Children's and Young Adult Comics

Gwen Athene Tarbox is Professor of English at Western Michigan University, USA. Her book The Clubwomen's Daughters: Collectivist Impulses in Progressive-era Girls' Fiction (2001) was named a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title, and she is co-editor, with Dr. Michelle Ann Abate, of Graphic Novels for Children and Young Adults: A Collection of Critical Essays (2017).

1 Introduction: “Comics Are the Language of the Future”
The educative potential of comics
The relationship between children’s literature and children’s comics
Features of this book

2 Historical Overview
The parallel development of children’s literature and children’s comics
The anti-comics crusade
The influencers: Archie and Peanuts
The second golden age of children’s literature
From manga to mainstream

3 Social and Cultural Impact
Diversity and intersectionality
Fan culture and author/reader interactions
Censorship and age designations

4 Critical Uses
Thematic concerns of children’s literature
Formal concerns particular to the comics medium
Case study: closure and layout
Case study: repetition and braiding
Case study: wordless comics and hybrid formats
Case study: image/text relationships
Case study: focalization and point of view
Case study: line style and color
Case study: manga
Bringing it all together: writing about comics

5 Key Texts
Adaptation
Historical Nonfiction
Informational Texts
Memoir
Fairy Tales
Fantasy
Mystery


Glossary
Resources
Index