Children's Literature of the Harlem Renaissance

"This readable and informative account... raises issues about the political and social intent of all children s literature. Essential." Choice

During the New Negro Renaissance, African American children s literature became a crucial medium through which a disparate community forged bonds of cultural, economic, and aesthetic solidarity. Employing interdisciplinary critical strategies, including social, educational, and publishing history, canon-formation theory, and extensive archival research, Children s Literature of the Harlem Renaissance analyzes childhood as a site of emerging black cultural nationalism. It explores the period s vigorous exchange about the nature and identity of black childhood and uncovers the networks of African Americans who worked together to transmit black history and culture to a new generation."