Adapting Canonical Texts in Children's Literature

Anja Müller is Professor of English Literature and Culture at the University of Siegen, Germany. Her publications include Fashioning Childhood in the Eighteenth Century ( Ed.Ashgate, 2006) and Framing Childhood in Eighteenth-Century English Periodicals and Prints, 1689-1789 (Ashgate, 2009) which was designated the Honor Book 2009 of the Children's Literature Association.

By introducing a wide-ranging set of case studies, from multi-media versions of plays by Shakespeare to cross-cultural reinterpretations of classic tales, this volume places a welcome emphasis on international research into adaptations for children. Transitions from the adult to the children's canon, from one language to another and from page to feature film, animation, comic strip or dance are all examined with scholarly attention to the aesthetic and ideological issues that arise in the course of adaptation. Anja Müller has succeeded in drawing together a lively and informative series of insights into the transcultural reach of adaptation strategies for the child reader or viewer.

• Introduction1. Shakespeare for Girls: Victorian vs. Contemporary Prose Versions of Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice, Laura Tosi, Ca' Foscari, Venice, Italy2. Shylock's Daughter, Nathan and his Children, Golem Silent Brother - Adapting European Classics in the Work of Miriam Pressler, Jana Mikota, Universität Siegen, Germany 3. Shakespeare in Children's Literature: Susan Cooper's King of the Shadows and Tad Williams's Caliban's Hour, Eva Oppermann, Universität Kassel, Germany4. Shakespeare for Beginners: The Animated Tales from Shakespeare and the Case Study of Julias Ceasar , Maddalena Pennacchia, Roma Tre University5. Adapting and Parodying Shakespeare for Young Adults: John Marsden's Hamlet and Andy Griffth's Just Macbeth!, Mark MacLeod, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga Campus, Australia6. Shakespeare Comic Books - Adapting the Bard for a Young Audience, Anja Müller, Universität Siegen, Germany7. Rosemary Sutcliffe's Beowulf: Dragonslayer Lukascz Neubauer, Technical University of Koszalin, Poland8. The Kids of the Round Table: Arthurian Traces in Fantasy Fiction for Children and Young Adults Anne Klaus, University of Osnabrück, Germany9. Downsizing Dickens: Adaptations of Oliver Twist for the Child Reader, Elizabeth Thiel, University of Roehampton, UK10. Pinocchio in English, Iain Halliday, Universita di Catania11. The Adaptation of a Children's Story which has Adult Messages: The Nutcracker from E.T.A. Hoffmann to Matthew Bourne, Janice Keane, University of Nottingham, UK12. To Be Or Not To Be A Canonical Text of Children's Literature: Polish and Italian Translations of Winnie-the-Pooh, Monika Wozniak, Universita La Sapienza di Roma, Italy 13. Disney(Never)land's Tinker Bell, Lisa Rowe Fraustino, Eastern Connecticut State University, USA References Index