suit new readers. Hence the title, inspired by Michael Ende’s book Neverending
Story, shows how adaptation allows canonical texts to develop into never-ending stories.
Three fundamental concepts of adaptation – socio-political, socio-cultural and transmedial
adaptation – are elaborated in three parts of the volume through a number of case studies.
Part 1, dealing with the socio-political aspects of adaptation, contains three texts
which illustrate the engagement of children’s literature with social, political and ethical
issues. The three case studies show how canonical texts (Tarzan, Shahnameh and the myth
of Prometheus) can be employed to convey outspoken ideological messages. The first text
(by Sanna Lehtonen) provides an analysis of a Finnish adaptation of the American classic
Tarzan of the Apes, which places the main character, now called Tarsa, in the period during
and after the war between Finland and Russia, attempting to create a national identity for
Finland by constructing a heroic Finnish identity.
The next text (“Adapting the Rebel” by Tahereh Rezaei and Mohsen Hanif) – about
reading Shahnameh in Tehran – discusses how an original text can be adapted in different
ways during a 20-year period to suit three different regimes, with each of the adaptations
emphasising different aspects of the work. In the third text, Sylvia Warnecke tackles writing
for children in the context of the German Democratic Republic, using the example of an
adaptation of the myth of Prometheus, which diverges from its traditional interpretative
240 Prikazi • Reviews
patterns. The author describes a publishing programme which was designed to produce
retellings which would conform to socialist ideology.
Part 2 contains four texts dealing with the socio-cultural aspects of adaptation. First,
Vanessa Joosen analyses early Dutch and English translations of the Grimm brothers’
Kinder- und Hausmärchen, concluding that adaptation, although frequently suffering from
low status, can enhance the processes of canonisation and thus contribute to the conservation
of cultural memory. Lien Fret looks into the different guises the fairy godmother adopts
in five Dutch translations of “Cinderella” and explores how translators’ interpretations of
Perrault’s character reflect prominent tendencies in the development of children’s literature
in Flanders. Jan Van Coillie discusses the Disney film adaptation of H.C. Andersen’s “The
Little Mermaid”, analysing the changes that were made in the process of Disneyfication.
Finally, Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer looks into the de-canonisation processes in
her analysis of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, showing the
interconnections between children’s and adult literature.
Part 3 of the volume deals with transmedial aspects of adaptation using the examples
of four texts. First, Franci Greyling looks at the creation and reception of texts at grassroots
level through the genre of the folktale in Namibia and South Africa. Oral stories have been
written down in order to become canonised. In this process, the nature of the oral story
is inevitably altered, but it secures its position in the canon and helps establish cultural
memory. With the rise of new media and technology, a surge in free and innovative modes
of adaptation can be observed. Combining different plots from various traditions, and
intermingling traditional and popular genres, such adaptations envisage new, more active
roles for children as readers of canonical narratives. John Stephens and Sylvie Geerts show
how the expanded concept of literature influences practices of adaptation in contemporary
children’s literature written in Dutch and English. In “Adapting Dramatic Irony in Comics”,
Joe Sutliff Sanders discusses how the literary technique of dramatic irony requires the reader
to take on a more active role by making connections between an adaptation and its pre-text.
In a similar way, in “Enchanted Conversations” John Patrick Pazdziora deals with reverse
adaptation, exploring how in online journals the contemporary reader of fairy tales can
become an author of adaptations. The author analyses three online journals using different
approaches to adaptation and retelling of children’s fairy tales.
Each text is followed by a bibliography. The volume does not provide a common list
of references at the end of the book, nor is there an index of terms.
By introducing a wide-ranging set of case studies, the authors consider the challenges
inherent in transforming the stories and characters from one type of text to another. This
volume places welcome emphasis on international research of adaptations for children.
Transitions from the adult to the children’s canon (or vice versa), from one language
to another, from page to feature film or animation, from oral to written forms, as well
as reverse adaptations of fairy tales, are all examined to show that these new forms are
inevitable and that it is necessary to make them acceptable and understandable to new
audiences, but also for political and ideological reasons. The editors have succeeded in
drawing together an informative series of insights into the transcultural reach of adaptation
strategies in children’s literature.
Marija Andraka
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 241
Expanding Children’s Horizons

Karen Sands-O’Connor & Marietta A. Frank, eds. 2014. Internationalism in
Children’s Series. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. 215 pp. ISBN 978-1-137-
36030
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0011
Edited by Karen Sands-O’Connor and Marietta A. Frank, Internationalism in

Children’s Series is part of the Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature series which
aims to provide quality works of criticism written in a manner that is easily understandable
to a range of readers, both academic and professional. The series brings contemporary
perspectives to historical texts, while also addressing developing areas of children’s
literature research.
Internationalism in Children’s Series examines the portrayal of cultural exchange and
global interaction in series aimed at children. Different authors examine specific examples
and their influence on internationalism, and vice versa. The book is divided into three
parts (each further divided into several chapters) which cover children’s book series and
magazines more or less chronologically, beginning from the 19th century. At that time,
publishing children’s books became an important and distinct trade with a market of its
own, books themselves became more accessible, and colonialism and imperialism were at
their highpoint. The book under review explores the connections among these phenomena
and their development.
Karen Sands-O’Connor’s introductory chapter, entitled “Introduction: Stepping Out
into the World: Series and Internationalism”, explains the meaning of internationalism as
the main concept and presents readers with the topics they will encounter throughout the
book. Sands-O’Connor explains that the analysed book series show readers different ways
of understanding themselves, their own and other nations, as well as global society, while
promoting the idea that “in order to make sense of your place in the world, you have to have
‘others’ – whether real friends or fictional – to measure yourself against” (9).
The first part of the book, “Nineteenth-Century Series Go Abroad”, encompasses
two chapters, and examines the origins of international book series in the 19th century,
taking into account American expansionism and European imperialism. The second chapter
of the book is “Young Americans Abroad: Jacob Abbott’s Rollo on the Grand Tour and
Nineteenth-Century Travel Series Books” by Chris Nesmith. Abbott’s Rollo series follows
its main character, a white upper-middle-class boy, as he grows up. The culmination of his
childhood is his travel abroad, where he gets to know other cultures and learns how to travel
properly. The book was seen as a guide for young Americans in the culture of travelling,
while maintaining the idea of their own culture and traditions.
Janis Dawson wrote the third chapter, entitled “Our Girls in the Family of Nations:
Girls’ Culture and Empire in Victorian Girls’ Magazines”, in which she leads the reader
through the ways in which 19th-century magazines promoted internationalism and “girls’
culture”. She draws attention to the magazines’ attempt to further the idea of international
sisterhood via correspondence pages and various articles, while simultaneously promoting
the idea of “plucky British girls” doing their duty for the Empire and promoting its well-
being. They tap into the girls’ desire to travel and experience new things while also
promoting patriotism during wartime by writing articles about brave British girls.
Part two, entitled “Syndicates, Empires, and Politics”, covers chapters four to eight,
which focus on how 20th-century authors used the 19th-century model of international
travel book series to promote political ideas. Five authors analyse different book series in
which this is evident. In chapter four, “The Stratemeyer Chums Have Fun in the Caribbean:
America and Empire in Children’s Series”, Karen Sands-O’Connor studies the series
produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, “one of the most prolific publishing enterprises of
the twentieth century” (59). The author calls attention to the fact that child characters in the
book series were involved in the shaping of America and its history, and even though they
leave on adventures, they are always happy to return home.
Chapter five is “‘A Really Big Theme’: Americanization and World Peace –
Internationalism and Nationalism in Lucy Fitch Perkins’ Twins Series” written by Jani L.
Barker. The Twins books by Fitch Perkins are centred on a “happy group of international
chums” (91). Barker touches upon the subject of supporting internationalism in favour
of Americanisation in the books, but ultimately commends the series’ attempts in the
specific cultural context of its time. “‘A Bit of Life Actually Lived in a Foreign Land’:
Internationalism as World Friendship in Children’s Series” is the title of chapter six, written
by Marietta A. Frank, in which she explores children’s book series about international
friendship written before and after Perkins’ Twins series. These book series usually have
one or two child characters and the story revolves around their daily lives and the customs
of their country, thus helping readers find out what it is like to live in another country. More
often than not, the goal of maintaining international friendship was not met, thus reinforcing
stereotypes.
Michael G. Cornelius is the author of the seventh chapter entitled “Lost Cities:
Generic Conventions, Hidden Places, and Primitivism in Juvenile Series Mysteries”.
Cornelius discusses the book series in which white characters discover “exotic” places and
the ways in which these new, different spaces can change the ways people behave and view
social conventions. Chapter eight, “‘But Why Are You So Foreign?’: Blyton and Blighty”
was written by David Rudd. The author mentions that the books he analysed show a more
complex notion of the foreigner than just foreign space (in comparison to those tackled in
the previous chapter), but also mentions the negativity and racism that taint Blyton’s books.
Even though her characters leave the British Empire, they never actually leave their culture
and therefore fail to experience other cultures.
Part three encompasses chapters nine to twelve and examines the changes in
internationalism in book series in the early 21st century. In chapter nine, “‘Universal
Republic of Children?’: Other Cultures in Doğan Kardeş Children’s Periodical”, Denis
Arzuk analyses a Turkish children’s periodical, aimed at Turkish middle and upper classes.
The views on “otherness”, or foreign people and cultures, changed with the political
situation. Despite post-war hostilities, the periodical tried to emphasise the similarities
in children, which appealed to readers. Chapter ten is written by Hilary Brewster and is
entitled “Wizard in Translation: Linguistic and Cultural Concerns in Harry Potter”. This
chapter views the Harry Potter series with the help of translation studies, emphasising that
many things get lost in translation because of cultural differences between source and target
contexts. Despite these challenges, the series had a great international impact and therefore
presents a great example of internationalism in itself.
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 243
In the final two chapters of the book, the reader gains insight into Irish transnationalism
from two different perspectives. Through an interdisciplinary approach, Charlotte Beyer
writes about individual child migrant characters from Ireland in chapter eleven, “‘Hungry
Ghosts’: Kirsty Murray’s Irish-Australian Children of the Wind Series”. Patricia Kennon
writes about the early 21st-century migration boom into Ireland in chapter twelve, “Building
Bridges to Intercultural Understanding: The Other in Contemporary Irish Children’s
Literature”. One can see how migrants are received from the perspective of migrants
themselves and of those “receiving” and perceiving the migrants.
Internationalism in Children’s Series provides a good overview of how the view on
“otherness” and differences between people has changed through time, and that it is still in
the process of change. The book provides its reader with an understanding of the concept
of internationalism with the help of several authors and their analyses of book series for
children. It also shows that authors of the mentioned book series, from the 19th century
onwards, have often attempted to encourage kinship between the intended reader and the
“others”, different cultures and peoples, which often had the opposite effect of creating
a gap because it intensified the “otherness”. In the introductory chapter, Karen Sands-
O’Connor points out that the authors and publishers of the analysed series agree that one
of the keys to get children interested in the world is letting them know there are others like
them. One must not forget, though, that it might also be important to sensitise children to
accept differences, not only similarities.
The vocabulary of Internationalism in Children’s Series is not strictly technical
and although there are instances in which one encounters theoretical concepts, the book
could quite easily be understandable and interesting to students and the general public.
The topic itself is quite appealing and is presented through the eyes of many different
authors, providing the reader with plenty of food for thought, perhaps also with a spark of
encouragement to explore the topic further.
Mateja Latin Totić
Growing Up
Roberta Seelinger Trites. 2014. Literary Conceptualizations of Growth:
Metaphors and Cognition in Adolescent Literature. Amsterdam/Philadelphia:
John Benjamins Publishing Company. 164 pp. ISBN 978-90-272-0156-0
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0012
The concept of growth has always been an important part of children’s and young
adult literature. It is mentioned in many ways – some of them are subtle but some are direct.
Growth is emphasised, especially in literary works aimed at adolescents. The author claims
that by reading novels and watching films that are particularly goal-oriented, the young
could just skip enjoying their youth and start focusing on growing up and becoming more
mature, thus losing an important part of their lives. Surrounded also by different metaphors
of growth, they may later continue to promote adulthood as a goal, which creates a never
ending loop. The main question that therefore arises is why this is so. Is growth an idea that
must prevail in adolescent literature?
Roberta Seelinger Trites is an Illinois State University professor who has stated her
opinion on the idea of growth in adolescent literature more than once. One of her well
known books regarding this topic is Disturbing the Universe: Power and Repression in
Adolescent Literature (1998). In her latest book, Literary Conceptualizations of Growth,
she critically surveys the concept of growth through the lens of many different theories. The
book consists of six chapters in which the author explains her viewpoints using abundant
examples. Each chapter also contains a useful short introduction and conclusion.
The author begins the first chapter by distinguishing between the terms “children’s
literature”, “adolescent literature” and “Bildungsroman”. She mentions many critics and
their views and theories connected with these terms. The first part of the first chapter
usefully serves to introduce readers to the main ideas and terms of the book, presenting at
the same time the findings of other literary critics. In this part, the author clearly states her
main interests concerning the topic – novels influenced by the Bildungsroman, with insights
into the protagonist’s inner growth. The author uses cognitive science, and, more precisely,
cognitive linguistics. Trites uses many examples to present an overview of the human
mind, cognition and embodied metaphors. She explains the connection between the terms
“growing up” and “maturation”. The last part of the first chapter considers some literary
examples, such as Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The author explains every
influential part of the novel and connects it to her own views on the concepts of growth. For
example, she takes the example of Huckleberry’s actions (such as helping Jim to escape) to
explain his growth from a mischievous boy into a young man ready to help others.
The second chapter, “Sequences, Scripts, and Stereotypical Knowledge” is mainly
about the connection between narrative structure and embodiment, which supports the fact
that “the interplay between cognition and narratives about maturation is significant” (35).
For cognitive narratology, human thought is shaped by both internal and external forces,
cognitive and discursive. Consequently, the author explores three main aspects of cognition
relevant to growth and maturation in adolescent literature: stereotypical knowledge,
sequences and scripts. First of all, there are two ways the human brain deposits repeated
physical actions called static and dynamic repertoires. Sequences can be explained as
events that happen in a standard order. Scripts are defined as dynamic repertoires of a set/
sets of sequences. Stereotypical knowledge can be explained as a routine or a pattern of
processes conducted during an action. The author gives many examples to clarify these
statements: “We don’t remember every event that happens every time we go to the grocery
store, for example, but we do remember the pattern of the grocery store: arriving outside
the store, entering the store, getting a shopping cart, etc.” (37). However, there are some
authors who deny the importance of stereotypical knowledge. For example, Vladimir Propp
believes that the memory of stereotypical knowledge is not essential for readers to perceive/
understand its functions. Still, there are authors who present growth in a different way. For
instance, in Jay Asher’s 2007 novel Thirteen Reasons Why, Hannah (one of the narrators)
dies. As Trites claims: “Although authors can rewrite the script with a protagonist who dies,
they still cannot escape the overpowering concept in adolescent literature that adolescent
embodiment equals the script of psychological growth” (54).
An important part of growth in the life of an adolescent, besides biological factors, is
most certainly culture. Culture and embodiment are interrelated in a way that one cannot
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 245
fail to spot. And this is the main topic of the third chapter titled “Blending and Cultural
Narratives”. Every culture has its own way of treating an adult, a child, an adolescent.
To explore this subject, the author addresses novels such as A Cool Moonlight by Angela
Johnson (2003), Monica Hughes’s Keeper of the Isis Light (1980), Neal Shusterman’s
Unwind (2007), and Meme McDonald and Boori Monty Pryor’s Njunjul the Sun (2002).
The chapter begins with an explanation of the term “blending”, one of the key concepts of
the cognitive approach to literature. Trites claims that the concept of adolescence is a blend
of biological, social and religious concepts, economic and educational factors, and, finally,
psychological ideas and views.
Chapter four, “Cultural Narratives and the ‘Pixar Maturity Formula’” centres on a
case study. Books and movies – especially those aimed at younger audiences – are often
filled with examples of prejudice and discrimination. In this chapter, the author focuses on
the so-called “Pixar Maturity Formula”, which actually supports the view that women are
more mature than men. Unlike Disney movies in which female characters are helpless and
in search of their saviour, Pixar movies contain strong female characters who often have to
save male characters from themselves and their immature actions. Roberta Trites emphasises
the impact of the interrelationship between gender stereotypes and social expectations on
children and adolescents as they mature in movies such as Up (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010),
Brave (2012) and Monsters University (2013).
In addition to knowing how our brains function, it is of major importance to take
account of some philosophical views on what we actually do with our knowledge. These
concerns are precisely the main topic of the fifth chapter, “Epistemology, Ontology, and
the Philosophy of Experientialism”. The author claims that our philosophical thoughts and
concepts are largely influenced by our experiences and by the ways we categorise ideas.
Some of the examples the author uses to introduce the relationship between experientialist
philosophy and growth in adolescent literature are Walter Mosley’s 47 (2005) and Sherman
Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007), as well as Skellig (1998)
and its prequel My Name is Mina (2010) by David Almond. Throughout the chapter, the
author presents embodied cognition in Skellig, and epistemological and ontological issues
in the shape of racial construction in connection to maturation.
The last chapter is called “The Hegemony of Growth in Adolescent Literature”,
and focuses on growth as a concept that has affected studies of adolescent development,
through numerous concepts of growth and their representations by different writers and
philosophers. In this chapter, the author states that the concept of growth can be seen in all
fields of adolescent and children’s literature. The author proves her point by analysing various
metaphoric concepts of growth in history and their connection with the historiography of
literature for young adults.
Literary Conceptualizations of Growth is a thought-provoking book. Although it
contains some complicated concepts, the author explains them and uses examples to clarify
her points. She also relies on previous research and establishes dialogue with previous
viewpoints related to her topic. Using many famous and even classic examples of literature,
the author explains the influence of literature on growing up for young adults. This book is
useful for a wider audience, but especially for scholars, students, teachers and even writers.
Teachers should know how to correctly interpret such pieces of literature and help younger
audiences understand them. Writers could realise the indirect influence they have on young
adults and bear this in mind in their next works. This study is intriguing and rather provoking,
since it makes its audience reconsider their thoughts on maturation and growing up.
Katarina Kokanović
Girlhood in U.S. Media

Sarah Projansky. 2014. Spectacular Girls: Media Fascination and Celebrity
Culture. New York: New York University Press. 295 pp. ISBN 978-0-8147-2481-1
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0013
As mediascape is densely populated with girls, they are, as Sarah Projansky says in
her new book, turned into spectacles – visual objects on display (5). Projansky claims that
all girls are spectacular, but this is not the case in contemporary U.S. media. Some are
spectacularised through scandals, others through personal achievements. However, the
media offer narrow versions of girlhood, neglecting some aspects such as the importance of
race and alternative sexualities. In contemporary media, some girls are more spectacularised
than others. In Spectacular Girls: Media Fascination and Celebrity Culture, Projansky
wants to enlarge the scope of girls considered to be spectacular by drawing our attention
to unconventional girlhood. The idea behind this is that ideal girls should not be presented
as white blondes who currently dominate the mediascape. The author emphasises how so-
called can-do girls are usually presented as white, while “at-risk” girls are portrayed as
African Americans. They all exist simultaneously, but the can-do girls are dominant. They
gain their idealised status through career, fashion and lifestyle choices. Projansky argues
that the spectacularisation of girlhood mostly takes place within celebrity culture.
The main focus of this book is the question of what girlhoods in contemporary U.S.
media are if they do not belong to either the adored or the disdained ones. The answer,
according to the author, is alternative girls, who do not fit into the can-do/at-risk dichotomy
and do not appear in media often. Projansky uses a number of feminist media studies to
highlight the presence of that kind of girl in media. One has to think critically about the
representation of girls in media and in this book. Critical thinking will enable the reader to
decide whether the book provides answers about the representation of alternative girlhood.
Ultimately, it leads to raising general awareness of the issue of presenting different kinds of
girlhood in media. Spectacular Girls is easy to follow due to the author’s organised writing.
The key concerns of the book, such as finding alternative girlhoods, are explained in the
introduction. It focuses on the relationship between girls and media, and is, as one might
expect, related to feminist and media studies. Its starting points are clearly defined and
open new issues. In the introduction, the author gives an overview of the history of “girl
studies” and clearly and simply defines a “girl” as someone under the age of eighteen. The
concluding pages at the end of each chapter and at the end of the book summarise the basic
ideas.
Each chapter in the book is partly a case study dealing with different positions of girls,
for instance as movie stars in films about girls, on magazine covers, in real-life tragedies
and everyday life. Through close analysis of Tatum O’Neal’s emergence as a star during
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 247
the 1970s in the first chapter, it is explained that girls have been important figures in media
since the beginning of the 20th century. Some of them became important media figures quite
early. There are a few words about early sexualisation and the question of determining the
line between a child and an adult. Chapter 2 focuses on the mass-market magazines Time,
Newsweek and People, and the domination of white girls, as well as girls belonging to the
can-do/at-risk dichotomy on the covers of those magazines. The author tries to determine
whether one can find any other alternative type of girlhood in the photographs used as
covers, such as girls of colour.
Several “girl films” from the first decade of the 21st century which led to public
discussion about feminism in media are identified in the third chapter. They are Mean Girls
(2004), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Juno (2007) and Precious (2009). For the reader, it
would be very useful to see the movies under discussion in the book before reading it,
although the author does a fine job organising her writing and providing ample illustrations.
Projansky says that understanding these films’ pedagogical usefulness for girls can
anticipate and extend discussions about girlhood at a national level. The films anticipate
the simultaneous adoration and denigration of girls also covered in the book. These movies
are in a way contradictory to the general image of alternative girls created in media. In
Precious, for example, African American girlhood is presented as valuable and vibrant.
Heteronormativity is implicitly criticised in Mean Girls, while Little Miss Sunshine deals
with girls’ autoeroticism. A girl who makes her own choices drives the narrative in Juno.
In chapter 4, Venus Williams, as one of the key figures in sports, is compared with
other girl tennis players, and some live television coverage of her career is analysed. By
depicting situations based on live television events, Projansky manages to earn the trust of
the reader. Her goal is to shed light on the public image of Venus as an African American
girl athlete and the development of her image in public. The issue of racism in the world
of female tennis is presented. Projansky claims that Venus not only changed tennis, but
also contributed to media fascination with girls of different race. Chapter 5 brings to the
forefront the local and alternative press, which reported extensively on the death of Sakia
Gunn, an African American girl killed on account of her sexual orientation. She embodies
the displacement of heteronormative whiteness in society. It is pointed out that she was
also spectacular, but one has to dig deeper to find information about her since there was
less coverage in the national media on Gunn than there was on the other girls Projansky
writes about. In this chapter, Projansky offers some criticism of mainstream media which
treat some girls as background figures. The final chapter is based on fieldwork conducted
in 2009 with third-graders from a public elementary school, who acted as media critics. Its
aim is to identify children’s analytical perspectives on media and the representation of girls.
The author concludes that they are quite analytical at various media levels. This gives hope
that alternative girlhoods are being more prominently covered in the U.S. media. It would
be interesting to examine children’s attitudes towards media in Europe and Croatia, and
compare the results.
Projansky says that contemporary spectacularised girls are presented as idealised
citizens and in this way they are useful to media industries such as television, mass-market
magazines and the internet. Many young girls want to look like them and consequently buy
products advertised by spectacular girls. There are numerous examples of magazine covers
in the book, with girls in the centre and many other photographs related to scenes from girl
movies. Many viewpoints are brought together and the whole book draws on numerous
sources listed in a long bibliography in the end. The author manages to show as many
different girlhoods as possible, thus enabling the study to fully accomplish its set goals.
Finally, the book provides useful material to help girls understand their lives better
and to broaden people’s horizons. It provides a critical approach to the dominant media
that give us only certain, selected images of girls. The dominance of white heteronormative
girls is documented through empirical methods which eventually help the author highlight
the existence of alternative girlhoods in media. The goal of the book is to turn the public
eye and researchers’ perspectives away from the dominant representation of girls by
investigating alternative types of media and representations of actual girls. Girls can be
expected to achieve success, but are sometimes obliged to stay within certain boundaries.
This book manages to show that a girl can succeed by crossing them. Spectacular Girls
is a well-written scholarly book which delves into the mass-mediated representations of
girls. The author recommends the book to educators, parents, legislators and social workers
in order for them to think about how they want girls to be represented in the future, and
this reviewer wishes to extend the readership to include students in all these fields, thus
supporting the goal of the book itself.
Mateja Lovreković
Human or Posthuman?
Victoria Flanagan. 2014. Technology and Identity in Young Adult Fiction: The
Posthuman Subject. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. viii + 205 pp.
ISBN 978-0-230-22786-6
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0014
Published in 2014, in the era of radical changes in children’s literature, Technology

and Identity in Young Adult Fiction focuses on two general critical approaches: humanism,
which “rejects notions of the divine or supernatural, and instead perceives the human being
as central” (12), and posthumanism, which, in contrast, “seeks to deprivilege the status of
the human subject” (14).
Victoria Flanagan introduces us to posthumanism to show the unique relationship
between youth subjectivity and technology. In order to do so, the author organises the book
into eight chapters, together with an introduction and conclusion, and every chapter deals
with a different subject of interest connected to the main theme. From its title, it is possible
to guess what each chapter studies: “Posthumanism in Young Adult Fiction”, “Narrating
Posthuman Subjectivity”, “Digital Citizenship in the Posthuman Era”, “Reworking the
Female Subject: Technology and the Body”, “Surveillance Societies: Privacy and Power
in YA Fiction” and “Subjectivity in Cyberspace: Technorealism and the Merging of Virtual
and Material Selves”. The titles provide enough to arouse the reader’s curiosity without
being too revealing. What serves as a great point of reference are the subchapters which also
have their own titles and bring their own conclusions; this enables the reader to return to an
earlier theme without having to read the whole chapter from the start.
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 249
The work challenges some of the most prominent issues in children’s literature,
particularly misconceptions about technology in young adult fiction. Addressing concerns
such as the importance of virtual reality, the embodiment of female subjects and the
development of digital surveillance, the author offers some fresh understandings about what
it means to be human in today’s world. The author does this by contrasting posthumanist and
humanist assumptions, but does not negate the latter. In fact, Flanagan gives credit to both
assumptions/approaches, claiming that the humanist point of view is reformulated in order
to depict the evolution of human subjectivity in modern times. Nevertheless, she takes the
side of posthumanism which, in its own way, celebrates the glory of technological advances.
This is obvious almost from the beginning of the book, particularly in the acknowledgement
part, where the author states that “children need to read books that celebrate, rather than
demonize, technology” (viii). As mentioned previously, Flanagan gives credit to both
approaches, but although she mentions the positive sides of humanism, she mainly talks
about its fear of technological momentum which started in the 1980s and continued through
the 1990s.
It is praiseworthy that the book includes numerous examples which illustrate the
evolution and growth of human agency. The author encourages readers to explore and
investigate parts of the texts and form their own opinions, but makes them see the enormity
of technology and its positive sides, which is extremely important for a large number of
people now belonging to an older generation, who do not see it as positive and liberating, but
rather as negative and dangerous. Technophobia and distrust originate from a generational
difference, because high technology was not present in our parents’ and grandparents’ time,
so they are “struggling to keep up with technological momentum” (34), afraid of this new
component of our everyday reality. On the other hand, young adults enjoy using technology
and we can say their life is at least one part “tech”. However, this does not mean that they
are unaware of all its shady and dangerous aspects, as many seem to believe. The author
includes texts that encourage and advise young adults to learn about their rights and to fight
for freedom in the democratic world they live in. This danger is described only in the sixth
chapter and this prevalence of celebrating technology is further evidence of Flanagan taking
the side of posthumanism.
From chapter to chapter Flanagan implicitly advises us to read some of the novels
she refers to: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (2005), The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E.
Pearson (2008), Anda’s Game by Cory Doctorow (2008), The Hunger Games by Suzanne
Collins (2008), Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2008), Ender’s Game by Orson Scott
Card (1985), The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee (1999). Such works take a stand not
only through uncommon plots and twists, but also through various tools of postmodern
narration, such as intertextuality and quotation, polyphony and focalisation through non-
human agents.
It seems that a great number of problems occur when it is discovered that a character
in a narrative physically differs from human beings. Flanagan devotes a whole chapter
(mostly informed by feminist criticism) to embodiment. She is particularly concerned with
the embodiment of female characters in children’s literature, but also shows that the view
towards this subject has modified in more recent works.
The above-mentioned novels addressed in the book belong to speculative fiction, with
most of them being science fiction novels. As suggested by the title, Flanagan draws a large
number of examples from young adult literature with some of them proclaiming humanist,
and many posthumanist, points of view. The author selects quotations from the analysed
novels to argue for or against technology, sometimes even focusing on words and sentences
in the quotation or the way a sentence is formulated. After the work is analysed, it is also
contrasted with another work, or two or three works are compared.
Flanagan presents both the positive and negative sides of technology. Although it may
seem at first that she keenly opposes every pessimistic thought related to it, she does have a
few words to say about its negative sides.
In conclusion, this text answers several questions raised around the globe. The book
contains much we need to know about young adults and character development in young
adult narratives and technology, offering advice and truths about high tech through the
perspective of posthumanism.
Veronika Javor
Turtle Power!
Andrew Farago. 2014. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Ultimate Visual
History. San Rafael, California: Insight editions. 192 pp. ISBN 978-1-60887-185-8
Richard Rosenbaum. 2014. Raise Some Shell. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: ECW Press. 133 pp. ISBN 978-1-77041-179-1
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0015
Despite their long-lasting popularity and surprising malleability, the pop culture
phenomenon known as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (hereinafter TMNT) has been
accorded little critical attention. With the exception of studies on children’s/popular culture
and/or television/movies/video games which dedicate a chapter or two to the “heroes in
a half-shell” (e.g. Marsha Kinder’s Playing with Power in Movies, Television, and Video
Games: From Muppet Babies to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 1993), academia has,
for the most part, remained uninterested in the adventures and incarnations of Leonardo,
Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael. Hopefully, two recent publications – Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Ultimate Visual History by Andrew Farago, curator of the San
Francisco Cartoon Art Museum, and Raise Some Shell. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by
fiction editor at the Canadian magazine of underground arts and independent culture Broken
Pencil Richard Rosenbaum – will spark a change in that particular trend.
The basic premise of the two books is more or less the same, as they both propose to
provide an overview of the genesis and history, and discuss the social relevance, cultural
impact and continuing popularity, of this globally successful transmedia franchise. The
Turtles’ “transformation from cult hit to cultural phenomenon” (Farago: 79) is traced from
their humble beginnings as an independent black-and-white comic book created by Kevin
Eastman and Peter Laird (1984), through the incredible success of the 1987 animated series,
as well as the more embarrassing chapters in the TMNT history such as the “Coming Out
of Their Shells” tour (1990) and the notorious Next Mutation live-action series (1997),
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 251
to their most recent incarnation as a multi-million dollar CGI blockbuster (the Michael
Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows premieres in June 2016).
However, the two publications go about accomplishing this goal in distinctly different
ways. The large-format Visual History is – as expected – more encyclopaedic in the sense
that it primarily provides information and fun facts about its subject matter, telling the
story of the four reptilian martial artists in equal measure through words and images. In
contrast, Rosenbaum’s slim, pocket-sized volume includes some measure of analysis, as it
attempts to explain what it is about the “lean, green ninja team” that continues to resonate
with audiences.
Described by one satisfied reader on Amazon.com as “a portable Ninja Turtles
museum”, Farago’s Visual History is a veritable dream come true for TMNT fans. Filled to
the brim with lavish photographs, drawings, movie stills, animation cells and comic book
frames, the book also contains numerous surprises in the form of inserts (from leaflets
and early character designs to the Mirage Studio business card and welcome letter to the
official TMNT fan club), a poster of the book cover, and a reprint of the very first issue
of the Eastman and Laird comic book. The text accompanying these visual treats is filled
with gems in its own right, as it contains interviews with key figures from the TMNT
history, such as Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, puppeteers and voice actors, and even
the author of the (in)famous “Ninja Rap”, Vanilla Ice. Although he rarely rises beyond the
mere presentation of information, Farago successfully combs through a variety of sources,
weaving them together into a coherent and highly readable narrative of the 30-odd-year
history of the Turtles.
The second entry in ECW Press’s Pop Classics series (launched in 2014 with Adam
Nayman’s It Doesn’t Suck: Showgirls), Raise Some Shell delves deeper than The Ultimate
Visual History as it contextualises the creation and success of the TMNT within the wider
frame of comic book art in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Although he also provides plenty
of information on the TMNT, Rosenbaum’s approach is more analytical as he proposes to
explain how Eastman and Laird’s creation became “the most successful independent comic
book ever”, gradually morphing into “a precedent-setting transmedia franchise never before
seen in the annals of pop culture history” (x). As the ultimate hybrids, caught between West
and East, human and non-human, the Turtles, Rosenbaum claims, are “the ideal heroes for
the fragmented and hybridized times in which we lived and still live” (xiv). Quoting the
works of Harold Bloom, Fredric Jameson, Henry Jenkins and Jean-François Lyotard, the
author discusses the multifariously subversive nature of the Turtles, recognising in them
the embodiment of (Western) postmodernity. The Turtles, Rosenbaum writes, are ultimate
outsiders and “quintessential hybrids” (49), and their central thematic preoccupation with
adaptation possibly accounts for the franchise’s endless adaptability to different media, time
periods and audience preferences. Despite some occasional dabbling with scholarly prose,
Rosenbaum’s style remains animated and conversational throughout, interspersed with very
personal and often quite humorous comments (most of them featured in the footnotes),
which makes for a volume that is at once factual and ludic.
Neither of the two volumes under review is a work of scholarship (although
Rosenbaum seems to be leaning in that direction), nor is it trying to be. What they do
offer, however, is an engaging, highly entertaining and stimulating read that is sure to
satisfy die-hard fans, but also intrigue those who did not grow up yelling “Cowabunga!”.
Both Farago’s and Rosenbaum’s prose is informed by an extensive knowledge of their
subject matter and fuelled by pure, unabashed adoration of all things Ninja Turtles. This is
especially notable in Rosenbaum’s case, as he often veers off into what might be termed
internet comment sections territory; for instance, he calls M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village
“total bullshit” (5, n. 4) and describes the (at that time still unreleased) 2012 Michael Bay-
produced Ninja Turtles movie a “crime against God and man. And turtle” (112). However,
the fan angle and passion for the subject that permeate every sentence only heightens the
overall reading pleasure. Given their lack of academic pretension and mostly informal tone,
both publications succeed best as resource books, ones that will hopefully be useful and
interesting for fans and researchers alike.
Offering a wealth of information within relatively short, densely packed volumes, The
Ultimate Visual History and Raise Some Shell are a most welcome addition to the sparse
literature on the TMNT. Combined with Kevin Eastman’s TMNT Artobiography (2002;
reprinted by IDW in 2013) and the documentary Turtle Power: Definitive History of the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (dir. Randall Lobb, 2014), the volumes under review present
a satisfying and informative read and are sure to become a valuable reference for fans, but
ideally also a springboard for future scholarly ventures into this virtually unexplored, yet
highly stimulating field.
Nada Kujundžić
Looking Back at the Spanish Civil War

Blanca Ana Roig Rechou and Veljka Ruzicka Kenfel, eds. 2014. The
Representations of the Spanish Civil War in European Children’s Literature
(1975–2008). Frankfurt: Peter Lang GmbH. 303 pp. ISBN 978-3-631-62245-2
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0016
This year’s observation of the 80 anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil War
th
(1936–1939) will once again thrust this often romanticised conflict into the international
spotlight, and cause renewed self-reflection among Spaniards about its tragic legacy that
continues to polarise their society. Therefore, the publication of the edited volume The
Representations of the Spanish Civil War in European Children’s Literature (1975–2008) is
particularly timely, especially since the subject deals with books and novels about Spain’s
civil war directed to younger generations on the Iberian Peninsula, as well as internationally.
Despite a number of strong chapters which convincingly show how literature for children
and young adults is part of the cultural remembrance of the horrors of the Spanish war
and its aftermath, the lack of a stronger editorial hand to ensure a high quality for all the
contributions leaves readers with a volume that resembles a hastily assembled collection of
conference papers rather than a tight-knit study guided by a precise research agenda.
As the editors mention in the first of two introductory chapters, this volume is in fact
the result of a research project that was divided into two parts, one dealing with children’s
literature about the war produced in Spain and the other with books published in other
European countries. The format of the book follows this division into two sections (eight
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 253
chapters dealing with Spanish authors and nine chapters dedicated to other countries) with a
final chapter dedicated to illustrations in Spanish Civil War children’s literature. The editors
explain that the goal of the project was to get an overview of narrative works dealing with
the Civil War aimed at children and teenagers produced from 1975 to 2008, analyse them
according to literary styles and time periods, and apply various interdisciplinary theoretical
tools from fields such as gender, post-colonial, and cultural studies. The first introductory
chapter reads more like a final project report than an overview of the actual texts in the
volume, while the second chapter offers a more systematic categorisation of how the
literature about the war changed over time, from initial silence to a veritable explosion of
books in the 2000s that accompanied the fervent political debates about the war after lying
dormant for decades.
Already in the first chapter there seem to be some inconsistencies regarding the time
period actually being analysed and what exactly is considered to be children’s literature.
Although it is of course relevant to discuss the development of the genre from the actual
war up to the time period being focused on in the project in order to set the context, several
of the chapters almost entirely focus on novels written before 1978. This is a relatively
minor objection compared to the more problematic issue of defining what can be considered
literature for children and young adults, particularly when the corpus of 167 books was
being created. For example, Arthur Koestler’s Spanish Testament is included as a children’s
book, while equally important novels of that genre (political memoirs), such as George
Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia, are not. When discussing “Croatian books” even more
problems become evident, including some factual ones, since for some reason the five-
volume (not six, as mentioned in the text) Španija collection is included even though it is
definitely not intended for children and was published in Belgrade (and therefore should
be considered a Yugoslav book, not a Croatian one (13)). The rest of the chapters reflect
some of these inconsistencies exposed at the beginning: the contributions vary in quality
and methodological rigour, and while some authors focus intensely on a single book (one
chapter is three pages long) others provide broad analyses of the literature in the specific
region or country being analysed. With so many authors one can expect to have a diversity
of analytical styles, but a little more rigorous intervention from the editors could have
resulted in chapters that were truly focused and complementary rather than this somewhat
haphazard selection.
Despite these fundamental flaws in the concept of the book, it should be emphasised
that there are several excellent chapters that ultimately make it a worthy addition to
scholarship on the relationship between war traumas, memory politics, and literature,
especially for the younger generations. Eulalia Agrelo Costas’s superb chapter on Agustín
Fernández Paz’s Trilogia de la Memoria explains the author’s “aim of keeping the memory
of the victims and the interminable post-war alive to help heal the brutal wounds opened
up by the events” (36). Contributions by Mari Jose Olaziregi Alustiza, Blanca-Ana Roig
Rechou, and Caterina Valriu Llinàs on children’s literature in the Basque lands, Galicia, and
Catalonia, respectively, all provide insightful overviews of how regional memories of the
war, particularly those of the victims and the losing side, are expressed in a wide variety
of publications after the end of the Franco dictatorship. The chapter by Llinàs is perhaps
the best in its analysis of the entire corpus of children’s literature in Catalonia from 1978
until 2011, in which she identifies five major themes in the forty novels being examined:
Republicanism, support for the Catalan movement, feminism, anti-war progressivism, and
left-wing antifascism (129). In addition to looking at the role of female authors, Llinàs
focuses on the middle generation of writers who did not experience the war directly, but
had “learned through the narratives of their elders, through the books and signs left in the
environment”, and thus had felt the consequences of the conflict, “most particularly the
imposition of Spanish Catholicism, the repressive education, and the persecution of Catalan
culture” (130).
Well-written chapters in the section on international books include those about the
Netherlands (Francesca Blockeel), the French-speaking world (Javier de Agustín Guijarro),
and two on English literature (Ana Maria Pereira Rodriguez and Celia Vasquez Garcia).
The volume also includes a chapter on German literature (nine of the twelve books being
analysed were published in 1976 or earlier and it is not clear why some are considered to
be for children or even young adults), three contributions about Portuguese authors, and
one chapter about Croatian texts. The chapter on Croatian texts by Sanja Lovrić shows
the importance of Spanish Civil War narratives and memoirs, both during the time of the
actual conflict and after 1945, in socialist Yugoslavia. She provides a valuable analysis of
how both left and right political forces sought to use the literature about Spain to justify
their own ideological positions in Croatia, in particular narratives about the Battle of the
Alcazar in 1936 that was compared to the Croatian struggle against the Ottoman Turks
at Siget in the 16th century. Unfortunately, this promising chapter is also hindered by a
somewhat unclear definition of which books were intended for young adults, as well as
several factual errors which weaken the author’s arguments. It is a shame Lovrić did not
pursue more thoroughly the story of the dozens of Croatian/Yugoslav college students who
volunteered to fight against Franco, since their exploits were recorded in a 1938 book, Krv
i život za slobodu: Slike iz života i borbe studenata iz Jugoslavije u Španiji [Blood and
Life for Freedom: Images from the Lives and Struggles of Yugoslav Students in Spain],
which was then smuggled into Yugoslavia. The Association of Yugoslav Volunteers in
the Spanish Republican Army helped to finance several reprints of this book and made
sure that it was widely distributed in schools, especially after 1978 when the veterans of
Spain themselves felt their revolutionary zeal was lost on the youth of socialist Yugoslavia.
Although the author notes that the collective memory of the Spanish Civil War in Croatia
has been overshadowed by the tragedy of the Second World War and the war in the 1990s
that accompanied Yugoslavia’s dissolution, the ideological and social divisions from
this period continue to be present in contemporary Croatian society and deserve further,
interdisciplinary research along the lines of this chapter.
The problems which plague edited volumes such as this unfortunately overshadow
a number of truly excellent chapters which would have been able to shine under a more
rigorous editorial hand. Several of the chapters suffer from bad translations, grammatical
errors, typos, and mistakes which distract from the content. Rather than grouping the
chapters on Portuguese or English literature together, they are scattered arbitrarily in the
second section. Perhaps a shorter, more selective volume would have been more effective in
highlighting the transformations in children’s literature which parallel the broader changes
in Spanish society over the past few decades. Even though this volume tends to frustrate
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 255
rather than enlighten, there are definitely gems in this collection which are a valuable
contribution to scholarship on the Spanish Civil War.
Vjeran Pavlaković
Social Inequality in Children’s Books

Angela E. Hubler, ed. 2014. Little Red Readings: Historical Materialist
Perspectives on Children’s Literature. Jackson, MS: University Press of
Mississippi. 304 pp. ISBN 978-1-61703-987-4
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0017
Children’s literature is not only not immune to traditional norms and customs of literary
creation, promotion and reception, but it is at times – due to pressures from a typically
white, middle-class readership – even more rigid and traditional than the mainstream.
Publishers tend to produce only books that will make a profit, while editors often guide
authors to devise plots and characters that correspond with common notions of a white
urban readership and promote the capitalist social system and its values. Children’s books
are merchandise which is bought and sold, and as such cannot exist without the middle (and
upper) class that purchases it. This fact, as individual authors included in the edited volume
under review claim, is often neglected by literary scholars.
Volume editor Angela E. Hubler has therefore brought together thirteen contributions
which examine individual aspects and themes that appear (or should appear) in children’s
literature through the lens of Marxist theory, with special emphasis on representations
of social inequalities (in the sense of materialism, race, class or gender) and their (inter)
relations with the dominant capitalist social system.
In the introductory piece, the editor provides an overview of possible approaches to
children’s literature from the point of view of historical materialism, with special focus
on issues of ideology, idealism, feminism and forming the canon, which undermines the
possibility of readers’ resistance and social action.
In “Class/ic Aggression in Children’s Literature”, Mervyn Nicholson examines the
position of children within contemporary capitalist society: on the one hand, children are
perceived as “property”, while, on the other hand, capitalism is “inherently hostile towards
children” (3). Class relations in children’s literature mirror typical capitalist relations in
which those who work are seen as less worthy than those who manage.
In “Shopping Like It’s 1899”, Anastasia Ulanowicz discusses the series of books
Gossip Girl (which also inspired the popular TV series of the same name) as a platform for
promoting various products which the characters on the show use. In the series, the plot,
the psychological development of the characters or social agendas are nowhere near as
important as promoting consumerism.
In “Precious Medals”, Carl F. Miller provides an overview of books which won
various prestigious awards and analyses their relationship to different social problems and
class (and other) inequalities.
Mary Poppins is the topic of Sharon Smulders’ “We Are All One”. The author examines
the roots of the novel in old Irish folklore and Eastern philosophies and mysticism, which
serve to subvert the dominant social structures and hierarchies of pre-war Britain.
In her contribution titled “Solidarity of Times Past”, Cynthia Anne McLeod analyses
several novels which deal with child labour and its relationship with unionisation during the
Industrial Revolution in the 19th-century. While contemporary novels portray union leaders
as bullies bent on intimidation, earlier novels present them as victims of repression.
Poverty as an aesthetic symbol in the picturebooks of Eva Bunting is the topic of
Daniel D. Hade and Heidi M. Brush’s “The Disorders of Its Own Identity”. According to the
authors, E. Bunting’s message is inherently conservative and relies on passive techniques
such as hope and faith in providence as a means of escape from poverty and repression,
while simultaneously discouraging the reader from any form of rebellion or immediate
social action.
In “The Young Socialist”, Jane Rosen analyses the journal of the same name, published
between 1901 and 1926, that is, until the crucial change within the British radical movement
following the failed general strike. The development of the social movement towards the
end of the 19th century prompted reflection on the education of working class children
with the aim of creating obedient workers, while socialist leaders tried to develop schools,
courses and publications that would provide children with alternative modes of education.
In “Girls’ Literature by German Writers in Exile (1933–1945)” Jana Mikota discusses
authors who fled abroad after the Nazi government rose to power in Germany in 1933 and
contributed through their work to the battle against Fascism, or to the pacifist movement.
Mikota focuses especially on literature aimed at girls and on determining whether or not
these works succeeded in their attempt to uncover the foundations of the Nazi regime.
Naomi Wood’s “Different Tales and Different Lives” is concerned with children’s
literature as a form of political activism in the Indian federal state of Andhra Pradesh. The
author highlights the need to re-examine individual routine modes of thinking, such as the
notion that school is always a better and more appropriate environment for children than a
working place (regardless of what that working place is actually like), since work does not
necessarily deprive children of their rights.
“A Multicultural History of Children’s Films” is an article in which Ian Wojcik-
Andrews attempts to define the multicultural children’s film and provides an overview of
existing theoretical bases of this aspect of production for children. The author analyses
individual films (from as far apart as 1919 and 2010) from the perspectives of Marxist and
postcolonial literary theory.
In “Bloodthirsty Little Brats; or, The Child’s Desire for Biblical Violence”, Roland
Boer reflects on the fact that out of all the stories in the Bible, children are most attracted to
those which are bloodthirsty and full of violence. The author does not consider children to
be either essentially evil or angels, nor does he perceive them as tabulae rasae onto which
anyone can write their own view of the world. Further, the author claims that, in themselves,
these texts are not a call to action, nor do they make readers insensitive to violence.
Utopian and anti-utopian books for children are the topic of “Utopia and Anti-
Utopia in Lois Lowry’s and Suzanne Collins’s Dystopian Fiction” by Angela E. Hubler.
The aforementioned books are primarily the result of a Cold-War world division and the
provocation of fear of collectivism. Such works promote the values of individualism and
freedom. The author analyses the works of two authors (Suzanne Collins and Lois Lowry)
from the perspective of Marxist materialism and concludes that while both of them create
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 257
anti-utopian worlds, the books of L. Lowry remain essentially anti-utopian as they do

not predict the possibility of change, while those of S. Collins offer readers hope that the
collective action of ordinary people can create a better society.
In the volume’s final contribution, “Ursula Le Guin’s Powers as Radical Fantasy”,
Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak analyses the third novel in U. Le Guin’s series The Annals of
the Western Shore (2004–2007), viewing it as a representative of so-called radical fantasy.
The author concludes that even though radical fantasy need not be any more subversive
than other cultural forms, it can still enable young readers to oppose contemporary forms of
domination and exploitation through radical political subjectivity.
The fourteen contributions (including the introduction) presented above use new
approaches to the problem of social inequality to pose important questions about the nature
and purpose of children’s and young adult literature, as well as the possibilities of resistance
to both the commercialisation of literature, and traditional and routine modes of thinking.
The volume is therefore a valuable contribution to literary theory which may prompt
readers to re-examine their own attitudes, or direct them towards literary and theoretical
orientations and works which they have previously ignored or found to be insufficiently
worthy of their attention.
Krunoslav Mikulan (translated by Nada Kujundžić)
From Plaything to Player

Virginie Iché. 2015. L’esthétique du jeu dans les Alice de Lewis Carroll. Paris:
L’Harmattan. 260 pp. ISBN 978-2-343-07927-1
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0018
Virginie Iché rightly starts her study of play in the works of Lewis Carroll (Aesthetics
of Play in Lewis Carroll’s Alices) from Charles Lutwidge Dodgson’s fascination for games
and playing as evidenced by his life and especially his literary work. To Carroll, everything
could be a stimulus for play: objects, but also words, phrases and letters, as long as you
“learn to look at all things / with a sort of mental squint” (Carroll, L. Phantasmagoria and
Other Poems, 1869). In her book, Iché examines the function of play in Carroll’s Alice
stories and the role the reader can have.
The first part of the book is dedicated to play as a structural element in the Alice stories.
In order to get a grip on the concept of play, Iché relies on ground-breaking scholars in the
field of play studies, especially Émile Benveniste, Johan Huizinga and Roger Caillois. All
three view game as an activity that is at the same time characterised by freedom and by
rules. In Iché’s approach to play, the concept of légaliberté (borrowed from Colas Duflo)
plays a central role, emphasising the overlap between freedom and restriction or guidance.
Further on, she elaborates on the concepts of paideia and ludus, coined by Caillois, as poles
between which the game is played: on the one hand the need for clear rules and on the other
for playfulness, creativity and improvisation. The tension between these two runs like a
thread through Iché’s study, making it coherent and clearly focused.
In the first chapter of part one, Iché tries to give a complete overview of all the games,
toys and objects of play in Carroll’s classics Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through
the Looking-Glass. She not only makes an inventory of them, but shows, by means of a
detailed stylistic and linguistic analysis, how the representation of play in the Alice stories
meanders between paideia and ludus. In her analysis of the conversation between the
Gryphon and the Mock Turtle about the “lobster-quadrille”, she first makes clear how the
imperatives and time conjunctives (first, then) dictate the player’s comportment. At the same
time, the verbs in the fragment express a kind of vitality that is typical of the paideia: the
two animals “cried”, “shouted”, “screamed” and “yelled” (note the gradation), interrupted
each other and “had been jumping around like mad things”. Iché’s analysis of the fragment
at the end of the first chapter of Through the Looking-Glass is an interesting example of
her approach, too. In this passage, Alice experiences the double identity of a child and a
chess piece. Iché’s close reading of the text, paying attention to the different grammatical
functions of the words, reveals how Alice is sometimes a pawn in the game and sometimes
becomes a player. Finally, Alice will acquire the rules that govern the parallel world and, in
doing so, she will gain a certain freedom to play with these rules.
Iché not only scrutinises the text very closely, she also pays attention to the illustrations
by John Tenniel and to the historical context. She makes clear how the illustrations guide
the interpretation of the text and how Carroll gave clear instructions to his illustrator.
Nevertheless, her analyses of the illustrations would have gained more depth if she had
developed them in more detail by using theoretical insights from scholars such as Maria
Nikolajeva and Carole Scott (How Picture Books Work, 2001). More revealing is the
fragment in which Iché shows how Carroll responded to Victorian readers’ interest in new
toys (39–40).
In the second chapter, Iché examines to what extent the playful world in Carroll’s
stories is a “carnivalesque” world as defined by Mikhaïl Bakhtine in his study of the French
writer François Rabelais. The carnivalesque in Carroll’s work is without doubt the reversal
of hierarchy, the motif of joyous circular time and festive violence. However, Iché points out
that, unlike in Rabelais’ work, the violence in Carroll’s stories never has any consequences,
freedom is more limited and at the end the story returns to linear time.
Part 2 of Iché’s study focuses on authorial strategies that invite the reader to a playful
reading of the text. She gives numerous examples of instances where Carroll plays with the
reader’s expectations, at the macro-level of the text structure, as well as at the micro-level
of the discourse. In the first chapter she focuses on the narrative structure (titles, chapters,
incipits, etc.). The second chapter is dedicated to nonsense, the game with/against/on
language. Quoting Jean-Jacques Lecercle, she considers nonsense to be essentially playful,
as it “is both free and constrained” (116). Her analysis of several instances of wordplay
is intriguing, pointing out how speakers do not take into account the co-text (what the
other speaker says), or the context. Thus, they repeatedly question language as a stable
system (here she relies on Gilles Deleuze) and force Alice and the reader to consider the
playful possibilities of language. In the third chapter, Iché focuses on intertextuality. She
distinguishes between parody (with minimal transformation of the source text), rewriting
(maximum transformation), and citation. In this context, the idea of the active reader pops
up as it is the active reader who has to recognise and interpret the references to other texts
or reality. Iché rightly points out that the efforts the readers of the time had to make were
minimal, as Carroll mostly parodied well-known texts. Still, her analyses of the parodies of
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 259
popular poems remain limited. The humour, after all, relies not only on parody, but also on
other humorous techniques, which can still be appreciated by contemporary readers who do
not recognise intertextuality anymore. Her analyses would have been richer if she had read
humour theories by scholars such as Salvatore Attardo and Arthur Asa Berger.
In the third part of her study, Iché concentrates on the reader and the act of reading.
Relying on insights of Wolfgang Iser, she examines how far the “blanks” and “negations”
in Carroll’s texts stimulate the implied reader’s creativity and imagination. She concludes
that Carroll aims much more at the ideal reader, as defined by Umberto Eco. This model
reader is guided much more strongly by the narrator, to the extent that he fills in what has
already been told. Iché focuses on the addresses made to the reader and on the incomplete
sentences (often with an indent). She also elaborates on the manipulation of the reader in
The Nursery Alice. She demonstrates how the numerous suggestive and negative questions
guide the reader and restrict possible interpretations. In doing so, however, she seems to
underestimate the playful freedom of the storyteller who reads the story aloud.
Iché’s analysis of the ways in which Carroll directs his readers, within the confines of
his playful textual universe, is impressive. Less convincing is the way in which she moves
from the model reader to the reader-impostor. Building on the insights of Michel Picard
especially and Jean-Jacques Lecercle, she remarks that the reader, although strongly guided,
can take the position of an impostor who can give alternative interpretations. Through their
carnivalesque and distorting approach to reality and language, Carroll’s books even invite
the reader to play with the interpretations the text seems to impose. Here, Iché refers to
real readers for the first time. However, she only mentions the very dubious interpretations
of three scholars, which weakens her point. Her comments on these alternative readings
raise the question of how ordinary, contemporary readers deal with the playful world in the
Alice stories and, more particularly, how far the interpretations of children and adult readers
differ. To these interesting questions, Iché does not give any answers; they call for further
research.
Without doubt, Virginie Iché makes an original contribution to the enormous stream
of Alice studies. This is a merit in itself. Most convincing are her well thought-out and
meticulous stylistic and linguistic analyses, which bring literary and linguistic studies closer
together. She does this in a coherent and compelling argument, summarised in the title
of her conclusion “Du jeu au je” (From play to I). By means of her intelligent analysis,
she makes clear that the reader, together with Alice, can evolve from plaything to player,
conscious of the chances to master the world and the language within the confines of the
world of play. The fact that she makes readers of her book think about their own reading,
moving between ludus and paideia, makes her study all the more valuable.
Jan Van Coillie
Companionship of Children and Animals

Amy Ratelle. 2015. Animality and Children’s Literature and Film. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan. 171 pp. ISBN 978-1-137-37316-8
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0019
Amy Ratelle’s book is one of the newest contributions to animal studies as a relatively
recent field of the humanist study of animals, which has become one of the most intriguing
areas of research in the posthumanities. In five chapters (“Animal Virtues, Values and
Rights”, “Contact Zones, Becoming and the Wild Animal Body”, “Ethics and Edibility”,
“Science, Species and Subjectivity”, “Performance and Personhood in Free Willy
and Dolphin Tale”), framed by an introduction and a conclusion, the author deals with
(transcending) boundaries between the human and non-human in a number of classical
animal stories and films for children.
After a short introductory overview of the status of non-human beings in Western
cultural thought, the first chapter studies 19th-century connections between the animal
rights movement and the children’s rights movement, which actually arose from the former.
The author focuses on animal autobiographies written from the equine point of view, such
as the anonymous Memoirs of Dick, the Little Poney, Supposed to Be Written by Himself
(1799), Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty (1877) and Enid Bagnold’s National Velvet (1935), in
order to show that such works did not simply educate the young into a culture of labour and
suffering, but also encouraged them to question their parents’ values and empathise with
animals in order to reaffirm their humanity. The horse characters are depicted in a way that
is meant to instil kindness and temperance towards animals in the child audience. Such a
relationship based on sincere kindness, affection and mutual respect between species is very
close to Donna Haraway’s “companion species” model or the relationship of “significant
otherness”, independent from the superiority of the human and the forced subordination of
the animal. Thus undermining traditional Western notions of human exceptionalism, the
animal is allowed to exist not as an object of production, but as a sentient being whose most
valued quality is his or her emotional reactivity. Therefore, the animal’s services are based
on the emotional sphere, rather than (only) physical labour, giving it at least partly a pet
status and reinforcing the power of a companion bond. The genre of animal autobiography
was pivotal in fostering fellow feeling for animals and an impetus for enacting many of the
earliest laws against cruelty to animals and in developing a culture of animal sympathy: the
animal’s point of view compels the reader into a close emotional bond with the animal, as
it relates the story of its difficult life.
Apart from literature, Ratelle also builds her arguments on the work of many
contemporary researchers and scientists, such as Robert Dingley, Marian Scholtmeijer,
Cary Wolfe, Donna Haraway, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari and David Perkins. However,
she also relies on sources from earlier times: the thoughts of René Descartes, or Jeremy
Bentham’s question within the context of 1780 philosophic debates: the critical issue is
not whether animals can reason or talk, but whether they can suffer. This challenges the
assertions from René Descartes’ autobiographical and philosophical treatise Discourse on
the Method (1637) that animals are merely automata incapable of feeling pain as humans
do, i.e. they do not experience it as suffering. Early arguments for animal rights were largely
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 261
the result of a major re-thinking of the relationship between humans and other animals. The
author mentions the 1822 Cruel and Improper Treatment of Cattle Act proposed by Richard
Martin, a Member of Parliament, as the first animal rights legislation in history.
In the second chapter, the author turns her attention to wild animals who have received
less sympathy and respect than domestic ones. Through the analysis of Jack London’s works
– The Call of the Wild (1903) and White Fang (1905), as well as their film adaptations –
Ratelle perceives his effort to enter the subjectivity of the wild, rather than create animals
with human minds and perceptions. Writing his novels as a reaction to Sewell’s and
Kipling’s stories, London problematised categories of the wild and the civilized. Using the
examples of his works, Ratelle demonstrates how assumptions regarding this distinction
undermine the potential for cross-species identification and, relying on Donna Haraway’s
terms “natureculture” and “contact zones”, explores human-animal relations in a way that
no longer privileges the human.
The following chapter deals with texts such as E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (1948)
and the films Babe (1995) and Chicken Run (2000), which thematise animal consumption.
The author accounts for the ethical implications of human relations to the so-called “meat
animal” in what Derrida refers to as a “carnophallogocentric” paradigm. Nevertheless, in
today’s world of technological posthumanism, animals are also being used as experimental
subjects. Thus, the main aim of the fourth chapter is to show how the animal experience in
the laboratory context is dealt with in children’s culture, specifically Robert C. O’Brien’s
novel, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (1971), its filmic adaptation The Secret of
NIMH (1982), and William Kotzwinkle’s Doctor Rat (1976). Ratelle lucidly points out
that – especially in the sense of animal experimentation in the name of science and medical
advancement – the borders between humans and non-humans are permeable and unstable.
The final chapter also addresses the issue of captivity, but this time by researching the
affections and identification between children and marine mammals. Based on two films
– Free Willy (1993) and Dolphin Tale (2011) – the analysis calls attention to the need for
legal acknowledgement of the personhood of whales. The concept of non-human identity
is explained against the background of overlaps between the real lives of animal actors and
their film-life scenarios.
Through a skilful historical contextualisation of the studied material, Ratelle’s book
provides a series of interesting examples and re-examinations of the animal-human divide
in literary and cinematic classics, showing that at its core is the issue of subjectivity,
established in Western culture as an exclusively human notion. Posthumanist scholarship
nevertheless successfully fights against cultural anthropocentrism and institutionalised
speciesism used as an alibi for the exploitation or extermination of other species. In that
sense, Ratelle’s research is a valuable and insightful contribution to correcting the common
scholarly mistake of reading the animal exclusively as a symbol of the human or merely
as a didactic tool, thus ignoring not only the rights of animals, but of children themselves.
Ana Batinić
A Generation Gap of Another Kind

Clémentine Beauvais. 2015. The Mighty Child. Time and Power in Children’s
Literature. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
xii, 226 pp. ISBN 978-9027201584
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0020
Although time is an essential category for the conceptualisation of both the child and
literature, especially literary narrative, The Mighty Child: Time and Power in Children’s
Literature by Clémentine Beauvais focuses on the temporal otherness of the adult and the
child, their belonging to different temporalities and the outcomes of that belonging. Its core
interest is “the paradoxical adult desire to ask the child didactically for an unpredictable
future” (4) in the field of children’s literature. Its core perspective is the existentialist
tradition of thought.
In her book, Beauvais resists the almost reflex discussion of gender, class or race
determinants of childhood in contemporary children’s literature criticism and directs
her analytical interests towards the generational conception of childhood, i.e. broader
patterns of childhood representations and experiences in different cultural and historical
contexts. By employing the existentialist theoretical framework, she addresses what has for
decades been a central issue of power in children’s literature from a new perspective. Her
discussion of that subject starts, of course, with a footnote on Jacqueline Rose’s famous
study of children’s literature and with questioning the vertical, hierarchical model of adult-
child power relations inherent to it. Following, adjusting and upgrading the existentialist
tradition of thought and relevant recent children’s literature criticism, Beauvais proposes
a more complex conceptualisation of power relations between the child and the adult, and
introduces the concept of the mighty child and his/her power. According to Beauvais, the
“power” of the mighty child is in that he/she belongs to the realm of imagination, to the
symbolic sphere, while adult “power” over children is more tangible and is expressed as
order, marks, punishments, etc.
The book consists of three parts. The first is dedicated to the concept of time and the
two main temporal figures of the child in children’s fiction: puer aeternus (characteristic
of broadly defined classic children’s fiction) and puer existens (characteristic of most of
contemporary children’s literature). In contrast to puer aeternus, who is conceived as
trapped in time, puer existens is imagined as a placeholder of the future. The second part
of the book develops the notions of the latter figure from the perspective of otherness,
and approaches the adult-child relation as a special “problem of others”. Following the
existentialist tradition of thought, Beauvais does not see the conflict of otherness as
a specificity of the relationship between adult and child, but as part of one existential
condition. On the other hand, in this part Beauvais points out the primary temporal specifics
of adult-child otherness, and develops the idea of children’s literature as both an “other” and
an “othering” type of literature, the literature that is other and the literature that reinforces,
produces the otherness. The third part of the book develops the idea of education and
committed children’s literature as both normative and subversive practices, proposing the
view of contemporary children’s literature as a form of committed literature, as well as
releasing its pedagogical impulse from bare didacticism and empowering it with pleasure
and jouissance.
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 263
Relying on the pillars of existentialist writing, such as that of Jean-Paul Sartre, or

children’s literature criticism, such as that of Perry Nodelman, in The Mighty Child
Beauvais hypothesises “that the hidden adult is always subjected to a specific form of
power belonging to the child. That form of power is might, and its currency is time. Thus,
alongside the adult’s authority inside and outside the narrative, the child’s might emerges:
the potent, latent future to be filled with yet-unknown action” (19). In that framework,
children’s literature emerges as literature that “addresses the child as a mighty temporal
other who may do in future what the adult was unable to do” (135). But in counterbalance
with raising existentialist problems (such as the impossibilities of fully being-for-others
and being-in-the-world at the same time), children’s literature also idealistically calls for
solving these problems. These calls are important because they, as Beauvais demonstrates,
can be seen as signs of not only an adult desire for a lost indeterminacy, but also as signs
of the child as the one through whom this indeterminacy can partly be regained. Therefore,
this desire for indeterminacy also signifies the “adult faith that the child is an independent
individual who can do something not yet known” (135). In this context, the specific power
of the child reader emerges as might, and the specific power of the adult author as authority.
The Mighty Child’s reading of time and power in children’s literature redefines basic
concepts of children’s literature studies, such as the child, adult, didacticism or hope,
and marks new pathways for children’s literature scholarship and criticism. Its coherent,
informed and lucid confronting and merging of existentialist writings with recent children’s
literature criticism and divergent children’s literature texts – from classics to recent
work, from novels to poetry, from picturebooks to crossover literature – can be seen as a
demonstration of one of the multiple intellectually stimulating directions which children’s
literature studies might take if they dare to try. Future theoretical and historical testing of
its arguments and conclusions, their development, confirmation or rejection, will hopefully
have the same revealing effect.
Marijana Hameršak
A Long Time Ago

Clare Bradford. 2015. The Middle Ages in Children’s Literature. Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan. 209 pp. ISBN 978-1-137-03538-7
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0021
Clare Bradford is an eminent scholar and writer with research interests in literary
studies in general and children’s literature in particular. She holds a personal chair as
Alfred Deakin Professor at the Faculty of Arts & Education, School of Communication and
Creative Arts at Deakin University. She is also a very prolific writer, whose achievements
have been recognised through several international fellowships, grants and book awards.
She was also the President of the International Research Society for Children’s Literature
(2007–2011).
In 2008, with Kerry Mallan, she initiated and edited the Palgrave Macmillan series
titled “Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature”, with the aim “to identify and publish
the best contemporary scholarship and criticism on children’s and young adult literature,
film and media texts” (ix). The most recent contribution to this series is Bradford’s own
book The Middle Ages in Children’s Literature, which, in the author’s own words, on her
official staff profile web page of Deakin University, “explores how the Middle Ages are
used and abused in medievalist texts for the young – that is, post-medieval texts which
respond to and deploy medieval culture”.
From the title alone, it is obvious that Bradford made a brave effort to integrate history
and literature studies into a coherent, interdisciplinary text focused on children as specific
recipients of literary writings. There are several indicators supporting an interdisciplinary
approach in this book. For example, the fundaments of relevant medievalist studies such as
Medievalism and the Gothic in Australian Culture (2006) by Stephanie Trigg are clearly laid
out and referred to as the starting ground for the literary and sociological interpretation of the
selected and analysed material. The corpus of the analysed texts is very diverse, including
children’s and young adult novels and picturebooks, in addition to other multimedia content
such as children’s films and video games based on novels. However, the study is limited to
20th and 21st century publications.
It is clear that the analysed texts were written in a time far removed from the medieval
period, thus opening a unique opportunity to examine how the Middle Ages were presented
to a more contemporary, young public. Bradford suggests that contemporary children’s
books, novels or picturebooks that include representations of the past are actually about
contemporary issues and that they reinforce the values of contemporary societies. In order
to support such a claim, she includes numerous examples, alternatively examining texts
from the perspective of the Middle Ages and of modernity.
The book is divided into seven chapters, mostly with respect to different aspects of
modern representations of medievalism. In the introductory section titled “Framing the
Medieval”, Bradford clearly presents her stand on the difference between the medieval and
medievalism. She considers the term “medieval” in the context of texts written during the
Middle Ages, and “medievalism” in the context of texts set in the Middle Ages or containing
symbolism characteristic of the Middle Ages, but written afterwards. Then she reflects on
parallels between medievalism and children’s literature research, only to unite them in a
coherent study that can provide new insights into both fields of research.
In the first chapter, “Thinking about the Middle Ages”, Bradford provides one of
the most convincing arguments for her suggestion that writing about the past serves to
explore the present, and that medievalism in children’s literature is strongly related to
issues burdening modern society. For example, contemporary gender issues are clearly
reflected in the analysis of Martin Baynton’s Jane and the Dragon (1988), where Jane,
who wants to become a knight, meets a dragon who fights only because this is expected of
him. The resolution is positive for both and contrary to medieval social expectations and
roles; it rather reflects the “values and attitudes promoted to young girls in progressive
contemporary societies” (23).
The next two chapters consider temporal and spatial aspects of medieval representations
in children’s literature (or games based on novels). The notion of time in literature, time
travel and multi-temporal narratives are analysed together with their implementation in
complex, virtual games. The use of specific medieval settings such as manor houses and
Gothic buildings is promoted as the most important link to past times. These places represent
sites of heroic acts or serve as descriptions of a glorious past.
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 265
The next two chapters deal with deviations from the common or normal in the form
of disabilities and monstrous bodies in medievalist fiction. These chapters offer great
possibilities for drawing parallels with contemporary policies of accepting and respecting
differences in physical ability or appearance, and current initiatives for the inclusion
of children with different needs in regular classes; they also raise issues of overcoming
problems and compensating for shortcomings through virtuous characters and kindness.
These opportunities are just partially realised, with most of the chapter limited to descriptions
of examples such as DreamWorks’ animated film How to Train Your Dragon (2010; loosely
based on Cressida Cowell’s series of novels) in which the main child character wears a
prosthesis in a medieval Viking village, or Disney’s Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre
Dame, 1996) who bears traces of Victor Hugo’s Gothic imaginings of disability and
difference. Representations of monstrous bodies are related to social changes in contemporary
society and developmental changes in children transforming into adults through puberty.
Examples of fairy, vampire, dragon and werewolf stories prevail in these chapters.
In the sixth chapter, Bradford turns to the motif of the relationship between animals
and humans in medievalist texts, describing the change from the anthropocentric treatment
of animals (the assumption that they derive value only from their utility to humans) towards
their role as agents, active participants in stories. Anthropomorphic animals as substitutes
for humans in texts written for younger children are also described.
In contrast to the serious and sometimes dark and naturalistic tone of medieval
representations characteristic of several chapters, the book ends in a more relaxed and
positive tone, with the final chapter titled “The Laughable Middle Ages”. Humorous
representations of the so-called dark Middle Ages are most prominent in picturebooks
and animated films for younger audiences. The analysis focuses on the social function
of children’s texts that make fun of this historical period, usually from the safe vantage
point of modernity. For example, in stories titled Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole
(1987), The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko (1980) and
The Knight Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Barbara Shook Hazen and Tony Ross (1989),
comic elements centre on narratives which mock patriarchal versions of gender relations
and stereotypes characteristic of the medieval period. Other examples include alternative
humorous non-fiction historiographies aimed to amuse an already informed reader, such as
the You Wouldn’t Want to Be… series of books, which includes the title You Wouldn’t Want
to Be a Medieval Knight by Fiona Macdonald and David Antram (2013).
In her concluding remarks, Clare Bradford presents us with some tentative answers to the
question why medieval characters, creatures and motifs tend to creep into our contemporary
lives, reflecting our reality as a dreamlike experience. She underlines the increasing presence
and global expansion of medievalism in the popular culture of young people. Therefore,
this book is a timely and indispensable source for doctoral students and researchers who
wish to further investigate and illuminate this cross-section of literary criticism, specific
historical period and socio-cultural perspectives with children as recipients of contemporary
medievalism. With that in mind, this book is less of an exhaustive list of medievalism in
children’s literature, and more of an open invitation to further study this fascinating topic
from different literary, sociological, educational and psychological perspectives.
Kristina Riman
Space, Place, Power and Play

Maria Sachiko Cecire, Hannah Field, Kavita Mudan Finn and Malini Roy, eds.
2015. Space and Place in Children’s Literature, 1789 to the Present. Farnham:
Ashgate Publishing Limited. 250 pp. ISBN 978-1-4724-2054-1
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0022
The latest addition to the “Ashgate Studies in Childhood, 1700 to the Present” series,
the edited collection Space and Place in Children’s Literature, 1789 to the Present, originated
from a conference on place and space in children’s literature held at Oxford University
in 2009. As suggested by the title, the ten chapters that make up this thought-provoking
volume study the intricate relationship between space/place and children’s literature, by
examining a series of case studies from different countries and socio-historical frames,
ranging from established classics such as Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden
(1911) to contemporary books which (being unavailable in English translation) remain
virtually unknown outside their country of origin. In addition to the usual scholarly front/
back matter, such as notes on contributors and an index, the volume includes an introduction
– penned by editors Maria Sachiko Cecire, Hannah Field, Kavita Mudan Finn and Malini
Roy – and an epilogue by Philip Pullman (the printed version of his talk delivered at Oxford
in April 2009).
The underlying premise presented in the introductory piece consists of two parts: on
the one hand, children’s literature is filled with special (often imaginary) spaces/places
accessible only to children; on the other hand, childhood itself occupies a special space,
one that adults typically try to define and control. Drawing on the writings of Yi-Fu Tuan,
Gaston Bachelard, Michel de Certeau and Jan Huizinga, the editors identify the interplay
between space and place, especially in relation to power and play, as the central focus of
the collection. They then proceed to illustrate the said interplay by examining the echoes of
Oxford in Lewis Carroll’s Alice books (1865, 1871), as well as the city’s representations and
roles in Pullman’s series His Dark Materials (1995–2000) and the novella Lyra’s Oxford
(2003).
Exploring the places/spaces of childhood (literal, metaphorical, psychological, etc.)
and the notion of childhood as space (together with the interrelated notions of “belonging
and alienation, freedom and trauma, and the tangible and the esoteric” (5)) through a variety
of theoretical and disciplinary lenses (philosophy, culture and childhood studies, visual
analysis and cultural geography, to name but a few), the insightful and well-researched
chapters successfully establish a cross-disciplinary dialogue and draw attention to children’s
literature as an important area within literary studies of space/place. The chapters are
organised into four thematic sections, each of which opens with a brief introduction and a
concise but helpful list of select sources.
The two essays in the first thematic section, “The Spaces Between Children and
Adults”, discuss the relationship between children’s spaces/places and adult power.
Power is the key term in the contribution by Peter Hunt, which presents the possibility
of determining whether or not a book can be considered children’s literature by way of
examining power (im)balance and relationships between inner and outer spaces. Hunt
elaborates on this model via analyses of a series of well-known (children’s?) novels, such as
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Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows (1908) – which, according to Hunt, lacks “empathy
with a childhood state” (30) – and the highly “child-oriented” (32) Swallows and Amazons
by Arthur Ransome (1930). Aneesh Barai’s chapter is concerned with critically overlooked
children’s literature written by Sylvia Plath. In his reading of Plath’s writings, informed by
the semiotic theory of Julia Kristeva, Barai pays special attention to the maternal spaces of
the bedroom and kitchen.
The second section, “Real-World Places”, brings together three essays which discuss
the relationship between actual, extra-literary landscapes, and their representation in
children’s literature. Francesca Orestano explores the portrayal and significance of Naples
– simultaneously constructed as an “exotic” locale and used to address domestic concerns
– in Maria Edgeworth’s short story “The Little Merchants” (1800). Renata Morresi studies
Chicano/a picturebooks (especially the works of Irma Pérez, Juan Felipe Herrera, Gloria
Anzaldúa, and Gary Soto) dealing with cross-cultural subjects, the cultural space of
Chicanism, bilingualism and hybrid borderline spaces. Elzette Steenkamp is interested in
the uses of South African landscapes in Jenny Robson’s futuristic YA novel Savannah 2116
AD (2004). The novel is further used as a platform for an ecocritical discussion of the
Western understanding of childhood as having a privileged (and highly romanticised) link
with nature.
The third section, “Traversing the Imaginary”, is dedicated to explorations of fantasy
spaces and imaginary worlds (inevitably based on “real-world spaces”) in children’s literature.
Maria Sachicko Cecire argues that C.S. Lewis’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
“integrates medieval elements, the legacy of early modern exploration, and the imperialist
adventure narratives of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries” (112) to create an
imaginary land which, although not explicitly linked to the British Empire, “largely echoes
English landscape and culture” (114). Through a close reading of Elizabeth Knox’s fantasy
novels Dreamhunter (2005) and Dreamquake (2007), Ruth Feingold makes a strong case
for the study of the relatively unexplored postcolonial children’s fantasy, which, she claims,
“stands at an important crossroads of literary geography, inviting a further probing of the
multiple ways that identities – both individual and national – may be formulated through a
negotiation of place” (130). Margot Stafford’s study of the metaphorical landscape of the
10-volume educational series Journeys through Bookland edited by Charles H. Sylvester
reveals “conflicting desires about childhood reading and child readers” (148) during the so-
called Progressive Era in the Unites States.
In the fourth and final section, “Book Space”, the focus shifts from spaces within
books to the spaces of the books themselves, particularly their materiality and paratextual
elements. Hannah Field demonstrates how Victorian children’s panoramas use time and
space to create narrativised movement or progression, while Catherine Renaud focuses on
the interplay between image and word in the picturebooks of Claude Ponti. Relying on the
concepts of the paratext (Gérard Genette) and metafictional texts (Patricia Waugh), Renaud
examines Ponti’s paratextual jokes and games, his representations of houses, and uses of
maps and metafictional spaces.
The chapters are bookended by Pullman’s richly illustrated epilogue. Brief analyses
and personal reflections on select illustrations serve as the basis for a discussion on the role
and importance of images in creating literary spaces, and the so-called borderline which
Pullman defines as “the space that opens up between the private mind of the reader and the
book they’re reading” (216).
Taken individually, the chapters in this stimulating volume deliver engaged and
comprehensive discussions, provide innovative theoretical and methodological approaches,
and offer fresh insights into studying children’s books. Taken together, they advance an
exciting vein of children’s literature scholarship. As the editors themselves point out, the
collection is by no means meant to be exhaustive; rather, its goal is to provide a model
and impetus for future research. Offering a multifaceted discussion of its subject matter,
this highly readable volume manages to get a serious scholarly conversation underway and
create space for other researchers to fill in the inevitable gaps. Accessible in both content
and style, Space and Place in Children’s Literature, 1789 to the Present will primarily be
of use to students and scholars of children’s literature, cultural geography, and childhood
studies, but is likely to draw the attention of researchers working in other fields as well.
Nada Kujundžić
Early Years, Languages and Picturebooks

Sandie Mourão and Mónica Lourenço, eds. 2015. Early Years Second Language
Education: International Perspectives on Theory and Practice. Abingdon:
Routledge. 240 pp. ISBN 978-0-415-70527-1
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0023
Early Years Second Language Education, edited by Sandie Mourão and Mónica
Lourenço, gives an overview of research in the field of early language education. It is
based on the integration of theory, research and practice and mainly explores the language
learning of children who are under 6 years old, especially L2 learning. A vast number of
aspects affecting language learning are discussed through the chapters, such as teacher
education, policymaking, international case studies, projects, code switching and language
use, as is a variety of methodologies and approaches. This allows for a critical presentation
of the benefits of starting learning a second language as early as possible. A wide range
of geographical and other contexts is provided since there are contributors from several
countries who share their interest in language education, which makes the reading of this
book a rich experience.
Underestimating the necessity of special training for teachers of young learners is
highlighted as one of the misconceptions of language-related decisions and programmes.
Learning any language should not be seen merely as a school subject but as a dynamic
process influenced by many factors, which prompted the researchers to examine wider
contexts. Some practical guidelines are given for language learning and teaching at school
and at home and they mainly support learning beyond strict curriculum frameworks.
Methodologies covered by the majority of the research in Early Years Second Language
Education rely on children’s curiosity and the role of learning through all five senses.
Children’s knowledge of the world encourages them to use their whole linguistic repertoire
when they are engaged at different levels. The main groundwork for the researchers in this
book was to focus on children and their nature, which is seen as the basis for education.
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 269
The book is aimed at readers concerned with language education, especially those
in the field of early years education, in which the editors of the book are also engaged.
It is divided into three major parts with the first one focused on the child, the second on
classroom approaches, and the third on teachers and parents.
In the first part, several topics are covered related to early years language acquisition
and second language learning (SLL), such as cognitive and linguistic aspects (Belma
Haznedar), bilingual contexts, intercultural and environmental learning (Kirstin Kersten), a
case study of identity perceptions in trilingual twins (Nayr Ibrahim), and reading picturebooks
and storybooks, in two chapters that are more closely related to children’s literature and
may therefore be thematically particularly relevant to children’s literature scholars and
students. These chapters focus on the significance of picturebooks for children’s language
development, elaborating on how children respond to picturebooks during repeated read-
alouds and in a multilingual context.
In chapter 4, Sandie Mourão presents her research on children’s linguistic repertoires
during repeated read-alouds. The aim is to disclose how children make meaning when
affected by different contexts. The author begins by stating the underlying problems in
language learning. One of these is the traditional focus of education, which is almost
entirely upon the written word, giving less importance to visual discourse in picturebooks,
thus neglecting the possibilities of their multimodality. In order to engage readers, a brief
overview of reader-response theories precedes the presented research. During the read-
alouds, children’s reactions were provoked by illustrations, but their responses were both
in Portuguese and English, which showed that children think in both languages. This is
the main reason for Mourão to suggest exploiting the multimodality of picturebooks in
L2 learning, which is further supported by the results and concluding comments. The L2
learning context requires the careful selection of L2 picturebooks which offer a complex
picture-word dynamic for acquiring language. The chapter is well organised, gives a clear
overview of its context and methodology, and includes several graphs depicting children’s
responses which appear to be highly influenced by the illustrations in picturebooks. These
responses are skilfully described and related to the categories presented in Sipe’s theory of
literary understanding. Many findings of Mourão’s study can be implemented in practice.
Chapter 5 reports on the research by Anna Bylund and Polly Björk-Willén, who
exposed bilingual Spanish-Swedish 4-year-old children to the reading of a picturebook in
Spanish by a teacher who was not a native speaker of Spanish. By following the Deleuzian
concept of assemblage, they wanted to explore who plays an important role in the process
of reading picturebooks aloud. The main problem was how a group of very young users of
a given language would react to such a read-aloud. The experimenters wanted to emphasise
the role of children and other factors, such as the book itself, the school and its language
policy in relation to the competent adult speaker who is expected to lead the reading
of picturebooks in the classroom. The authors of the study also aimed to explore what
the outcomes of a different, non-traditional use of picturebooks in class would be. The
method is an assemblage in which all the components during the read-aloud – such as
material, social, institutional and linguistic elements – matter and interact. The main focus
of the chapter is on the process of becoming multilingual which includes the possibility of
creating language knowledge by transformation between languages. The analytical part of
the chapter following the description of the picturebook session could have been a bit more
neatly organised to allow the reader to follow the text more easily, but this paper still offers
a fresh perspective on using picturebooks in learning other languages.
Part 2 comprises chapters on early language learning in Cyprus (Sophie Ioannou-
Georgiou), on introducing French to pre-primary children in England (James McElwee), on
a broader and integrated approach to languages in the same age-group (Mónica Lourenço
and Anna Isabel Andrade), on active listening (Teresa Fleta) and on the role of technology
in early years SLL (Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto).
The first two chapters in Part 3 focus on pre-primary English language learning
and teacher education in the Czech Republic (Monika Černá), and in Slovakia (Zuzana
Portiková). The remaining chapters explore teachers’ attitudes to innovations in SLL
(Ekaterina Sofronieva), family involvement (Sabine Pirchio et al.), and supporting parents
of young learners (Alexander Sokol and Edgar Lasevich).
It can be concluded that this book is a rich reading experience for all who are in any
way involved in second or foreign language education. Researchers, academics, teachers
and students could all find it useful, especially teachers of young and very young learners
who use authentic picturebooks in teaching. Offering a variety of contexts, methodologies
and approaches, it gives a wide picture of language learning as a dynamic process, while
highlighting the basis of education and the fact that children’s nature is often neglected
when complex frameworks are created.
Mateja Lovreković
A Secret World of the Translation Process

Gillian Lathey. 2016. Translating Children’s Literature. London and New York:
Routledge. 172 pp. ISBN 978-1138803763
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0024
Gillian Lathey’s delightfully readable Translating Children’s Literature gives the

impression of being a tête à tête in which she shares much personal knowledge and expertise
of translation over the years. This she supports with fascinating references to the work of
long-standing colleagues, which she interposes alongside her own thinking. Although not a
professional translator herself, Lathey’s interest in writing Translating Children’s Literature
stems from a passion in children’s literature developed during her early primary teaching
career, and later as an academic, as well as from a deep and lifelong interest in the art of
translation. Thus she is in an excellent position to discuss the work of so many “invisible
storytellers” (Lathey 2010) who make possible the transference of literary works for young
children from one culture to another. Her aim, she emphasises, is to “assist would-be
translators to act as bridges for the young into worlds of individual writers whose work they
would not otherwise encounter” (11).
Lathey’s introduction talks directly to prospective translators or those who have just
begun to embark on the journey (no matter what their source or target language) and makes
them the focus of her dialogue. She emphasises that translating children’s literature is a
diverse and complex process and is no less challenging than translating for adults. She also
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 271
demonstrates the potential of narrative and linguistic style and points out that, in all cultures,
translated children’s literature has had “profound effects on the development of national
children’s literatures” (7). Using many well known examples from the Brothers Grimm and
Carlo Collodi, amongst others, to support her argument, she suggests, perhaps to encourage
those new to the art, that translating for children may also include more contemporary
and experimental texts which will “tax even the most competent of translators” (8). As
one would expect, this introduction outlines what is to come and contextualises the book’s
content with background information on issues such as critical and theoretical interests in
translation for children, which can offer fresh insights into specific strategies.
Each chapter is set out in easy-to-follow sections which address different aspects of
translation for children, and is accompanied by helpful exercises or questions that can be
worked through at the reader’s own pace, or used as the basis for seminar structure.
Chapter One focuses on common modes of addressing the child reader, narrative style
and the challenges of translating the child’s voice. Lathey, quoting Riitta Oittinen, a renowned
expert on translation for children, suggests that “the translator should reach out to children of
the target culture by attempting to re-experience the dynamic intensity of childhood” (15).
Lathey believes that an understanding of children’s imaginative, spiritual and emotional
concerns is an inestimable advantage to a translator writing for a young audience, whose
primary task is to identify the quality of narrative voice in a children’s text. When discussing
translated extracts from well-known tales such as A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh and
Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Langstrump, plus lesser known translations from Japan and other
countries, Lathey ably leads us through the complex and precarious routes the translator has
to follow in order to achieve successful communication with young readers. She also points
out that layers of meaning for dual audiences should be as apparent in the translation as in
the source text. Additionally, she draws on the work of experienced translators like Anthea
Bell, Patricia Crampton and Sarah Ardizzone, amongst others, whose experiences will help
readers to understand how each translator has managed to find their own very personal
translation style which helps them to engage with an imagined child reader.
Chapter Two, entitled “Meeting the Unknown”, concerns itself with the translation of
cultural markers for young readers and the delicate question of the degree of unfamiliarity
children can be expected to assimilate. Here Lathey questions just how far a translator should
“mediate” a work of fiction, because young people who rarely encounter other cultures
in their reading material may be wary of the unknown (39). However, she suggests that
“domesticating” foreign names or milieu, for example, removes an element of excitement
from children’s reading (38). Again, she supports her argument with numerous examples of
the ways in which translators have overcome this problem, including: relocation, cultural
explanation, specific cultural markers, glossaries and translating names and place names.
Amusingly, she exemplifies how the Englishness of Harry Potter’s middle class address in
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is telegraphed through the name of the road in
which he lives (48), and goes on to cite the ways in which French, German, Latin, Japanese
and Russian translators have coped with this – some more successfully than others!
Chapter Three tackles the visual dimension that has been of central importance to
the children’s literatures of most cultures, and the translation of the modern picturebook.
Translating the visual, Lathey tells us, places creative demands on both the aesthetic and
visual aspects of children’s literature, and she cites Comenius who, as early as 1659,
described the process as “a three way tension between source language, target language
and illustrations”. More recently Andrea Bell (2006) describes it as a “tightrope walk”
for the translator, and Lathey believes that translators have to engage with complex
orchestration of text and image that requires an informed understanding of the illustrator’s
art, multimediality and semiotics. Additionally, she continues, the positioning of text in
relation to pictures may require some thought on the part of the translator and quotes Maria
Nikolajeva and Carol Scott who emphasise the interdependence of picture and text so that
neither would make sense without the other. This chapter is full of fascinating references to
the pitfalls that translators can fall into when translating the visual, and includes examples
from comic strips such as the Japanese manga which have played a significant role in the
development of visual literacy in young readers that is essential in the 21st century. As she
does this, she focuses on both linguistic and pictorial elements within the dialogue and
stresses the importance of onomatopoeia, as well as inscriptions within images, and shows
the relevance of certain typographic elements plus seeing the book as an artefact.
Translating text is the theme of Chapter Four, where dialogue, dialect and street
language take the lead, since all three have played a dominant role in modern children’s
literature, and have also been subject to didactic constraints in some countries. A translator
working with spoken language in children’s books, Lathey suggests, needs to become
acquainted with children’s speech patterns and listen to sibling exchanges in order to create
a convincing vernacular that will not date too quickly. She convincingly demonstrates this
with examples of translated extracts that Cathy Hirano might have used when she worked
on Kazumi Yumoto’s The Friends. It is clear from this account, and several others, that
in-depth awareness of children’s speech in both the source and target languages is vital
if the transition from one culture to another is to be successful. Linguistic constraints,
particularly when relating to languages such as Arabic, Hebrew and Japanese, are also
discussed here and Lathey details specific sensitive issues relating to these languages which
impose translation limitations. Slang and “street talk”, on the other hand, can pose different
constraints, especially if a publisher prefers the use of standard English, and Lathey includes
a number of pertinent examples to support this. Similarly, she exemplifies how the pitfalls
of regional dialect and idiodialect can trap the unwary translator, as can the spoken language
of younger children because, as she so rightly points out, it takes great skill and sensitivity
on the part of the translator to tune into a young child’s voice (87).
Translating sound, the theme of Chapter Five, turns to a crucial creative element in
translating for children: read-aloud qualities, wordplay, onomatopoeia and the translation
of poetry. Here Lathey covers much ground and provides numerous situations which
demonstrate that this task is not as simple as one might think. She believes that, since
children of all ages often hear stories rather than read them, translators have a particular
responsibility to produce texts that read aloud well. Placing her focus on sound (i.e. the
aural and read-aloud qualities of translated prose): on animal cries, wordplay, children’s
poetry and nonsense rhymes, she lets a number of professional translators explain the
reasoning behind their work and chooses words from Sarah Ardizonne to demonstrate this:
“You want it to have its own voice and sing for itself” (94). Lathey then suggests that Roald
Dahl’s The BFG is a case in point – where neologisms such as “snozzcumbers”, “human
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 273
beans”, “jiggyraffes” and “cattypiddlers” indicate the significance of reading these names
aloud. When discussing poetry, Lathey stresses that if juggling four dimensions of meaning:
the source language, target language, images and poetic form, a translator has to make
choices that may involve sacrifice of one aspect of the text’s layers of communication. In
addition, especially when translating nonsense verse, the translator has to rely on literary
and linguistic knowledge and familiarity with children’s poetry to ensure a child-friendly
translation.
Chapter Six addresses the continuum between a translation and a retelling, as well as
the retranslation and reworking of children’s classics and fairy tales. Lathey suggests that
the translations of many children’s stories may reduce a carefully crafted text to a basic plot
line, but there is also great potential for literary creativity. This chapter demonstrates that
it is not always easy to establish the dividing line between a translation and a rewriting,
explaining a number of factors that can come into play. Strategies for translating folk and
fairy tales are exemplified, which include a fascinating and somewhat surprising account of
Arthur Ransome’s Russian translations. Similarly, the section on translation and retranslation
of children’s classics makes reference to narratives such as The Arabian Nights, Gulliver’s
Travels, Don Quixote, Alice in Wonderland and Heidi. Relay translations conclude this
chapter, explaining that these occur in cultural and historical contexts where a source text
is no longer available.
Chapter Seven, on the current role of translation in the global children’s publishing
industry, also covers virtual translation and translators working with children, and is a
fitting conclusion to a book which gives so many insights into the world of translation for
children. It takes the process almost out of the hands of the translator and focuses on extra-
textual matters such as who decides what gets translated, when and how; the marketing
and packaging of children’s books; and international developments in children’s literature,
yet does not forget the important role translators or child readers can play in the publishing
process. The chapter is full of advice for young translators but says that “serendipity”
(129) does play a part in an individual’s success because personal connections with foreign
authors, illustrators, translators, editors or agents are by far the most important channels of
information about books worthy of translation! Lathey’s final section places the child centre
stage as translator, reader and respondent, and suggests how the internet is beginning to
spawn child translators. She also outlines the importance of translation projects in schools
and highlights the Translation Nation project which began in the UK. Finally, she reminds us
that to translate for the young is to address the next generation through the voice of a source-
text author that brings both enjoyment and responsibility – it is demanding yet inspiring.
Having read Translating Children’s Literature the impression it leaves is that of being
invited into a secret world, full of fascinating insights into the translation process. Lathey,
very ably aided and abetted by her numerous linguistically competent international friends
and colleagues, invites translators and prospective translators worldwide to share the results
of her research, knowledge and expertise. Translating Children’s Literature is not only an
important read for translators but also an informative source text for all those interested in
children’s literature, as it gives insights into the literary processes involved in creating and
re-creating texts for children, and suggests exciting new ways forward for the 21st century.
Penni Cotton
A Treasury
Małgorzata Cackowska and Anita Wincencjusz-Patyna. 2016. Look! Polish
Picturebook. Gdańsk: The Baltic Sea Cultural Centre in Gdańsk. 120 pp. ISBN
978-83-938309-5-4
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0025
In Look! Polish Picturebook, Małgorzata Cackowska and Anita Wincencjusz-Patyna

present a selection of Polish picturebooks from the 1960s until today. Their goal is to
present the achievements of Polish illustrators and, as they say, “to offer an analysis and
discussion of the continuity of the traditions and changes in the contemporary Polish art and
picturebook design” (2).
The book has a hundred and twenty pages, and is printed in full colour and richly
illustrated. The first part of the book offers a brief history of Polish picturebooks with a
comparison of older and younger illustrators, and the second part provides an overview
of selected authors. A great contribution to the quality of the book is made by the graphic
designer Grażka Lange (also an illustrator) who masterfully lays out the chapters and pages
in such a way that makes them extremely attractive and in the spirit of the illustrations they
present.
It becomes immediately evident in the first part of the book that Poland has a great
tradition of graphic art which is deeply reflected in all the illustrations, regardless of the period
in which they were created. A case in point is the comparison of Bohdan Wróblewski’s and
Janusz Minkiewicz’s Od A do Z (1959), and Urszula Palusińska’s presentation of Jehoszue
Kaminski’s poems Majn alef bejs (2012), as the former picturebook cannot be distinguished
from the recent one in terms of creativity, style, skill or modernity. It seems almost that they
were both created in the same period, which assures us of the constant quality of Polish
illustrations. It is interesting to see pieces by Bohdan Butenko, the master of the Polish
school of illustration, whose work from as early as 1959 appears typical of contemporary
digital illustrations, without the help of modern technology. These illustrations look almost
as though they were made today, only with the slightly retro feel that we can so often
find in recent design and illustration. Butenko, Themersonova and Tomaszewski employed
collage as a technique for creating illustrations using a typical postmodern approach in
which everything combines with everything and nothing is avoided. Younger illustrators,
such as Ignerska, Palusińska and Langeova, work in the same spirit but they employ the
benefits of digital technology which increases the artists’ abilities to play with different
objects, compositions and proportions.
The first part of the book gives us an interesting comparison of illustrators who share
a similar style. The works of authors from the 1950s and 1960s are, for example, placed on
the left page and their “younger” colleagues, their artistic pairs (as the authors of the book
call them) who use the same techniques for creating illustrations, are on the facing pages,
which gives us a fine overview of influences throughout the history of the Polish school of
illustration.
Throughout the first part, the authors of the book point out the styles that the
illustrators use in their work, such as: colourful approaches to images (Lenica, Pawlak),
use of typography as an element of illustration (Gurowska, Dudek, A&D Mizielińscy,
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 275
Mɫodożeniec, Lange), collage techniques as a basis for creative composition (Butenko),

minimalistic use of colours (Butenko, Bogucka, Wróblewski), imitating children’s artistic
expression with the intention of achieving spontaneity (Królak, Oklejak, Pawlak), use of
print techniques for creating images (Niemierko, Palusińska), including photography in
illustrations (Cieślak, Lange, Themerson), using “primitive” art techniques while illustrating
(Wilbik, Kilian), and adopting the style of comics (Hanulak, Lange, Butenko).
The second part of the book starts with an attractively presented table of contents
which lists all the books represented in the first part of the book, now given on the left
pages, and short biographies of their authors on the recto pages. Here we are also introduced
to some authors who are not mentioned in the first part of the book and are not compared
with their artistic pairs, but the authors have included them because their “achievements
in the area of picturebook design are also highly impressive” (2). Here we meet: Anita
Andrzejewska & Andrzej Pilichowski-Ragno, a successful duo who use photographs and
collage to create joyful and original picturebooks; Jan Bajtlik, a minimalist young illustrator
who is a great fan of typography; Katarzyna Bogucka and her dynamic retro style; Antoni
Boratyński who creates in a surreal manner; Bohdan Butenko and his impressive and
very original opus; Iwona Chmielewska with her tender and lyrical images; Ola Cieślak
who uses collage to create playful compositions; Agata Dudek and her dramatic use of
black and grey; Stasys Eidrigevičius who is an outstanding draughtsman; Maria Ekier, a
witty storyteller; Piotr Fąfrowicz, an illustrator with a very delicate imagination; Barbara
Gawdzik-Brzozowska and her architectural approach; Janusz Grabiański, an artist who
very bravely used the collage technique; Małgorzata Gurowska with her digitally stylised
silhouettes and pictograms; Halina Gutsche and her work originating from children’s art
expression; Monika Hanulak who creates simple images mainly using primary colours;
Marta Ignerska, an artist who very passionately plays with colours and texture; Adam
Kilian who is frequently inspired by Polish folk art; Danuta Konwicka and her colourful
and exciting illustrations; Cyprian Kościelniak with his very expressive painting-like style;
Agata Królak who uses typography and highly stylised images to create a composition;
Grażka Lange, an illustrator and designer who combines these two disciplines in her work;
Jan Lenica, who creates various images in black and white; the Lewitt & Him team and
their picturesque illustrations; Krystyna Lipka-Sztarbaɫɫo and her interesting perspectives;
Juliusz Makowski who uses visual images of colourful worlds to tell a story; Aleksandra
& Daniel Mizielińscy, a duo who use graphic design in a very attractive comic-book style;
Jan Mɫodożeniec and his typographic approach; Piotr Mɫodożeniec who often works in
a pop-art manner; Anna Niemierko and her simple illustrations in the manner of child
artwork; Marianna Oklejak, who is inspired by tradition; Urszula Palusińska, a design-
oriented artist; Paweɫ Pawlak, who experiments with techniques; Mieczysɫaw Piotrowski,
who uses the style of comics; Olga Siemaszko and her poetic style; Janusz Stanny, who
deals extensively with children’s art expression; Marian Stachurski, who creates simplified
shapes; Andzej Strumiɫɫo and his dramatic scenes; Franciszka Themerson, an illustrator who
uses a very small range of colours while combining her pictographic compositions; Henryk
Tomaszewski, with his satirical attitude; Maria Uszacka whose drawings are exceptionally
forceful; Marian Walentynowicz and her comic-book style; Elżbieta Wasiuczyńska, who
creates tender and charming characters; Andrzej Wiercieński, inspired by animated film
frames; Teresa Wilbik and her fantastic and wild worlds; Józef Wilkoń, who deals with
3D-objects as illustration elements; Zdzisɫaw Witwicki as a lyrical illustrator; Ignacy Witz
and his simplified characters; Aleksandra Woldańska-Pɫocińska and her richly stylised
animals and environments; Bohdan Wróblewski whose illustrations are really humorous;
Stanislaw Zamecznik and his geometric approach to composing; and, finally, Agnieszka
Żelewska, who creates happy and safe picturesque scenes.
As the authors emphasise in the introduction, this publication is prepared in English
“to show Polish picturebooks to the international audience as comprehensively designed,
beautiful objects, strongly rooted in the traditions of the very best book design – and
we hope for an increase in interest in them within the environment of researchers and
professionals from countries other than Poland, as well as their inclusion in the global
academic discourse” (3). This book is truly a great contribution to the world collection of
literature on illustration and picturebooks which, as we know, is still very modest and needs
more studies like this one.
Antonija Balić Šimrak
Kultur und Text mit allen ihren Facetten

Silke Pasewalck, Dieter Neidlinger & Terje Loogus (Hrsg.). 2014.
Interkulturalität und (literarisches) Übersetzen. Tübingen: Stauffenburg Verlag.
332 Seiten. ISBN 978-3-86057-097-5
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0026
Der Sammelband Interkulturalität und (literarisches) Übersetzen herausgegeben von

Silke Pasewalck, Dieter Neidlinger und Terje Loogus umfasst insgesamt 21 Beiträge, die
auf der gleichnamigen Tagung vom 30. September bis 2. Oktober 2011 in Tartu (Estland)
vorgestellt wurden. Der Band ist in fünf Themenbereiche aufgeteilt: „Interkulturalitäts- und
Kulturkonzepte in Literatur- und Übersetzungswissenschaft“, „Literatur und Übersetzung“,
„Literatur und Interkulturalität“, „Übersetzung als Kulturtransfer“ und „Übersetzung und
Deutsch als Fremdsprache“.
Im ersten Beitrag thematisiert Corinna Albrecht in Form einer kritischen Diskussion die
Konzepte Hybridität, Transkulturalität und „dritter Raum“ (25). Der Begriff Interkulturalität
in seiner traditionellen Form sieht Kultur als ein homogenes Gebilde, welches entweder
eigen oder fremd sein kann, was nach der Meinung der Autorin den modernen Ansätzen
nicht mehr entspricht. Durch die Einführung des Begriffs Transkulturalität als Pendant
zum Begriff der Interkulturalität komme es auf der Tiefenebene nicht wirklich zu einer
Veränderung, bzw. eine einfache Begriffsänderung ohne tiefere Betrachtung der eigentlichen
Problematik bringe keine Entwicklung mit sich. Zum Thema Interkulturalität bestehe
darüber hinaus eine Menge sich ständig abwechselnder theoretischer Ansätze, die einander
jedoch nicht ausschließen und immer eine kritische Überprüfung voraussetzen.
Im Betrag „Über den Kulturbegriff in der funktionalen Translatologie“ versucht
Terje Loogus den Begriff ‚Kultur‘ aus translatologischer Sicht zu erklären. Die 1980er
Jahre wurden durch die kulturelle Wende gekennzeichnet: Man begann die Übersetzung
statt eines rein sprachlichen Transfers auch als einen kulturellen Transfer zu betrachten.
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 277
Diese Wende ist stark in der Skopostheorie und den deutschen funktionalen Ansätzen
sowie in der Descriptive Translation Studies erkennbar. Kulturelle Unterschiede bedeuten
für den Übersetzer einen Vergleich zwischen den Kulturen, wobei Unterschiede und ihre
Relevanz für die Übersetzung festzustellen seien. Dabei werden Transkulturalität und
Interkulturalität als komplementäre einander ergänzende Begriffe betrachtet. Zuletzt hebt
die Beitragsautorin hervor, dass sich sowohl die funktionale Translatologie als auch die
deskriptive Übersetzungsforschung für einen dynamischen und strukturierten Kulturbegriff
einsetzen.
Christiane Nord schreibt in ihrem Beitrag darüber, wie Kultur erworben wird und
welche kulturelle Kompetenz von Übersetzern und Dolmetschern zu erwarten ist. Ausgehend
von der Skopostheorie definiert sie den in ihr zentralen Kulturbegriff und verbindet diesen
zum einen mit dem translatorischen Handeln, das immer in eine Kultur eigebettet ist,
und zum anderen mit den Begriffen Kulturem und Behaviorem. Sie betont die erwähnten
Kulturbegriffe als vom alten ‚Kugelmodell‘ ausgehende Ansätze, meint jedoch, dass in der
heutigen Welt der transkulturelle Aspekt immer vorhanden ist und kein Land bzw. sogar
keine Familie eine ‚Kugel‘ für sich ist, weshalb immer wieder Missverständnisse entstehen.
Als nützlich erwähnt sie das Konzept der ‚rich points‘, die kulturelle Aspekte darstellen, die
ein hohes kulturelles Konfliktpotential enthalten bzw. betonte Unterschiede zwischen zwei
Kulturen ansprechen. Dies sind gleichzeitig die Aspekte, die der Translator oder der Leser
als anders zu erkennen und mit den eigenen Vorstellungen abzugleichen hat.
Im Beitrag unter dem Titel „Literatur als Brücke zwischen Menschen und Kulturen.
Interkulturelle Literaturwissenschaft im Rahmen der philologischen Methodenentwicklung“
gibt Norbert Mecklenburg seinen persönlichen Blick auf das Gebiet der interkulturellen
Literaturwissenschaft anhand seiner langjährigen Erfahrung in diese Bereich. Er sieht in
der Methodenentwicklung der germanistischen Literaturwissenschaft einen Zick-Zack-
Ablauf, bei dem sich gegensätzliche Methoden abwechseln, wobei der ‚cultural turn‘
seiner Meinung nach nicht die letzte Methode sein wird. Nachdem auch auf die Begriffe
interkulturelle Germanistik, kulturelle und poetische Alterität, interkulturelle Hermeneutik,
Weltliteratur, Globalisierung und Glokalisierung eingegangen wurde, warnt Mecklenburg
abschließend vor zu vielen ‚Turns‘ und setzt sich für gut begründete und dem Leser
verständliche Theorien und Methoden ein.
Jürgen Joachimsthaler behandelt in seinem Beitrag den Umgang mit interkulturellen
Unterschieden beim Übersetzen. Er kritisiert die Metapher des Übersetzers als eines
Fährmanns zwischen zwei Ufern, denn weder sind die Ufer stabil und fixiert, noch
kann das Transportierte völlig unbeeinträchtigt an das andere Ufer gelangen. Er meint,
„eine Übersetzung, die zu keiner Erweiterung der Sprache führt, in die übersetzt wird,
ist überflüssig“ (72), so dass er in dem ‚Importieren‘ nur Vorteile für die Entwicklung
der Zielsprache erblickt. Importiert werden gleichzeitig auch andere Weltansichten,
Bewertungs- und Empfindungsweisen, wobei zugleich die Übersetzung eine Rückwirkung
auf die Ausgangskultur ausübt, wodurch sowohl die Ausgangs- als auch die Zielkultur
verändert werden.
In dem Beitrag „Schreibend übersetzen. Das Sprachspiel bei Ahmadou Kourouma“
erklärt Seynabou Ndiaye die thematischen und sprachlichen Besonderheiten in zwei Werken
des afrikanischen Schriftstellers Ahmadou Kourouma, der als frankophoner Afrikaner
nach eigener Aussage in der afrikanischen Sprache Malinké denkt, aber auf Französisch
schreibt und somit seine Gedanken aus der Erstsprache in die Zweitsprache übersetzt. In
diesem Prozess wird der kulturelle Kontext des Malinké-Volkes in die französische Sprache
übertragen. Der Autor weist auf die Problematik der Integration des Französischen als
Kolonisierungssprache in die Malinkè-Sprache, auf die Pluralität der sprachlichen Formen
in den analysierten Texten sowie auf das Problem der Übersetzung dieser entfremdenden
französisch-afrikanischen Sprachmischung in andere Sprachen, insbesondere ins
Französische, hin.
Dirk Weissmann schreibt über Paul Celan, den „multikulturelle[n], polyglotte[n],
in Rumänien geborene[n] deutschsprachige[n] Dichter jüdischer Herkunft und (post-)
habsburgischer Sozialisierung mit französischer Staatsbürgerschaft“ (104). Der Autor lebte
in Paris und veröffentlichte in Deutschland, wo er bereits zu Lebzeiten ein anerkannter
Schriftsteller war, während in Frankreich sein Werk erst Jahre nach seinem Tod zum
ersten Mal publiziert und rezipiert wurde. Problematisch war auch Celans Beziehung zu
den Übersetzern seiner Gedichte, und zwar einerseits infolge der Plagiatsvorwürfe und
der antisemitischen Kommentare in der Goll-Affäre sowie der daraus entstandenen Angst
vor einer „Enteignung [seiner Gedichte] durch den Übersetzer“ (111), andererseits infolge
seiner absichtlichen Distanzierung vom französischen Teil seiner Identität.
Magnus P. Ängsal konzentriert sich in dem Beitrag „Schwedische Übersetzungen
der Sonette an Orpheus von Rainer Maria Rilke. Interkulturelle Aspekte von Metrik und
Reimschema“ auf formale Aspekte der im Titel erwähnten Sonette in drei verschiedenen
Übersetzungen, um sie auf ihre Interkulturalität zu prüfen. Die unterschiedlichen Strategien,
die beim Übersetzen eingesetzt wurden, werden sehr allgemein am Beispiel des „Sonett IX“
aus dem ersten Teil der Sammlung veranschaulicht. Ängsal stellt anhand der Untersuchung
der formalen Elemente der Sonette eine Entwicklung bei der Übersetzung von relativ freier
Übersetzung zu einer steigenden Formtreue fest.
Céline Letawe beschreibt in ihrem Beitrag die positive Einstellung, die Günter Grass
seinen ÜbersetzerInnen von Anfang an entgegengebracht hatte. Da jedoch in manchen
Übersetzungen sehr früh Mängel aufgetreten sind, wurde den ausländischen Verträgen eine
Klausel hinzugefügt, die dem Autor das Recht auf ein Gutachten der Übersetzung erteilt.
Um die Qualität der Übersetzungen zu erhöhen, wurden schließlich Übersetzerseminare
abgehalten, bei denen Übersetzer ihre Probleme mit Grass nicht nur besprechen konnten,
sondern auch mussten, weil auch die Teilnahme an den Seminaren vertraglich geregelt
wurde. Letawe behandelt einige Problemstellen, die beim ersten Treffen 1978 bei der
Vorbereitung für die Übersetzung des Werkes Der Butt besprochen wurden. Abschließend
wird im Beitrag auch die Problematik der Unübersetzbarkeit von Grass’ Grimms Wörterbuch
behandelt, indem ein Teil der Diskussion bei dem entsprechenden Übersetzungsseminar
2011 präsentiert wird.
Negation und Verneinung liegen im Fokus des Beitrags „Verneinung im literarischen
Text – ein Stolperstein für Übersetzer“ von Anne Arnold. Dieser auf den ersten Blick
unproblematisch wirkende Aspekt der Sprache kann, meint die Autorin, beim Übersetzen
aus dem Deutschen ins Estnische Probleme bereiten. Die Autorin gibt einen theoretischen
Überblick der Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten und Bedeutungen von Negationen im Deutschen
und im Estnischen und geht anschließend zur Analyse von Fehlern in studentischen
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 279
Hausarbeiten bzw. Übersetzungen über. Sie konzentriert sich dabei auf Fehler wie Negation
vs. Affirmation, Abweichungen in der Fokussierung, pragmatische Aspekte von Negationen
oder scheinbare Zweideutigkeit der Negation.
Axel Jagau behandelt in seinem Beitrag die irischsprachige Literatur, insbesondere
das ‚Irischsprachige-Sein‘ als Abgrenzung von dem ‚Englischsprachigen-Sein‘ und wie
dieses besondere Gebilde durch Übersetzung in anderer Kultur wiedergegeben wird.
Diese Problematik wird anhand der Blasket-Autobiographien erläutert, die zum Kanon
der irischsprachigen Literatur gehören und ins Deutsche aus zweiter Hand, d.h. aus dem
Englischen, übersetzt wurden. Die daraus entstandenen Verschiebungen werden durch
einen Vergleich der ursprünglichen irischsprachigen Textstellen mit der englischsprachigen
und der deutschen Übersetzung veranschaulicht.
Anknüpfend an den Beitrag von Mecklenburg behandeln Dieter Neidlinger und
Silke Pasewalck zwei estnische Texte und problematisieren ihre kulturelle Offenheit bzw.
Geschlossenheit. Die Analyse des Gedichts Weihnachtsgruß 1941 schließen sie ab mit der
Schlussfolgerung, die „poetische[] Polyvalenz“ des Gedichtes mache seinen Inhalt auch
für „Menschen anderer Kultur und Erfahrung“ (182) zugänglich. Im zweiten Teil des
Beitrags wird auf den deutschbaltischen Roman Liebe Renata eingegangen. Das Werk in
estnischer Übersetzung polarisiert stark durch seine literarisch gestaltete Objektivität bzw.
vorgetäuschte Authentizität, die eine kulturelle Segregation zwischen den Deutschbalten
und den Esten darstellt. Somit erscheint der Text zuerst als kulturell offen, um sich jedoch
bei näherer Analyse als eingeschränkt und kulturell problematisch zu erweisen.
Natalia Shchyhlevska behandelt Interkulturalität in der Liebe, den verschiedenen
Figurenkonstellationen und den ihnen zugrundeliegenden Beziehungsmodellen in dem
Werk Hochzeit in Jerusalem von Lena Gorelik. Die Autorin nennt poly- und monokulturelle
Beziehungen aus dem Werk und versucht durch den kulturellen und religiösen Hintergrund
der Partner den Erfolg oder das Scheitern der Beziehung zu begründen. Die Verarbeitung
bzw. Formulierung der interkulturellen Identität wird gleichwohl anhand der großelterlichen
Gestalten und ihrer Geschlechtszugehörigkeit dargestellt. Abschließend werden im Werk
eingesetzte Metaphern der Interkulturalität erörtert, die auch in anderen Werken dieser
Thematik vorkommen.
Withold Bonner behandelt in seinem Beitrag die Darstellung von türkischen Hochzeiten
und sonstigen religiösen Festen und Bräuchen in deutschsprachigen Filmen. Dabei geht er
auf den sogenannten Druck zur Repräsentation ein und stehlt vier mögliche Positionierungen
gegenüber diesem Phänomen fest, wonach an vier Filmdarstellungen veranschaulicht wird,
welche der beschriebenen Positionierungen von den Regisseuren bevorzugt wird. Der
Autor schlussfolgert, dass in den untersuchten Darstellungen entweder ein binäres System
von zwei deutlich voneinander abgegrenzten Kulturen (Deutsche vs. Türken) dargestellt
wird oder dass sich der Regisseur einer solchen Darstellung zu widersetzen versucht, indem
er die Gestalten individualisiert und andere Oppositionen zwischen ihnen aufbaut.
Gertrud Maria Rösch behandelt in ihrem Beitrag Schlüsselromane als Werke,
in denen Realität in der Form von Fakten auf Fiktion trifft. Die Autorin nennt mehrere
typische Merkmale dieses Genres wie die Doppelstruktur des Textes, die Verschlüsselung
als Erzählverfahren sowie das dynamische Rezeptionsverhalten. Als typisch hebt sie auch
die Besonderheiten der Namensformulierung in solchen Werken (Deckname vs. Klarname)
sowie das Auftreten von historischen, sich eher im Hintergrund aufhaltenden Personen
hervor. Als problematisch bei diesem Genre stellt sie die nötige Aktualität der Geschehnisse
heraus, die gerade den Reiz solcher Romane ausmacht, was aber beim Übersetzen in die
Fremdsprache auch eine Hürde darstellen kann.
Andreas F. Kelletat untersucht in seinem Beitrag verschiedene Aspekte des
translatorischen Handelns am Beispiel des mehrfach ausgezeichneten Übersetzers und
Autors Manfred Peter Hein. Der untersuchte Übersetzer ist spezifisch, denn er wählte von
Anfang an seine Ausgangstexte selber aus. Mit der Zeit wurde sein Ziel nicht mehr, die
„besten finnischen Autoren seiner eigenen Generation in Deutschland ins Gespräch zu
bringen, sondern […] die Literatur Finnlands in ihrer historisch gewachsenen Gesamtheit
kontinuierlich zu vermitteln, für sie ein Interesse also zunächst zu wecken und dann
stetig […] zu befriedigen“ (243). Durch seine Übersetzertätigkeit hat er ein umfassendes
Wissen über die finnische Literatur angesammelt und spielte eine bedeutende Rolle in ihrer
Vermittlung an das deutschsprachige Publikum.
Julija Boguna behandelt in ihrem Beitrag „Das Goldmacherdorf, ein lettisch-deutsches
Lesebuch. Zur Geschichte der Translation in Livland“ die im Titel genannte in deutscher
Sprache geschriebene Geschichte von der Umerziehung des bäuerlichen Standes im
Goldenthal. Diskutiert wird dabei über den projizierten Leser, denn die Geschichte wendet
sich anscheinend an die livländischen (lettischen und estnischen) Bauern um 1830, was
aber in deutscher Sprache getan wird, wodurch das intendierte Zielpublikum eigentlich ein
deutschsprachiges gewesen sein musste, was die Bauern jener Zeit auf keinen Fall waren.
Die deutsche Besiedlung aus jener Zeit stellt eine kolonisierende Situation dar, in welcher der
Bauer zu erziehen, aufzuklären und zu zivilisieren war. Die Grundlage dafür bildeten eben
Übersetzungen, wobei das analysierte Werk das Resultat mehrerer Translationsvorgänge war.
Maris Saagpakk legt in ihrem Beitrag eine kommentierte Bibliographie der
Übersetzungen deutschbaltischer Literatur ins Estnische von 1991 bis 2009 vor. Nach
der Wiedererlangung der Unabhängigkeit der Republik Estland wurden nach langjähriger
sowjetischer Zensur Werke zur estnischen und somit auch deutschbaltischen Geschichte
und Kultur wieder erlaubt. Der Prozentsatz der Übersetzungen deutschbaltischer Werke
ist jedoch sehr gering und das Rezeptionsverhalten der Esten zu den Werken eher kühl.
Die zu übersetzenden Werke werden nach ihrer geschichtlichen Bedeutung und nicht nach
ihrem ästhetischen Wert gewählt. Somit wird diese Literatur oft als minderwertig betrachtet
und eher wegen ihrem geschichtlichen Inhalt geschätzt. Die Autorin thematisiert auch die
sogenannte „gläserne Wand“ (276) – die Grenze zwischen der Gesellschaft der Esten und
der Deutschbalten, die durch die Darstellung der zwei Welten sichtbar wird.
Virginija Masiulionyté versucht in ihrem Beitrag „Sowjetische Kulturspezifika im
Roman Blaubarts Kinder von Renata Šerelyté und ihre Übertragung ins Deutsche. Eine
konzeptorientierte Untersuchung“ anhand einer Befragung zu untersuchen, welche Konzepte
litauische und deutschsprachige Leser zu bestimmten Begriffen aus dem untersuchten Text
entwickeln. Die Handlung des Romans spielt im sowjetischen Litauen und die Analyse
konzentriert sich auf Ausdrücke, die typische Aspekte des sowjetischen Alltags darstellen und
für den Litauer keiner besonderen Erklärung bedürfen, während für den deutschsprachigen
Leser diese oft durch bekanntere Ausdrücke ersetzt werden − wie z.B. ‚viešoji pirtis‘ durch
‚öffentliche Sauna‘ −, was auch unterschiedliche Assoziationen hervorruft.
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 281
Inga Rinau behandelt in ihrem Beitrag verschiedene Besonderheiten im Beruf

des Auslandskorrespondenten, die ihn vom Beruf des Übersetzers unterscheiden. Der
Auslandskorrespondent entwirft eigenständig Texte, weshalb er zugleich kultureller
Vermittler und Autor ist. Mit dieser Rolle sind auch Machtverhältnisse zwischen der
Ausgangs- und der Zielkultur bzw. zwischen dem Korrespondenten und seiner Redaktion
verbunden – die intensive Auseinandersetzung mit der fremden Kultur erhöht das Risiko
einer (unbewussten?) Manipulation, während die Aktivitäten gleichzeitig auch von den
Interessen anderer geprägt sind.
Im einzigen Beitrag im Themenblock Übersetzung und Deutsch als Fremdsprache
behandeln Michael Dobstadt und Renate Riedner das Übersetzen als Übungsform im DaF-
Unterricht am Beispiel zweier literarischer Übersetzungen ins Spanische. Die Autoren
versuchen anhand von Beispielen zu veranschaulichen, dass Übersetzung auf Interpretation
beruht, genauso wie jeder andere Kommunikationsakt auch. Eine Übersetzungsübung mit
literarischen Texten im DaF-Unterricht soll die Fähigkeit stärken, kulturelle Kontexte als
instabile modifizierbare Gebilde zu sehen, die immer aufs Neue aktiv entschlüsselt werden
müssen.
In dem Sammelband Interkulturalität und (literarisches) Übersetzen geht es um
Themen, von denen unsere heutige Gesellschaft im Allgemeinen und das literarische
Übersetzen insbesondere entscheidend geprägt wird. Die Beiträge geben einen Einblick
in unterschiedliche literarische, sprachliche und kulturelle Systeme, wobei der Fokus
auf kulturellen Aspekten und ihrem diskursiven Einfluss liegt. Im Vordergrund steht
der interdisziplinäre Austausch und die Übernahme und Anwendung der Impulse aus
verschiedenen Fächern, sowohl auf methodologischer und theoretischer als auch auf
praktischer Ebene. Der Band stellt eine wertvolle Sammlung von konkreten Beispielen
für unterschiedliche Gruppen dar: Übersetzer, Lehrpersonen und Studierende im Bereich
Übersetzen sowie für Forscher im Bereich Literaturwissenschaft, Translationswissenschaft
oder interkulturelle Kommunikation.
Sanja Cimer
Die vielen Gesichter der Biene Maja

Harald Weiss (Hrsg.). 2014. 100 Jahre Biene Maja – Vom Kinderbuch zum
Kassenschlager. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter. 186 Seiten. ISBN 978-3-
86057-622-9
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0027
Anlässlich des 100. Geburtstags der bekanntesten Biene der Welt ist 2014 der von
Harald Weiss herausgegebene Sammelband 100 Jahre Biene Maja – Vom Kinderbuch zum
Kassenschlager beim Universitätsverlag Winter in Heidelberg in der Buchreihe Studien zur
europäischer Kinder- und Jugendliteratur/Studies in European Children’s and Young Adult
Literature erschienen.
Die zehn Beiträge, die Einleitung einschließend, setzen Waldemar Bonsels’ Werk
Die Biene Maja und ihre Abenteuer in den Mittelpunkt der Untersuchung. Harald Weiss’
einleitender Aufsatz stellt die Entwicklungsgeschichte des Biene-Maja-Markennamens von
seinem ersten leisen Auftritt in der am 27. August 1912 im Börsenblatt für den deutschen
Buchhandel publizierten Anzeige zur Romanausgabe über mehr oder weniger erfolgreiche
Illustrationen, Verfilmungen, Zeichentrickserien, Hörspiele und computergenerierte
Darstellungen bis hin zur heutigen Marke, dessen ursprünglicher Autor fast unbekannt
geblieben ist. Diese Ungerechtigkeit dem Autor gegenüber versucht Harald Weiss im ersten
Aufsatz „Vergöttert und vergessen: Der Autor der Biene Maja“ zu korrigieren. Mit der
Begründung, dass es bis heute an einer ausführlichen und fundierten Biografie des Autors
Waldemar Bonsels fehlt und mit der Absicht, „bisher vorhandene Lücken zu minimieren,
und, so weit verfügbar, Belegsquellen für das Dargestellte zu liefern“ (22), bietet uns Weiss
interessante Informationen über Bonsels’ Kindheit und Jugend, über seinen Aufenthalt in
Schwabing, über die Ereignisse in seinem Leben um den Zeitpunkt der Entstehung von
Biene Maja sowie über seine Erfolgsjahre und seine anderen, weniger bekannten Texte an.
Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauers Beitrag „Nicht nur ‚ein Märchen für Kinder‘: Die
Biene Maja als Crossover Literatur“ beschäftigt sich mit dem Werk als einem Beispiel von
Crosswriting. Die Autorin eröffnet den Beitrag mit der Erklärung, was man unter Crossover
Literatur versteht und zeigt inwiefern man Biene Maja in diesem Kontext analysieren
kann. Es wird darauf hingewiesen, dass Biene Maja der Crossover Literatur vor allem aus
zwei Gründen zuzurechnen ist: Zum einen wegen der Mehrfachadressiertheit des Textes,
weil das Werk sowohl Kinder als auch Erwachsene anspricht; zum anderen wegen der
Deutung des Werks auf mehreren Ebenen. Die Beweise dafür findet Kümmerling-Meibauer
in widersprüchlichen Rezeptionen des Werks, in Verbindung verschiedener Genre im
Werk (Tiergeschichte, Mädchenliteratur, fantastische Erzählung), in interkulturellen
Anspielungen und Referenzen zur Antike usw. Darüber hinaus hebt die Autorin den bisher
unberücksichtigten und dennoch sehr wichtigen Aspekt des Romans hervor – die seitens des
Autors zu Lehrzwecken vorgenommene Einführung von Insektengestalten, die besonders
geeignet sind, als Individuen und als Gemeinschaften dargestellt zu werden, was auch der
heutzutage steigernde Trend und intensiviertes Interesse in z. B. Animationsfilmen beweist.
Der Beitrag von Jürg Häusermann unter dem Titel „Das Lied der Biene Maja“ bespricht
den akustischen Aspekt des Werks und dessen Veränderung im Laufe der Zeit. Häusermann
erörtert, dass sich die Akustik des Werks und ihre Bedeutung sowohl für die Produzenten
als auch für die Rezipienten über die Jahrzehnte geändert haben. Dabei wurde der visuelle
Aspekt in den Vordergrund geschoben, was eine besondere Folge der Entwicklung von
visuellen Medien ist, d. h. von Medien, die größtenteils vom Publikum visuell wie z. B. im
Fernsehen und World Wide Web wahrgenommen werden.
Kaspar Maase behandelt in seinem Beitrag „Warencharakter, Serialität und
Bürgerlichkeit. Die Biene Maja als Klassiker deutscher Populärkultur“ die Frage, ob und
inwiefern man Bonsels’ literarisches Werk Die Biene Maja und ihre Abenteuer als einen
Klassiker aufgrund der Aspekte wie Verkauf und Erfolg im In- und Ausland, Verfilmungen
und Vermarktung, „Edutainment“ (88), kurzum wegen seiner großen Popularität beim
Bürgertum der 1920er Jahren, verstehen kann.
Martin Loiperdinger bietet im Beitrag „Waldemar Bonsels’ ‚Schlacht der Bienen und
Hornissen‘. Vom ‚einig Volk‘ im Buch zur Weltkriegsrevanche im Kino“ eine Einsicht
in die Veränderungen der Vorstellungen von Vaterlandsliebe, Heimattreue, Niederlage,
Opferwilligkeit usw., die im Buch und in den frühen Verfilmungen von Bonsels’ Bienen-
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 283
Stoff vorkommen, und zwar mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Realverfilmung aus 1926.
Loiperdinger nimmt in der Analyse Bezug auf die Art und Weise, wie unterschiedlich das
(Bienen-)Volk und der Kampf zwischen verschiedenen (Tier-)Völkern im Buch und in der
Verfilmung dargestellt werden.
Der zweite Beitrag von Harald Weiss, betitelt als „Maja, Shakespeare und Herr
Goebbels“, setzt auf ähnlichen Spuren fort, indem Bonsels nicht-realisierte
Zeichentrickentwürfe des Biene-Maja-Stoffes aus der NS-Zeit untersucht werden. Weiss
hebt im Beitrag das Schicksal und die politischen Aspekte der vom Original abweichenden
Drehbücher hervor, die durch starke Versuche, den Stoff dem Zeitgeist anzupassen,
gekennzeichnet waren und letztendlich scheitern mussten. Dies passiert, wie es Weiss im
Beitrag erklärt, auch in Thea von Harbous Versuch, der damals wahrscheinlich bestbezahlten
deutschen Drehbuchautorin, Bonsels’ Biene Maja mit Shakespeares Der Sommernachtstraum
zu verbinden. Daraus resultiert ein Drehbuch mit zweisträngiger Handlung sowie mit vielen
verschiedenen Besonderheiten und Abweichungen von der Vorlage im Akustischen und
Visuellen, wo die Bienen und Hornissen „politisch instrumentalisiert“ (129) worden sind.
Der Beitrag „Maja – Alle lieben Maja“ von Josef Göhlen ermöglicht eine persönliche
Einsicht in die Zeit der Entstehung der Zeichentrickfigur Maja in den 1970er Jahren.
Göhlen war zu der Zeit Leiter der Redaktion „Kinder und Jugend“ beim ZDF, die die Biene
Maja in einer Zeichentrickserie im Fernsehen optisch und akustisch belebt hat, wobei
sie, betont Göhlen mehrmals, gar nicht dem Original ähnlich ist. Er berichtet über seine
persönliche Rolle bei der Produktion der Serie, über die Entscheidungen, die er bei der
Entstehung treffen musste, über die eigene Programmphilosophie und Zusammenarbeit
mit ausländischen Mitarbeitern wie mit den japanischen Animatoren, verschiedenen
(europäischen) Komponisten und Musikern, amerikanischen Mitautoren usw. Ganz offen
spricht er auch über Ärgernisse mit den Kritikern sowie über neue rezente Konzepte und
computergenerierte (kurze) Animationen, aber auch über den Profit der Nebenprodukte als
neue Priorität.
Heinz Hengst erörtert in seinem Beitrag „Am Anfang war die Biene Maja.
Medienverbund und Japanisierung der kommerziellen Kultur“, wie die Übernahme von
japanischen Einflüssen und Charakteristika anhand von Biene Maja die Medienwelt im
Westen, insbesondere durch den Medienverbund, verändert hat und hebt diesbezüglich
auch deren kommerzielle Bedeutung hervor. Dabei bespricht er die Rezeptionsarten und
-möglichkeiten dieser „Japanisierung“ (159), die in den 1970er und 1980er Jahre erfolgte,
aber auch jene des 21. Jahrhunderts, und zwar im Gegensatz zur (früheren) Disneysierung
der Kinderkultur, die nicht nur im Fernsehen, sondern auch im Internet stattfand bzw. noch
immer stattfindet.
Im letzten Beitrag des Sammelbandes unter dem Titel „Eine Biene drückt die
Schulbank oder wie Die Biene Maja die Lernfreude unterstützt“ plädiert Jana Mikota
für den Einsatz des Maja-Stoffes im Unterricht. Im Beitrag klopft sie verschiedene Lehr-
und Lernmaterialien, inklusive den Originaltext von Waldemar Bonsels, Bilder- und
Erstleserbücher, sowie die Zeichentrickserie und die Medienfigur der Biene Maja, nach ihrer
Verwendung im Klassenzimmer ab. Ihre Fragestellungen über die Aktualität des Stoffes,
die Verwendungsmöglichkeiten im Lernprozess, beispielsweise beim Lesenlernen und in
der Naturkunde, stellen die Grundlage des Beitrags dar, wobei sie die These vertritt, dass
der Roman bei einer dermaßen großen Adaptation zu Lehr- und Lernzwecken zu unrecht
oft in den Hintergrund gerückt wird. Darüber hinaus wird auf das Potenzial des Stoffes
hingewiesen, welches man durch den Einsatz dieser einfachen und angepassten Biene-Maja-
Materialien bei Kindern entwickeln kann, um sie im Laufe der Zeit an anspruchsvollere
Texte, so auch auf den Originalstoff, heranzuführen.
Dieser Sammelband beschäftigt sich mit der Erzählung von Biene Maja als einem
ausschließlich literarischen Werk einerseits und einem sich an den Medienmarkt streng
orientierenden Produkt andererseits. Unter den Beiträgen sind Berichte über den Autor, über
völlig persönliche Erfahrungen mit der im Zeichentrick belebten Maja-Gestalt, aber auch
sehr objektive theoretische Diskussionsbeiträge zu den das literarische bzw. künstlerische
Werk betreffenden Fragestellungen und praktischen Anwendungen des Biene-Maja-Stoffes
zu finden. Alle Beiträge bereichern und erweitern die bisherigen Erkenntnisse über diese
weltweit bekannte Biene, wobei einige Beiträge auch Informationen über (den) leider
nicht mehr dermaßen bekannten Autoren Waldemar Bonsels darbieten. Darüber hinaus
ermöglichen die Aufsätze jeweils neue Betrachtungsweisen verschiedener, oft übersehener
Aspekte des Werks und bieten dazu neue literaturkritische Ansätze an. Die Ergebnisse der
einzelnen Beiträge sind demnach sowohl für Literatur-, Kultur- und Medientheoretiker
als auch für Lehrkräfte und Studierende zu Lehr- und/oder Studienzwecken geeignet,
weil der Sammelband ein breites Spektrum an klar und ausführlich argumentierten
theoretischen Leitsätzen, methodisch-didaktischen Ansätzen und interessanten persönlichen
Auseinandersetzungen mit dem behandelten Stoff enthält.
Sonja Novak
Interkulturalität – aktuell, medienwissenschaftlich und didaktisch

Christian Dawidowski, Anna R. Hoffmann, Benjamin Walter (Hrsg.).
2015. Interkulturalität und Transkulturalität in Drama, Theater und Film.
Literaturwissenschaftliche und -didaktische Perspektiven. Frankfurt am Main:
Peter Lang Edition. 341 Seiten. ISBN 978-3-631-64673-1
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0028
In der Zeit der Globalisierung und der unvermeidlichen Mischung von verschiedenen
Kulturen ist es wichtig zu erforschen, wie diese Prozesse zur Bereicherung und Verbesserung
der ganzen Gesellschaft beitragen können. Allgemein kann man der Definition der
Globalisierung von Bruno S. Frey in seinem Beitrag „Globalisierung ohne Weltregierung“
zustimmen, die die Globalisierung als die zunehmende internationale Verflechtung von
Wirtschaft, Politik, Recht und Kultur bezeichnet. Dan Rebellato hat in seinem Werk Theatre
and Globalization den Begriff der Globalisierung noch einfacher und knapper als das
„Weltweitwerden“ der Dinge definiert. Dies passiert natürlicherweise auch mit der Kultur
einzelner Nationen besonders infolge allgegenwärtiger Migrationsprozesse. Dadurch
kommt es zur Kosmopolitisierung, auf die dann verschiedenen Formen moderner medialer
Vermittlung großen Einfluss ausüben.
Rustom Bharucha betont in seinem Buch The Politics of Culture. Thinking through
Theatre in an Age of Globalization, dass beispielsweise das Theater nicht nur praktische
Wege anbietet, nicht nur andere Kulturen zu verstehen, worunter er besonders die außerhalb
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 285
des eigenen Staates bestehenden Kulturen meint, sondern auch eine Art und Weise der
Interaktion mit diesen Kulturen durch spezifische Disziplinen und Diskurse des Theaters.
Was nach Christoph Kühbergers Artikel „Kulturelle Globalisierung? Eine exemplarische
Annäherung an lokale Prozesse des Kulturwandels“ in Salzburger Volkskultur aus den
Beziehungen zwischen verschiedenen Kulturen und Gemeinschaften entsteht, sind
Produkte, „die über den Ort hinausgehen und manchmal sogar die ganze Welt umspannen“.
Die Erfahrung und Perzeption der Kunst, oder in diesem Falle der Produkte der Medien
wie Drama, Theater und Film, ermöglicht, sich vom Einzelnen und Besonderen zu trennen
und sich als Teil einer großen Gemeinschaft zu fühlen, was nicht zuletzt auch positive
Einwirkungen auf Lernprozesse haben kann.
Der aus samt Einleitung fünfzehn Beiträgen bestehende Sammelband Interkulturalität
und Transkulturalität in Drama, Theater und Film. Literaturwissenschaftliche und
-didaktische Perspektiven behandelt das Thema des Transfers und Zwischenspiels
verschiedener kultureller Phänomene im Bereich des Dramas, Theaters und des Films.
Die Zwei- bzw. Dreiteilung des Sammelbandes, die Grundlagenbeiträge einschließend,
ermöglicht einen guten thematischen Überblick über die angebotenen Beiträge, wobei der
erste Block aus drei Grundlagenbeiträgen besteht, die allgemein die Themen der danach
folgenden Teile des Sammelbandes theoretisch umrahmen.
Der einleitende Aufsatz der Herausgeber Dawidowski, Hoffmann und Walter stellt
den Inhalt des Sammelbandes vor. Danach werden im ersten Teil die grundlegenden
Betrachtungen und Konzepte zu den Begriffen „Interkulturalität“ und „Transkulturalität“
angeboten, sowie die Medien Drama/Theater und Film in inter- und transkultureller
Perspektive dargestellt. Christian Dawidowski behandelt im ersten Beitrag Inter- bzw.
Transkulturalität in Verbindung mit Literaturdidaktik, während sich Anna R. Hoffmann
und Benjamin Walter im zweiten Beitrag mit Inter- und Transkulturalität innerhalb der
Bereiche Drama und Theater näher beschäftigen, ohne dabei literaturwissenschaftliche
und literaturdidaktische Ansätze auszuschließen. Der dritte Grundlagenbeitrag von Matthis
Kepser beschäftigt sich dagegen mit dem Film und dessen Rolle in Lernprozessen aus der
kulturwissenschaftlichen Perspektive. In mittleren Teil seines Beitrags bietet der Autor einen
filmgeschichtlichen Überblick an, den er in Zusammenhang mit Transkulturalität bringt, um
am Ende zu zeigen, wie vielseitig die Anwendung des Films im Deutschunterricht sein kann.
Im zweiten und im dritten Teil des Sammelbandes werden spezifische Beispiele
zur Inter- und Transkulturalität in Bereichen des Dramas und Theaters sowie des Films
dargebracht. Die Autoren analysieren einzelne Werke und bieten Vorschläge für ihre
Anwendung im Deutschunterricht an.
Den zweiten thematischen Block, der sich mit Interkulturalität im Drama und Theater
beschäftigt, machen fünf Aufsätze aus. Anne Steiner eröffnet diesen Teil mit ihrer Arbeit
über das sogenannte postmigrantische Theater. Sie bespricht Theaterstücke wie ArabQueen
(nach dem Roman von Güner Yasemin Balci) und Verrücktes Blut von Nurkan Erpulat und
Jens Hillje; Maha El Hissy behandelt die Rolle der Figur des Predigers beim deutschen
Schriftsteller türkischer Herkunft Feridun Zaimoglu; Gabriela Paule beschäftigt sich mit
Tina Müllers Jugendstück Türkisch Gold, das sie für den Deutschunterricht der Mittelstufe
empfiehlt. André Barz befasst sich in ähnlicher Weise wie Paule mit Jugendtheater und zwar
mit dem vom BR ausgezeichneten Stück Deportation Cast, untersucht aber seine politische
Dimension, was im Unterricht bei den Jugendlichen zur Entwicklung ihres gesellschaftlichen
und politischen Bewusstseins beitragen könnte. Manuel Junges Beitrag hat zum Gegenstand
das Stück Die Palästinenserin von Joshua Sobol, das sehr aktuell ist, obwohl es sich um
ein Werk handelt, das über 30 Jahre alt ist. Der Aktualität dieses Stückes bringen in ihm
angesprochene Aspekte wie Identitätsbildung im Zusammenhang mit Transkulturalität
bzw. Hybridität bei. In allen Beiträgen aus diesem Block wird auf zahlreiche Vorteile
hingewiesen, die in der Anwendung des interkulturellen und transkulturellen Dramas bzw.
Theaters im Deutschunterricht liegen.
Den dritten Block des Sammelbandes machen Arbeiten aus, die Inter- und Transkul-
turalität im Film in den Mittelpunkt der Untersuchung stellen. Diesen Teil des Sammelbandes
eröffnet der Beitrag von Heidi Rösch über die praktische Anwendung von Culture-Clash-
Komödien im Deutschunterricht der Sekundarstufe, was am Beispiel der Komödien Salami
Aleikum des Regisseurs Ali Samadi Ahadi und Kebab Connection von Fatih Akin demonstriert
wird. Mit Fatih Akins Filmen beschäftigt sich auch Irmgard Honnef-Becker, wobei sie sich
komparativ auf interkulturelle und transkulturelle Ansätze und ihre Funktionen konzentriert.
Am konkreten Beispiel des Films Soul Kitchen zeigt sie auch schließlich die Möglichkeiten
des methodisch-didaktischen Ansatzes vom Film im Unterricht.
Im Gegensatz zu den anderen Autoren aus diesem Block, die den Film behandeln,
befasst sich Dieter Wrobel mit einer Fernsehserie bzw. mit dem Zeichentrickfilm The
Simpsons. Mit der Begründung, dass der Spielort der Serie Springfield eine Abbildung
der amerikanischen bzw. multikulturellen und -nationalen Gesellschaft darstellt, bietet uns
Wrobel interessante Analysen an. Es folgt Nicola Mitterers und Hajnalka Nagys Beitrag
über zwei Kurzfilme mit der Thematik des Terroranschlags vom 11. September 2001 und
über individuelle und gesellschaftliche Erinnerungskonstruktionen unter Einfluss der
Transkulturalität. Axel Diller wendet sich den bekannten Klassikern bzw. den Verfilmungen
klassischer kinder- und jugendliterarischer Werke wie Pippi Langstrumpf in Taka-Tuka-
Land, Momo und Tintenherz zu, um dort enthaltene stereotypische Konstruktionen
anderer (z. B. orientaler) Kulturen zu untersuchen. Thomas Möbius und Tihomir Engler
besprechen und stellen letztlich die Ergebnisse eines internationalen deutsch-kroatischen
Studentenprojektes vor, das sich mit nationalen Identitätskonstrukten in Srđan Dragojevićs
Film Parada auseinandersetzt.
Im Allgemeinen betrachtet ist der Sammelband sehr vielseitig und vielschichtig. Die
meisten Beiträge weisen einen didaktischen Wert auf, der für die Praktiker vom großen
Nutzen sein kann, was aber nicht zu bedeuten hat, dass unter den Beiträgen nicht auch jene
zu finden sind, die für die Theoretiker vom großen medien- und kulturwissenschaftlichen
Wert wären. In den Beiträgen werden die bisherigen Erkenntnisse über Inter- und
Transkulturalität nicht nur bereichert und erweitert, sondern zugleich die Erkenntnisse aus
diesem Fachbereich an aktuellen dramatischen und filmischen Beispielen konkretisiert.
Darüber hinaus bieten die Aufsätze neue theoretische Betrachtungsweisen und praktische
Anwendungen zu verschiedenen, oft übersehenen Aspekten der Kultur und ihres Transfers
in der modernen Gesellschaft an, was für Kultur- und Medienwissenschaftler ein sehr
aktuelles Thema ist, während Lehrkräfte im Sammelband auch zahlreiche Leitlinien für
ihre Unterrichtspraxis finden können.
Sonja Novak
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 287
Zaigran ulazak u svijet poezije

Vjekoslava Jurdana. 2015. Igri: mala zaviČAjna čitanka (s primjerima iz
čakavske poezije Drage Gervaisa). Pula: Sveučilište Jurja Dobrile i Viškovo
Ronjgi: Ustanova „Ivan Matetić Ronjgov“. 243 str. ISBN 978-953-7320-04-1
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0029
Recepcija je književnoumjetničkoga teksta, poput čitanja, važna ljudska misaona

aktivnost, stoga je nužno od najranije dobi osigurati pozitivna iskustva s knjigom. U ranim
fazama književnoga odgoja, kada djeca razvijaju svoj govorni i poetski sluh, a učenici mlađih
razreda tek izgrađuju naviku čitanja, valja birati teme i naslove koji su im bliski i koji će
poticati njihovo zanimanje za umjetničku riječ. Uvažavajući estetski i razvojnopsihološki
kriterij u poučavanju, ne smije se zanemariti načelo zavičajnosti: ono se ne očituje samo
u usmenome izražavanju djece na zavičajnome idiomu, već i u interpretaciji dijalektalnih
tekstova određenoga podneblja. Osim što su bliski malim recipijentima, tekstovi na
zavičajnome narječju mogu pozitivno utjecati na njihov književni odgoj i obrazovanje te
biti čvrsta poveznica između predškolske ustanove, škole i doma.
Autorica Vjekoslava Jurdana u svojoj knjizi Igri progovara o pojmu zavičaja
i zavičajnosti s dijalektološkoga gledišta, istovremeno motreći tematiku zavičajne
književnosti iz odgojnoga, metodičkoga i psihološkoga rakursa. Ispravno utvrdivši kako
lingvistička komponenta, tj. razvoj jezičnih sposobnosti, zauzima važno mjesto u odgojno-
obrazovnome procesu djetetova razvoja, autorica potvrđuje svoje postavke navođenjem
rezultata aktualnih istraživanja u tome području. Zavičajni govor postaje presudnim
elementom verbalizacije djetetova iskustva, stoga ne čudi što se vodeći hrvatski lingvisti i
metodičari zalažu za afirmaciju načela zavičajnosti u nastavi materinskoga jezika na svim
obrazovnim stupnjevima, od razredne nastave do završnih razreda srednje škole. Vjekoslava
Jurdana u svojoj studiji naglašava važnost provedbe toga načela u radu s najmlađima. Svoju
tezu potkrepljuje brojnim dokazima, svjesna u kojoj je mjeri zavičajnost, kao emocionalna
odrednica i područje njegove senzibilne osjetljivosti, bitna u djetetovu životu.
U uvodnome dijelu autorica propituje zavičajnost kao književnu i didaktičko-
metodičku kategoriju. Budući da su dijalektalni tekstovi nerijetko prvi djetetov susret s
književnoumjetničkim svijetom, promatra pjesničku riječ u prvoj fazi književnoga odgoja
i obrazovanja, u kojoj se književni odgoj odvija u roditeljskome domu i predškolskim
ustanovama. Njezina se studija temelji na teoriji recepcije, a doživljaj poezije motri
se kao sustvaralački čin, složeni semiotički proces. Svjesna činjenice da mlado biće još
nije u potpunosti spremno za literarnu komunikaciju s umjetničkom riječi, Vjekoslava
Jurdana navodi kako je odgajateljeva uloga u procesu primanja poruke, u svojstvu
posrednika između pošiljatelja i primatelja, od presudne važnosti. U tome kontekstu
postavlja problemska pitanja: na koji se način djelo može kvalitetno posredovati, koje
su kompetencije pritom potrebne i koji su dostupni izvori za ostvarenje toga složenoga
procesa? Pritom autorica aktualizira spoznaje psiholingvistike i spoznajne teorije, posredno
obrazlažući osobne motive bavljenja tematikom dijalektalnoga izričaja. Naglašava kako je
metodika književnoga odgoja predškolske dobi u nas najslabije istražena, stoga ovu knjigu
doista možemo pojmiti kao relevantan autoričin prinos stručnomu i znanstvenomu području
metodike materinskoga jezika.
Nadalje, u tekstu se naglašava važnost igre u poučavanju jer je ona temelj dječjega
stvaralaštva. Autorica uvodi termin „igrovnoga“ kao vlastiti prinos raspravi o ludističkim
modelima u sklopu povezanosti igre i kulture, igre i umjetničke riječi. Budući da je igra
usko povezana s estetskim, lingvistička i didaktička primjena zavičajnoga idioma u radu s
najmlađima potpuno je opravdana jer rezultira boljom ovladanošću standardnim jezikom.
Vjekoslava Jurdana drži da bi intenzivniji rad na okomitoj dvojezičnosti djece predškolske
i školske dobi mogao doprinijeti poboljšanju i u segmentu komunikacije, kao i u području
pismenosti mlađih generacija, te naglašava poželjnost uporabe zavičajnoga idioma u
odgojnome i obrazovnome radu s najmlađima. Njegova je primjena neobično važna za
budući razvoj literarnih sposobnosti. U aktualnome trenutku metapostmodernizma načelo
zavičajnosti važno je čak i u kontekstu političkih i gospodarskih integracija na nacionalnoj
i europskoj razini.
Svjesna zahtjevnih okolnosti s kojima se odgojitelji suočavaju u 21. stoljeću,
autorica postavlja pitanje svrhovitosti čitanja književnih tekstova i njegovanja kulture
riječi, problematizirajući istovremeno položaj tiskanoga medija i knjige u doba interfejsa.
Problem (ne)čitanja usko je povezan sa spoznajnim napredovanjem i izravno utječe na dječji
intelektualni razvoj. U kontekstu poučavanja i razvijanja estetskoga ukusa i komunikacijskih
kompetencija uloga učitelja i odgojitelja veoma je važna. U predškolskome razdoblju
presudna je interakcija odrasle osobe s djetetom, a upravo kvalitetni literarni predlošci
omogućuju razvijanje uspješne komunikacije i oslobađaju mlado biće za sporazumijevanje
s okolinom koja ga okružuje.
Nakon razmatranja o komunikološkim izazovima današnjice slijedi povijesni
pregled književnoga odgoja na području Istre i Hrvatskoga primorja. Neizbrisiv trag u
valorizaciji zavičajnoga idioma u Istri ostavio je Tone Peruško, metodičar koji je sustavno
izučavao zavičajnost u obrazovnome kontekstu. Osnivanjem Čakavskoga sabora započinje
institucionalni rad na njegovanju zavičajne riječi i promicanju čakavske kulturne baštine.
Brojnim projektima Sveučilište Jurja Dobrile u Puli i Istarska županija doprinose promidžbi
i institucionaliziranju zavičajne nastave od vrtića do srednje škole. Vjekoslava Jurdana
naglašava kako se, osim očuvanjem kulturne baštine, zavičajnom nastavom afirmiraju
lokalne i nacionalne značajke na temelju koncepta višekulturnoga obrazovanja, što je u
skladu s pedagoškim odrednicama Europske unije. U svjetlu afirmacije kulturnih identiteta
javlja se potreba za priručnicima zavičajne nastave pojedinih regija, što je i temeljna
namjena ove knjige. Upućuje se na potrebu približavanja istarskoga zavičaja, kao književne
kategorije, predškolskoj djeci, te se odgojiteljima i roditeljima nastoji ukazati na važnost
književnika koji interpretiraju istarsku zavičajnu tematiku. Među brojnim autorima svojim
se bogatim opusom ističe književnik Drago Gervais, zavičajni pjesnik čiji se dijalektalni
tekstovi mogu primijeniti u radu s predškolskom djecom. Osim poetološkim razlozima,
književnikov je odabir utemeljen i kulturno-povijesnim značenjem Gervaisove pojave u
kontekstu liburnijske čakavštine. Vjekoslava Jurdana dobra je poznavateljica autorova
opusa jer je doktorirala na temu Gervaisova književnoga stvaralaštva. Uz kraći pregled
piščeva životopisa i bibliografije radova, posebice se navodi Gervaisova uloga u kulturno-
prosvjetnim djelatnostima tijekom poraća i ističe se činjenica da dijalektalna poezija
zauzima posebno mjesto unutar hrvatske dječje književnosti. O Gervaisovoj poziciji u
sklopu zavičajne dječje književnosti pisali su mnogi povjesničari hrvatske književnosti,
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 289
poput Jože Skoka, Milana Crnkovića i Stjepana Hranjeca. Rasvjetljavajući semantički

prijepor dviju sintagmi, „dječja poezija“ i „poezija o djetinjstvu“, Vjekoslava Jurdana
priklanja se mišljenju navedenih autora smatrajući kako Gervaisa valja percipirati i dječjim
pjesnikom, što je već potvrđeno u raznim antologijama hrvatskoga dječjega pjesništva.
U drugome dijelu knjige autorica se bavi dijalektalnim pjesništvom u sustavu odgoja
i obrazovanja, usmjerivši se ponajprije na prvu, predškolsku fazu književnoga odgoja.
Metodička istraživanja provedena osamdesetih godina prošloga stoljeća upućivala su na
potrebu sustavnoga njegovanja zavičajne riječi u nastavi Hrvatskoga jezika; primjerice,
metodičarka Zdenka Gudelj-Velaga ustanovila je kako upravo Gervaisovi stihovi potiču
učeničko stvaralaštvo na zavičajnome idiomu u Istri i Hrvatskome primorju. Vjekoslava
Jurdana progovara i o vlastitim pozitivnim iskustvima u sklopu rada u izvannastavnim
aktivnostima s učenicima iz Lovrana i Buzeta. Jasno navodi teorijske razloge za
intenziviranje dijalekta u radu s djecom predškolske dobi, ali i primjećuje da kreativne
mogućnosti njegovanja zavičajne književne riječi nisu dostatno razvijene u praksi ranoga i
predškolskoga institucionalnoga odgoja.
Autorica na primjerima pjesama pokazuje da je Gervaisova dječja poetska riječ
igriva, a to je i najbolji način odgojnoga djelovanja na male recipijente. Određuju se i
metodički postupci koji će djetetu olakšati susret s tekstom, od motivacije i usklađivanja
primateljeva emocionalnoga iskustva s pjesmom do dječjega stvaralaštva potaknutoga
književnim predloškom. Ponuđeni su metodički modeli interpretacije više pjesama, kao i
stihovanih slikovnica Morčić i Oblačić, i to u korelaciji s likovnim i glazbenim odgojem.
Pritom se Vjekoslava Jurdana potvrđuje kao dobra poznavateljica dječjega emocionalnoga
senzibiliteta. Posebno se naglašava uloga odgojitelja, odnosno aktivnosti koje preuzima
u interpretaciji pjesama, provodeći verbalne igre utemeljene na doživljajno-spoznajnome
modelu interpretacije. Potvrda funkcionalnosti navedenih postupaka radovi su nastali u
dječjim radionicama. Ne zaboravljajući osnovni postulat ove faze književnoga razvoja,
radost recepcije i igru poezijom, autorica zavičajne čitanke posebno ističe važnu odrednicu
Gervaisovih čakavskih pjesama – mogućnost poticanja dječjega govornoga stvaralaštva.
Odgojiteljima će ponuđeni modeli biti od velike pomoći u organizaciji kreativnih radionica
potaknutih dijalektalnom lirikom zavičajnoga autora.
Melodioznost i zvučnost Gervaisovih stihova mogu se iskoristiti za vježbanje glasa,
izgovora riječi i glasovnih skupova, tvrdi autorica. Upućuje na povezanost književnosti i
medijske kulture, važnost edukacije medijima. Uglazbljene inačice Gervaisovih pjesama
itekako mogu utjecati na razvijanje poetskoga sluha. I kazališni medij ulazi u kontekst
učenja igrom jer su recitacije i igrokazi scenski žanrovi bliski djeci, a s obzirom na to
da su Gervaisovi tekstovi izrazito scenični, nadaju se kao poticajan predložak za scensko
uprizorenje. U knjizi su ponuđeni prijedlozi uprizorenja pojedinih pjesama u dječjemu
vrtiću, u obliku igrokaza ili lutkarske igre.
Osnovna je odrednica knjige težnja za promicanjem zavičajne riječi na predškolskoj
razini. Iako ta autoričina težnja može djelovati pretenciozno, suvremene spoznaje i
istraživanja u području ranoga i predškolskoga odgoja upućuju na mnoge neiskorištene
mogućnosti u radu s djecom, na velik dječji kreativni potencijal koji se može aktivirati
i poticati funkcionalnim pristupom, stručnim metodičkim postupcima i metodama. U
siječnju 2015. godine stupio je na snagu Nacionalni kurikulum za rani i predškolski odgoj
i obrazovanje, važan dokument u kojemu će se, između ostaloga, odražavati nacionalni

kulturni identitet i aktualni stručni i znanstveni dosezi domaćih teoretičara i praktičara u
području predškolskoga odgoja i obrazovanja. U okviru kurikulske reforme publikacija
Vjekoslave Jurdana postaje nezaobilaznom referentnom točkom.
Zavičajna čitanka Igri nastala je kao plod autoričina dugogodišnjega nastavničkoga i
znanstvenoga rada u školi i na sveučilištu. Iako je riječ o književnoteorijskoj knjizi, sadržaj
čitanke ne iscrpljuje se u tome pristupu već nastoji prodrijeti u konkretnu književnojezičnu
stvarnost. Potiče se približavanje zavičajne književne riječi djeci predškolske dobi s pomoću
slike, zvuka i pokreta, njegujući zavičajni idiom. Priručnik je namijenjen odgojiteljima,
učiteljima, stručnjacima i odraslima koji rade s djecom, a zainteresirani su za problematiku
zavičajne književne riječi. Priručnik Igri Vjekoslave Jurdana ispunjava važno bibliografsko
mjesto i nadaje se kao bogati metodički predložak odgojiteljima i stručnjacima koji rade s
djecom, ali i kao praktičan udžbenik studentima odgojiteljskih i nastavničkih studija. Ujedno,
dobra je podloga za buduće istraživačke radove i publikacije iz zavičajne književnosti i
njezine metodike.
Marinko Lazzarich
Bogatstvo istraživačkoga višeglasja

Marijana Hameršak i Dubravka Zima. 2015. Uvod u dječju književnost. Zagreb:
Leykam International. 448 str. ISBN 978-953-340-026-6
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0030
Propulzivna izdavačka politika raznovrsnih uvoda izdavačke kuće Leykam

International rezultirala je nizom zanimljivih i korisnih naslova, no nema sumnje da je Uvod
u dječju književnost Marijane Hameršak i Dubravke Zima velik događaj za sve proučavatelje
hrvatske dječje književnosti. Ova knjiga nudi nov pristup i donosi novu metodološku
interpretaciju sadržaja u odnosu na većinu dosadašnjih naslova iz toga istraživačkoga
polja. U posljednjih desetak godina svjedočimo nizu tekstova koji dječjoj književnosti
prilaze iz suvremenih teorijskih i metodoloških perspektiva ispravljajući tako prazninu
koja je postojala u interpretacijama starijih autora, sklonijih intuitivno-imanentističkim ili
pedagoško-metodičkim pristupima.
Ova knjiga dolazi kao logičan slijed takva razvoja, ponajprije na teorijskome i
metodološkome planu, no opsegom ih predmeta istraživanja i ambicijom nadmašuje, što se,
naravno nagovještava i u samome naslovu. Autorice su se suočile sa zahtjevnim zadatkom
da istraže i uklope u skladnu cjelinu cijeli niz istraživačkih problema koji se tiču književne
teorije, sociologije i kulturologije djeteta, djetinjstva i dječje književnosti, kao i genologije
i povijesti hrvatske dječje književnosti.
Kako autorice u uvodnome tekstu „O ovome uvodu“ ističu, njihova je knjiga usmjerena
na pristupe razvijene u okviru istraživanja dječje književnosti, ali s jakim osloncem na načela
i uvide i izvan toga područja. Osobito ističu načelo, koje izvorno dolazi iz folkloristike, a
kasnije je usvojeno i u drugim pristupima i disciplinama, o nerazdvojivosti teksta i konteksta,
kao i perspektive razvijene u okviru empirijskih istraživanja književnosti, ponajprije one
usmjerene na materijalne aspekte produkcije, distribucije i recepcije književnosti.
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 291
Već od prvih poglavlja jasno artikulirana teorijska i metodološka načela ulaze u

dijalog, a ponekad i u raspravu s nizom drugih tekstova iz područja dječje književnosti, pri
čemu autorice nikada ne daju prednost vlastitome gledištu kao počelu univerzalne istine,
nego nastoje osvijestiti i demonstrirati povijesnu uvjetovanost ne samo fenomena o kojima
pišu, nego i njihovih interpretacija.
Knjiga se sastoji od deset poglavlja, pisana je pristupačnim jezikom, koji nije
rezerviran samo za akademske istraživače dječje književnosti, nego je razumljiv i
studentima, učenicima i široj zainteresiranoj publici. Tekst tvori gusto tkanje podataka,
koncepata, referencija i interpretacija, čime se ostvaruje njegova ekonomičnost i visoka
semantičnost, ali i otvara mogućnost opetovanoga čitanja i široke primjenjivosti teksta kao
obavezne početne točke za daljnja istraživanja.
Prvo poglavlje „Što je to dječja književnost“ pokušava odgovoriti na pitanje postoje
li neka univerzalna, transhistorijska obilježja dječje književnosti koja bi bila njezina
differentia specifica. Kritičkom analizom postojećih definicija i odrednica nastoji se
pokazati, gotovo dekonstrukcijski, da je dječja književnost kompleksna kulturna pojava
čije se značenje mijenjalo tijekom povijesti. Pritom autorice naglašavaju tekstualnost
konteksta i kontekstualnost teksta, razumijevajući (dječju) književnost kao proizvedenu,
ali i proizvodnu praksu. Ta dvosmjernost kulturnih procesa otvara prostor za razumijevanje
književnih pojava mimo, kako navode autorice, „teleološko-prezentističkog optimizma iz
kojeg se sva odstupanja u odnosu na suvremenost vide kao nedostatak, a sve sličnosti sa
suvremenošću kao njezini zame[t]ci“ (49).
Drugo poglavlje daje moguće odgovore na pitanje što sve čini polje dječje književnosti.
Ponajprije su to akademsko proučavanje dječje književnosti i književna kritika, s
posebnim osvrtom na hrvatski kontekst. Slijede uloga nakladnika i nakladničkih nizova
specijaliziranih za izdavanje dječje književnosti i uloga školskih, specijaliziranih i narodnih
knjižnica. U oblikovanju polja dječje književnosti neizostavna je i uloga nagradnih knjiga
kao svojevrsnih institucionalnih preteča lektire, koja u drugoj polovici 20. stoljeća preuzima
brigu nad propisanim samostalnim dječjim čitanjem kod kuće. Popisi lektire često su pod
utjecajem ideoloških promjena, što često dovodi do pojave (auto)cenzure, koja je česta
pojava dječje književnosti općenito, a ne samo u lektirnome kontekstu. Autorice spominju i
književne nagrade kao jedan vid oblikovanja polja dječje književnosti.
Treće poglavlje „Autor i čitatelj“ osvjetljava osobitosti dječje književnosti u odnosu
na te dvije tekstovne, ali i sociološke instancije. Dječja književnost osobita je po tome što
u svojemu nazivu sadrži pretpostavljenoga čitatelja, što je i navelo brojne autore da se u
svojim analizama koncentriraju na recipijenta. Dapače, postoje naznake da instancija autora
nije toliko čvrsta i neupitna, kao što je to u nedječjoj književnosti te se tako može govoriti
o suatorstvu, višestrukome ili kolektivnome autorstvu ili pak o autorovoj anonimnosti.
Čitatelja dječje književnosti također nije lako nedvosmisleno razlučiti jer autorice daju
brojne primjere prijelaznoga, odnosno ukriženoga čitateljstva književnosti namijenjene
i djeci i odraslima (crossover literature), kao istaknutoga fenomena suvremene dječje i
adolescentske književnosti. Zatim, odrasli su, eksplicitno ili implicitno, uvijek prisutni kao
čitatelji, procjenitelji ili posrednici dječje književnosti. Nekad su i službeni adresati dječje
književnosti, no češće su neslužbeni, skriveni, a njihova se uloga sastoji u tome da procijene
odgovara li tekst njihovoj predodžbi o pogodnoj dječjoj literaturi.
Četvrto poglavlje otvara se pitanjem je li dječja književnost poseban književni

žanr. Autorice ističu razliku u pristupu tome problemu u hrvatskome i, primjerice, u
anglosaksonskome kontekstu. U potonjemu su postojale teze koje su dječju književnost
prepoznavale kao zaseban žanr, tj. kao skup tekstova koji je specifičan čitateljski,
nakladnički ili po nekim svojim drugim karakteristikama. U hrvatskome se kontekstu dječja
književnost prepoznaje kao dio književnosti uopće, no i kao iznimno žanrovski raslojenom.
Navođenjem različitih žanrovskih podjela, autorice ističu i različitost žanrovskoga sustava
u različitim kulturnim zajednicama ili nacionalnim književnostima, ali i proizvoljnost
takvih podjela te nedostatak čvrstih razlikovnih kriterija. U nastavku poglavlja posvećuju
pozornost teorijski nereflektiranim, premda plodnim i propulzivnim žanrovima hrvatske
dječje književnosti: pripovijetki, igrokazu i stripu, dok sljedeća poglavlja donose studije o
kanonskim žanrovima.
Kao kanonske žanrove hrvatske dječje književnosti autorice ističu dječju poeziju,
dječji roman, bajku i slikovnicu, dok je posljednje poglavlje posvećeno adolescentskomu
romanu koji je u zadnjih nekoliko desetljeća stekao autonomiju, izdvojivši se iz krila dječje
književnosti. Hameršak i Zima identificiraju začetak hrvatske adolescentske književnosti
u političkome i ideološkome otporu autoritetima lijevo orijentirane omladine tridesetih
godina 20. stoljeća, ujedno naglašavajući da iz pozicije suvremenosti povlaštena ideja o
buntovnome adolescentu nije jedina moguća: postojao je cijeli niz ranije objavljenih naslova
koji reproduciraju predodžbu o uklopljenome i neproblematičnome adolescentu. Jedan je
od predmeta analize ovoga poglavlja i odnos između adolescentske književnosti i popularne
kulture, koji je, primjerice, ključan za razumijevanje američke adolescentske književnosti.
Pretposljednje je poglavlje posvećeno animalistici kao transžanrovskoj temi
paradigmatičnoj za dječju književnost, a u njegovu se prvome dijelu iz sociološke i
kulturološke perspektive nastoji objasniti konstrukcija navodne srodnosti i bliskosti
djece i životinja. U nastavku poglavlja Hameršak i Zima pozornost su posvetile pregledu
žanra karakterističnoga po životinjskim likovima – basni, naglasivši pritom povijesnu
promjenjivost namjene toga žanra: naime, dugo se basne nisu prepoznavale kao žanr
namijenjen djeci.
U ostalim poglavljima koja se tiču kanonskih žanrova dječje književnosti autorice
se dotiču suvremenih problema i dilema, suvereno vodeći dijalog s postavkama vodećih
hrvatskih i svjetskih istraživača dječje književnosti.
Heuristički će doprinos ove knjige za istraživače dječje književnosti bez sumnje biti
velik. Autorice u dijakronijskoj i sinkronijskoj perspektivi jasno demonstriraju književne,
sociološke, kulturne i ideološke uvjete nastanka dječje književnosti, kao i povratni
proces djelovanja te iste književnosti na uvjete koji su je omogućili. Na metarazini nam
problematiziranje dječje književnosti kao složenoga fenomena pomaže da gotovo fraktalnim
zrcaljenjem na nedječju književnost shvatimo kako konačnih odgovora nema i da su ona
najvažnija pitanja ista i u „odrasloj“ i u dječjoj književnosti. Unatoč nedostatku ionako
nemogućega odgovora 42, ova knjiga sasvim sigurno daje snažan poticaj svim istraživačima
dječje književnosti da se uključe u višestruke, umrežene dijaloge o spomenutim temama,
kao što je to uspjelo i autoricama Uvoda.
Lana Molvarec
Libri & Liberi • 2016 • 5 (1): 239–294 293
Raznoliki pristupi višeslojnomu djelu

Berislav Majhut, Smiljana Narančić Kovač, Sanja Lovrić Kralj, ur. 2015.
„Šegrt Hlapić“ od čudnovatog do čudesnog: zbornik radova. Zagreb: Hrvatska
udruga istraživača dječje književnosti i Slavonski Brod: Ogranak Matice hrvatske
Slavonski Brod. 826 str. ISBN 978-953-57604-1-2
DOI: 10.21066/carcl.libri.2016-05(01).0031
Zbornik radova „Šegrt Hlapić“: od čudnovatog do čudesnog urednika Berislava

Majhuta, Smiljane Narančić Kovač i Sanje Lovrić Kralj proizišao je iz izlaganja sudionika
na međunarodnoj znanstvenoj konferenciji Od čudnovatog do čudesnog održanoj od 17.
do 20. travnja 2013. u Zagrebu i Slavonskome Brodu, o stotoj obljetnici objavljivanja toga
iznimnoga djela. Pred nama je impozantna i hvalevrijedna knjiga s gotovo šezdeset tekstova
od kojih većina ima za temu roman Čudnovate zgode šegrta Hlapića Ivane Brlić-Mažuranić,
što je, kako urednici u predgovoru ističu, jedinstven književni doživljaj jer dosad nije bilo
znanstvene konferencije posvećene samo jednomu djelu hrvatske dječje književnosti.
O uspješnome ishodu konferencije i zbornika svjedoči i to što ove godine dobivamo u
organizaciji Hrvatske udruge istraživača dječje književnosti drugu takvu konferenciju, ovaj
put posvećenu stogodišnjici objavljivanja Priča iz davnine Ivane Brlić-Mažuranić.
U predgovoru urednici govore o ideji vodilji, tijeku i realizaciji konferencije i
zbornika te nam ukratko predstavljaju svaki rad objavljen u zborniku. Iz toga razloga u
ovome prikazu pokušat ću ne krenuti istim putem, nego se osvrnuti na bogatstvo recepcije i
interpretacije toga klasika hrvatske dječje književnosti u suvremenome kontekstu. Nebrojene
su mogućnosti čitanja koje ovaj nevelik roman postavlja pred istraživača. Na početku se
susrećemo s četirima tekstovima istaknutih domaćih i međunarodnih profesora i istraživača
od kojih su dva bili izlagači na svečanoj akademiji (Dubravko Jelčić i Hans-Heino Ewers),
a dvoje održali plenarna predavanja na dijelu konferencije koji se održavao u Slavonskome
Brodu (Vinko Brešić i Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer). Ta cjelina dijeli zajednički nazivnik:
namjeru sinteze ili širega preglednoga zahvata duha vremena i modernističke umjetnosti te
književne pojave i važnosti Ivane Brlić-Mažuranić s posebnim osvrtom na djelo Čudnovate
zgode šegrta Hlapića. Što se ostalih radova u zborniku tiče, mogli bismo razlikovati četiri
paradigme u koje se ponuđena čitanja uklapaju: prva bi bila suvremena književna i osobito
kulturna teorija, druga književnopovijesna i komparatistička, treća koja proučava jezične i
stilističke aspekte romana, a četvrta metodička. Dok su posljednje tri paradigme prisutne već
dugi niz godina u interpretaciji, ne samo ovoga romana, nego i dječje književnosti općenito,
prva predstavlja svojevrsnu, uvjetno rečeno, novinu u istraživanjima dječje književnosti (u
novome tisućljeću primjećujemo sve snažniji proplamsaj takvih pristupa), što je zapravo
samo odraz sličnih kretanja koja već nekoliko desetljeća dominiraju u proučavanjima
nedječje književnosti (tzv. kulturalni obrat). Osobito su zanimljivi oni tekstovi u zborniku
koji povezuju življenu kulturu i svakodnevicu onoga vremena s romanesknim tekstom,
a pritom izbjegavaju nekritički biografizam i pozitivizam (kojima su neki drugi tekstovi,
nažalost, ipak podlegli), upućujući nas još jednom na svijest o neraskidivoj povezanosti
teksta i konteksta, u kojemu pak tekst nije samo puka preslika vremena, nego i diskurzivna
praksa koja povratno djeluje na kulturni i društveni kontekst koji ga je omogućio.
Metodološka pitanja postavljaju se kao nužna pretpostavka u izgradnji metarazine koja
će omogućiti zadovoljavajuće čitanje i razumijevanje ovoga zbornika. Što nam to govori

o stanju discipline, osobito istraživanja dječje književnosti i njezinih kanonskih tekstova
u svjetlu suvremene opće krize humanistike? Ako pogledamo ovaj zbornik, mjesta za
optimizam itekako ima, no brojnost tekstova prirodno je dovela i do neujednačene kvalitete,
iako je to u publikacijama ovakve vrste nemoguće izbjeći. Najveći prigovor odnosio bi se na
nedovoljnu metodološku preciznost nekih radova koja pritom ne uzima u obzir inherentno
fikcionalnu narav svakoga književnoga teksta. On ima svoju relativnu autonomiju u odnosu
na ekonomsko, društveno ili kulturno polje, no neumoljivo je povezan s kronotopom u
kojemu nastaje što otežava brojne komparatističke zahvate koji traže i pronalaze sličnosti
s drugim književnim pojavama. To može nekada navesti na pridavanje lažne važnosti
naoko srodnim književnim pojavama. Nadalje, kada se susrećemo s tekstom koji iz nekoga
razloga prepoznajemo kao književni, nulti stupanj konsenzusa mora biti svijest o njegovoj
fikcionalnosti što čini izlišnim svako povlačenje paralela prepoznavanja stvarnosti u fikciji
jer se ionako uvijek radi o fikcionalnim konstruktima stvarnosti. Ipak, u zborniku postoji
cijeli niz inovativnih istraživanja koja iznose na svjetlo dana bogate facete Šegrta Hlapića
analizirajući roman iz psihoanalitičke, feminističke, kulturnomaterijalističke ili iz pozicije
teorije identiteta i prostora. Osobito su zanimljiva i ona istraživanja koja Hlapića gledaju
u kontekstu drugih medija (crtani film) ili potrošačke kulture koja se komercijalno koristi
animiranim likom miša Hlapića pretvarajući ga u prepoznatljiv brend. Jedan od zanimljivih
smjerova istraživanja jest i proučavanje uloge i značenja koja Hlapić ima u kognitivnim
mapama širokih slojeva stanovništva, izvan književnoga konteksta, u svakodnevnome
govoru, medijima, popularnoj kulturi, internetskim društvenim mrežama, dajući nam tako
zanimljiv uvid u mentalni Hlapićev leksikon. To upućuje istodobno na dvije činjenice:
na uronjenost Hlapića u građansku kulturu i njezine vrijednosti koje smo često skloni
promatrati kao univerzalne te na neprestane mijene i preinake koje ta recepcija doživljava
tijekom vremena.
Gotovo da nema aspekta romana, tekstualnoga ili kontekstualnoga, koji mnogobrojni
autori nisu obuhvatili, a cijeli treći dio zbornika posvećen je i radovima koji donose neke
druge teme koje nemaju veze s Hlapićem, no najčešće imaju s Ivanom Brlić-Mažuranić,
njezinim autobiografskim tekstovima ili Pričama iz davnine.
Tako velik broj radova te različitih pristupa, tematskih i metodoloških, ne treba čuditi
kada se uzme u obzir višeslojnost spisateljičinih tekstova koji već desetljećima privlače
pažnju istraživača. Također ohrabruje velik broj tekstova koji temi pristupaju sa suvremenih
i aktualnih metodoloških pozicija pronalazeći tako još dodatnih poticaja u ionako poticajnim
tekstovima. Riječ je o izdanju koje svakako ima mogućnost bitno utjecati na buduću
recepciju ovoga kultnoga i klasičnoga dječjega romana te će sigurno biti neizostavno štivo
za sve buduće istraživače.
Lana Molvarec
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A Long Time Ago

Article · December 2016

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Adaptations and rewritings of children’s literature are often determined by the

Expanding Children’s Horizons

Edited by Karen Sands-O’Connor and Marietta A. Frank, Internationalism in

Girlhood in U.S. Media

Published in 2014, in the era of radical changes in children’s literature, Technology

Looking Back at the Spanish Civil War

Social Inequality in Children’s Books

anti-utopian worlds, the books of L. Lowry remain essentially anti-utopian as they do

From Plaything to Player

Companionship of Children and Animals

A Generation Gap of Another Kind

Relying on the pillars of existentialist writing, such as that of Jean-Paul Sartre, or

A Long Time Ago

Space, Place, Power and Play

Early Years, Languages and Picturebooks

A Secret World of the Translation Process

Gillian Lathey’s delightfully readable Translating Children’s Literature gives the

In Look! Polish Picturebook, Małgorzata Cackowska and Anita Wincencjusz-Patyna

Mɫodożeniec, Lange), collage techniques as a basis for creative composition (Butenko),

Kultur und Text mit allen ihren Facetten

Der Sammelband Interkulturalität und (literarisches) Übersetzen herausgegeben von

Inga Rinau behandelt in ihrem Beitrag verschiedene Besonderheiten im Beruf

Die vielen Gesichter der Biene Maja

Interkulturalität – aktuell, medienwissenschaftlich und didaktisch

Zaigran ulazak u svijet poezije

Recepcija je književnoumjetničkoga teksta, poput čitanja, važna ljudska misaona

poput Jože Skoka, Milana Crnkovića i Stjepana Hranjeca. Rasvjetljavajući semantički

i obrazovanje, važan dokument u kojemu će se, između ostaloga, odražavati nacionalni

Bogatstvo istraživačkoga višeglasja

Propulzivna izdavačka politika raznovrsnih uvoda izdavačke kuće Leykam

Već od prvih poglavlja jasno artikulirana teorijska i metodološka načela ulaze u

Četvrto poglavlje otvara se pitanjem je li dječja književnost poseban književni

Raznoliki pristupi višeslojnomu djelu

Zbornik radova „Šegrt Hlapić“: od čudnovatog do čudesnog urednika Berislava

će omogućiti zadovoljavajuće čitanje i razumijevanje ovoga zbornika. Što nam to govori

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