Age in David Almond's Oeuvre: A Multi-Method Approach to Studying Age and the Life Course in Children's Literature

Age studies in children's literature has gained prominence, and this book explores age in various aspects, including author, characters, writing style, readership, and real reader. It combines age studies with life writing studies, cognitive narratology, digital humanities, comparative literary studies, reader-response research, and media studies. The book offers an in-depth exploration of the oeuvre of David Almond, a renowned author, and discusses his film adaptation of "Skellig" as well as lesser-known works. It provides a multi-faceted analysis of Almond's works, enhancing readers' understanding of his cross-writing for children, adolescents, and adults.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 21 July 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

In recent years, age studies have emerged as a groundbreaking approach to studying children's literature, offering a fresh perspective on this genre. This book builds upon this scholarship and significantly expands its horizons by delving into various aspects of children's literature, including the age of the author, characters, writing style, intended readership, and actual readers. Moreover, the authors explore the diverse theories and methodologies employed to study age in children's literature, assessing their strengths and limitations. The analyses seamlessly integrate age studies with fields such as life writing studies, cognitive narratology, digital humanities, comparative literary studies, reader-response research, and media studies. To maintain coherence, the book provides an in-depth exploration of the oeuvre of a single author, David Almond. Almond's works have garnered widespread recognition for their aesthetic and thematic richness. This book contributes to our understanding of his body of work by offering a multi-faceted analysis of age. In addition to discussing the film adaptation of his best-known novel, Skellig, this book also offers insightful analyses of lesser-known works such as Counting Stars, Clay, and Bone Music. Readers will gain a deeper appreciation of Almond as a versatile crosswriter of literature for children, adolescents, and adults.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032439594