Sticks and Stones : The Troublesome Success of Children's Literature From Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter

First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company. Have children ever really had a literature of their own? In Sticks and Stones, Jack Zipes explores children's literature, from the grissly moralism of Slovenly Peter to the hugely successful Harry Potter books, and argues that despite common assumptions about children's books, our investment in children is paradoxically curtailing their freedom and creativity. Sticks and Stones is a forthright and engaging book by someone who cares deeply about what and how children read. With refreshing independence, Jack Zipes contends that children are best served neither by the current polemics of the religious right or the radical left. It is a forthright and engaging book.