In several English-language classics, a common denominator for depictions of fat characters is a gluttonous overeating of sweets. In this chapter, we study how the portrayal of sweets-eating boys in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series (1997–2007) reinforce stereotype notions through likening or transforming gluttonous fat characters into animals, particularly pigs. This results in a dehumanisation triggering a stereotypical view not only on the fat characters, but also on pigs. Drawing on theoretical views from the fields of fat studies and animal studies, we analyse the meanings and social implications of creating and repeating this stereotype.

Den svenska barn- och ungdomslitteraturens historia sträcker sig över mer än 700 år, och här får den sin första ingående genomlysning. Verket ger en ny, spännande och ofta överraskande bild av barn- och ungdomslitteraturens förutsättningar och skiftande uttryck genom olika tider och presenterar mängder av nya texter och bilder. I två band behandlas allt från berättande skönlitteratur, sagor, lyrik, visor, dramatik, bilderböcker, tecknade serier och barntidningar till läseböcker, ABC-böcker, religiösa skrifter och faktaböcker. Olika vittnesmål om läsning, såväl klotter som teckningar och läsarundersökningar, ger plats åt läsarnas röster och perspektiv. Inte minst ger verket nya perspektiv på bildens betydelse i barn- och ungdomslitteraturen, och därför är verket rikt illustrerat, både med bilder ur barn- och ungdomsböcker och med bilder som placerar böckerna i tidens samhälle och kulturella miljö.

This chapter discusses the genealogy and importance of gender studies within children’s literature research. Following Boel Westin’s imperative about the importance of a situated knowledge of one’s research field, we show how feminist and gender studies have provided children’s literature research with analytical tools, but also how children’s literature research provides gender studies with equally important perspectives, such as age and gendered conceptualizations of children. The chapter sketches some pivotal historical lines and discusses the subfields of girlhood and boyhood studies. The theoretical concepts are exemplified with readings of global children’s literature, highlighting how a gender perspective can inform such research.

The concept of silence and silencing evokes questions of self in relation to others, of language and of communication, even of what it is that makes us human. It contains numerous interpretative possibilities, all highly relevant for the study of children’s literature. Aiming the searchlight at silence and silencing points at the multiple ways in which children’s literature functions, and how complex and varied – and sometimes paradoxical – children’s literature is as a field. The relationship between children’s literature and silence suggests an intriguing tension between voicing and silencing, between speech and the unspoken. While children’s literature tends to be considered a liberating and empowering force in children’s lives, it can also be seen as implicated in a widespread and deeply rooted discourse of silence and silencing, which draws on the idea that children should be seen but not heard. The theme also draws attention to how children’s literature can both challenge and reinforce notions of which subjects are tabooed or censored, which further points to the necessity of examining the silences and lacunae within children’s literature.

This volume springs out of a global congress, IRSCL Congress 2019: Silence and Silencing in Children’s Literature, organized by the editors of this volume in Stockholm, Sweden. The volume includes the five keynotes of the congress as well as a selection of studies sprung from congress presentations. It is divided into five sections: Multiple Facets of Silence and Silencing, Narrating Silence, Addressing Aetonormative Silences, Structural and Societal Silences and Silencing, and Trauma and Traumatic Silences. The book is edited by Elina Druker, Professor at Stockholm University, Sweden; Björn Sundmark, Professor at Malmö University, Sweden; Åsa Warnqvist, Docent and Research Manager at the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books, Sweden, and Mia Österlund, Associate Professor at Åbo Akademi University, Finland.

International Research in Children’s Literature is essential reading for scholars in the field of children's literature. The journal primarily focuses on applications of cultural and literary theories, comparative literatures, and the production and reception of children's literature as a world literature. Widely international in scope, the journal addresses the diverse intellectual currents of this constantly expanding subject area. This volume originates out of the international congress, IRSCL Congress 2019: Silence and Silencing in Children’s Literature, which took place in Stockholm, Sweden on 14–18 August 2019. It was hosted by the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books in collaboration with Malmö University and Stockholm University in Sweden and Åbo Akademi University in Finland. 

International Research in Children’s Literature is essential reading for scholars in the field of children's literature. The journal primarily focuses on applications of cultural and literary theories, comparative literatures, and the production and reception of children's literature as a world literature. Widely international in scope, the journal addresses the diverse intellectual currents of this constantly expanding subject area. This volume originates out of the international congress, IRSCL Congress 2019: Silence and Silencing in Children’s Literature, which took place in Stockholm, Sweden on 14–18 August 2019. It was hosted by the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books in collaboration with Malmö University and Stockholm University in Sweden and Åbo Akademi University in Finland.