Creating the National Mosaic

Multiculturalism in Canadian Children’s Literature from 1950 to 1994

Series: 

The Canadian Multicultural Mosaic has long been recognized as an – if not the – outstanding characteristic of the Canadian nation at home and abroad. It has, further, come to be regarded as a model worldwide of a well-functioning culturally diverse society. This first book-length study of Canadian multicultural children’s literature sets out to explore how literature for the young has contributed to the creation of the country’s multicultural discourse as well as to the construction of its national identity. In this context, children’s literature possesses particular significance, as juvenile literature by nature serves an educational purpose which extends to forming and informing the next generation of a country’s citizens. In order to achieve a deeper understanding of the complex structures at work, not only the fictional works themselves but also Canada’s policy with regard to children’s culture and literature have been examined. In order to provide an optimally comprehensive picture, chapters include, among other aspects, information on public library services for immigrant children, on Canadian research collections specializing in children’s literature, on Canadian publishing for children, and on promotional activities. The works of fiction examined cover the period from 1950 to 1994 – thus illustrating the development of the nation’s multicultural discourse – and include various Canadian regions as well as protagonists belonging to different ethnic groups. While the approach is interdisciplinary, the novels discussed are above all read against the tenets of Canadian multiculturalism as manifested in such core documents as Prime Minister Trudeau’s 1971 parliamentary declaration and the 1988 Canadian Multiculturalism Act. The chief objective of the present study is to understand the interdependence between ideology, children’s literature, and the creation of a national discourse.
Copyright Year:
2011
E-Book (PDF)
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-94-012-0050-9
Publication:
01 Jan 2011
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-420-3351-1
Publication:
01 Jan 2011
Cover Creating the National Mosaic

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Miriam Verena Richter teaches in the Department of English at Friedrich Schiller University, Jena (Germany). She has published on Canadian children’s literature, German youth fiction, and British and Canadian historical fiction.
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Introduction
National Identity-Formation
Aspects of Nation-Building
The Contribution of Literature to National Identity-Formation
Children’s Literature and National Identity-Formation
The Canadian Situation
Canadian National Identity
Multiculturalism
Multicultural Children’s Literature
Canadian Cultural Policy with Regard to Children’s Culture and Literature
Public Libraries’ Children’s Services
Canadian Research Collections Specializing in Children’s Literature
Canadian Publishing for Children
Canadian Children’s Book Awards
Promotional Activities
Guides to Canadian Children’s Literature
State of Research
The Immigrant Experience as Depicted in Anglo-Canadian Youth Fiction 1950–1994
Criteria of Choice for the Corpus of Primary Literature
Pioneering Multicultural Children’s Literature: The 1950s
— Lyn Cook: The Bells on Finland Street
— Lyn Cook: The Little Magic Fiddler
The Beginnings of Official Multicultural Policy: The 1970s
— Jean Little: From Anna and Listen for the Singing
— Frances Duncan: Kap-Sung Ferris
Steering Towards the Canadian Multiculturalism Act: The 1980s
— Monica Hughes: My Name is Paula Popowich!
Consolidating Multiculturalism in Multicultural Canadian Children’s Literature: The 1990s
— Paul Yee: Breakaway
The Development of Canadian Multicultural Children’s Literature: Conclusion and Outlook for the Future
Bibliography
Index
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