Books Received (2007)

Books Received Mark I. West The Animé Art of Hayao Miyazaki. By Dani Cavallaro. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2006. In this critical study of Hayao Miyazaki's films, Dani Cavallaro examines the artistic and thematic qualities of Miyazaki's animated films. Among the films that are discussed in depth are My Neighbor Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle. Cavallaro also explores the various reasons why these films appeal to audiences beyond Miyazaki's native Japan. A Bibliography of Modern Arthuriana, 1500–2000. By Ann F. Howey and Stephen R. Reimer. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2006. This annotated bibliography provides key information about literary texts, films, and works in other media that draw on the Arthurian legend. Over 4,500 works are listed, including many that are intended for children. Crosscurrents of Children's Literature: An Anthology of Texts and Criticism. Edited by J. D. Stahl, Tina L. Hanlon, and Elizabeth Lennox Keyser. New York and Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Intended as a text to be used in children's literature courses, this substantial anthology combines important primary works of children's literature with critical essays that deal with various aspects of children's literature. The book is divided into the following eight sections: (1) "To Teach or to Entertain," (2) "Subjection of the Child or Subversion of Adult Authority," (3) "Oral and Written Literary Traditions," (4) "Realism and Fantasy," (5) "Boys' Books and Girls' Books," (6) "Words and Pictures," (7) "Satires and Spin-Offs," and (8) "Values and Censorship." Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion: The Classical Genre for Children and the Process of Civilization. 2nd ed. By Jack Zipes. New York: Routledge, 2006. The original edition of this groundbreaking book came out in 1983. In this updated and expanded second edition, Jack Zipes incorporates recent scholarship on fairy tales and folklore. This edition also includes two new chapters: (1) "The Origins of the Fairy Tales in Italy: Straparola and Basile," and (2) "Walt Disney's Civilizing Mission: From Revolution to Restoration." [End Page 63] Letters of E. B. White: Revised Edition. Originally edited by Dorothy Lobrano Guth. Revised and updated by Martha White. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. As E. B. White once put it, he spent most of his adult life "crouched over a typewriter," and for part of that time, he was typing letters. In 1976 Dorothy Lobrano Guth brought out a collection of these letters, but this collection proved to be incomplete since he continued writing letters until his death in 1985. In this new volume, his granddaughter, Martha White, includes the letters that he wrote between 1976 and 1985. Taken as a whole, this collection of correspondence provides readers with an insider's view of the American literary scene from the mid-1920s to the mid-1980s. He corresponded with such literary giants as James Thurber and John Updike, and he often commented on the lives and writings of famous authors. For fans of White's children's books, the letters he wrote to Ursula Nordstrom are especially interesting. Nordstrom headed the children's division of Harper and Brothers and served as the editor for his books for children. White frequently corresponded with Nordstrom about such details as the illustrations for his books, promotion ideas, and Hollywood's attempts to acquire the movie rights for his books. Through these letters, the reader gains insights into the tension between White's creative side and the business side of his writing career. The Suffragists in Literature for Youth: The Fight for the Vote. By Shelley Mosley and John Charles. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2006. Intended as a resource book for teachers and librarians, this volume is organized around individual American suffragists. The authors provide biographical sketches on fifty suffragists. After each sketch, the authors include an annotated bibliography of works for children that relate to that suffragist.