Ellen Handler Spitz is a Senior Lecturer in the Humanities Program at Yale University. She writes and lectures widely on the arts, psychology, and culture. She is also the author of Art and Psyche and Museums of the Mind.
Readers may never look at picture books in the same way after making their way through this thought-provoking examination. Focusing on her subject through the lens of psychology, Spitz (Art and the Psyche) argues that because picture books "provide children with some of their earliest takes on morality, taste, and basic cultural knowledge, including messages about gender, race, and class," it behooves adults to consider more carefully the images transmitted to their kids. Organized thematically, the chapters offer a wide-ranging discussion of art and artistry, visual and verbal cues and the transmission of culture through picture books that resonate with children, often for multiple generations. Whether examining motifs of darkness and abandonment in Margaret Wise Brown's classic bedtime tale Goodnight Moon, a child's yearning for power and independence in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are or gender stereotyping in Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit (comparing the bold and naughty Peter to his obedient sisters, she notes "the gendering is explicit: good is to girls as bad is to boys"), Spitz provides an illuminating analysis of what is often taken for granted. Sure to spark lively debate, her book is a must-read for any serious student of children's literature as well as that core group of parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians and others who are actively engaged in raising children. Provocative, well written, scholarly without being dry or pedantic, Spitz's text makes a compelling case for the power of art and literature, and the responsibility that accompanies such power, particularly when it relates to children. (May)
A fascinating, highly personal treatment of a popular genre. Spitz's psychoanalytical background, her passion for the role of art as a transmitter of culture, her observations of children's experiences with books, her knowledge of Jewish ritual and writings, and her own vivid childhood memories all inform and influence this work. In the process of explaining why certain titles have endured and in describing the importance of the adult/child interaction in revealing meaning, she provides in-depth analyses of familiar titles. Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, Russell Hoban's Bedtime for Frances, Judith Viorst's The Tenth Good Thing about Barney, and Maurice Sendak's In the Night Kitchen are among those mentioned. Chapters on bedtime and separation, death and loss, disobedience and punishment, and the formation of identity provide a framework. Black-and-white reproductions of selected book covers and a list of picture books cited are included. The bibliography of secondary sources reflects the author's interdisciplinary approach.-Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
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