What We're Reading: Tracy

Minders of Make-Believe: Idealists, Entrepreneurs, and the Shaping of American Children's Literature, by Leonard S. Marcus.

For over 300 years, parents, priests, and publishers, to name but a few, have debated what children should read. Children themselves have had little say in the matter, forced to rely on the judgement of editors, librarians, teachers, and others who serve as gatekeepers to the world of children's literature.

In this ground-breaking work, historian and critic Leonard S. Marcus traces the "turf wars" that have erupted between these various interested parties from colonial times to the modern day. From Puritan primers through the Horatio Alger novels to the multicultural picture books of the 1960s, children's books often reflect the concerns of their time, which is one reason they provoke such strong feelings in their adult audiences. This new history will intrigue, dismay, and ultimately delight lovers of children's literature.