The study of children's literature is currently centred on literary studies, educational studies, and a third more diverse group of many other related disciplines, including history, bibliography, sociology and psychology. All of these then overlap with cultural studies and contribute to the rapidly growing meta-discipline of childhood studies.

Fascinating and insightful, this four-volume collection gathers together fundamental and essential essays from across the spectrum of disciplines, and is organized so that each volume focuses on one general interest group or area. With entries from specialist and professional journals across the world, this is a unique resource to complement the burgeoning numbers of specialist and reference books in the field.