Table of Contents

Introduction: “Children and Life Narrative: Reading, Writing and Influence” Section 1: Biography, History and Knowledge Chapter One: “Biographies for children: a literary and cultural history” Chapter Two: “Little people, big dreams: biographies of the ‘great’” Chapter Three: “Making History, Changing the World: Science and History for children” Section 2: New Heroes Chapter Four: “Young heroes and Rebel Girls” Chapter Five: “Children’s Picture Books, asylum-seeking and citizenship” Chapter Six: “Tales of Trusty Hounds: posthuman biography for children.” Section three: New Directions—Life narratives by Children and Youth Chapter Seven: “Children’s life narratives of asylum-seeking: displacement, testimony and the ethics of witnessing” Chapter Eight: “Kids Like to Tell Stories about Others: Children and Biographical Practice” Chapter Nine: “Children’s Life Narrative during COVID-19—My Lockdown Diary” Conclusion Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

The first study to explore biographical works written for, about and by children, analyzing texts alongside empirical research into child-readers and writers to establish a framework for reading such texts going forward.

About the Author

Kate Douglas is Professor in English at Flinders University, Australia. She is the author of Contesting Childhood: Autobiography, Trauma and Memory (2010) and the co-author of Life Narratives and Youth Culture: Representation, Agency and Participation (2016, with Anna Poletti). Her edited collections include (with Ashley Barnwell) Research Methodologies for Auto/Biography Studies (2019). Kate is Head of the steering committee for the International Auto/Biography Association’s Asia-Pacific chapter.

Reviews

This is an essential book. In this wide-ranging study, Kate Douglas asks us to reconsider biography, by and for children, as acts of representation, inspiration, and education. The book moves effortlessly across theoretical disciplines, taking in an impressive variety of texts. The inclusion of children’s voices and the respect given to their reading lives is a model.
*Professor Claire Lynch, Brunel University London, UK*