Boys and Girls in No Man's Land : English-Canadian Children and the First World War

Drawing on educational materials, textbooks, adventure tales, plays, and Sunday-school papers, __Boys and Girls in No Man's Land__ explores the role of children in the nation's war effort. Boys and Girls in No Man's Land examines how the First World War entered the lives and imaginations of Canadian children. Drawing on educational materials, textbooks, adventure tales, plays, and Sunday-school papers, this study explores the role of children in the nation's war effort.

Susan R. Fisher also considers how the representation of the war has changed in Canadian children's literature. During the war, the conflict was invariably presented as noble and thrilling, but recent Canadian children's books paint a very different picture. What once was regarded a morally uplifting struggle, rich in lessons of service and sacrifice, is now presented as pointless slaughter. This shift in tone and content reveals profound changes in Canadian attitudes not only towards the First World War but also towards patriotism, duty, and the shaping of the moral citizen.

Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction 11 PART ONE: PATRIOTIC TRAINING 41 1. Doing Their Bit 41 2. Studying War 61 3. Children of the Empire 89 PART TWO: STORIES OF WAR 117 4. Brave Little Soldiers: Stories for Younger Readers 117 5. Dogs of War and Other Animals 140 6. The Adventure of War 159 7. But What Can a Girl Do? 193 8. A War for Modern Readers 227 Conclusion 257 Appendix: Recent Canadian Children’s Books about the First World War 269 Notes 273 Works Cited 287 Index 309