Theory for Beginners

Kenneth Kidd’s generative and useful book considers what it would mean to ground a critical theory in books for young people. An ideal spokesbook for the public humanities, Kidd’s lucid, accessible Theory for Beginners explores why small books are so good at raising big questions. By estranging the familiar and cultivating a sense of wonder, children’s literature, as Kidd shows us, teaches us not just how to read but how to read the world.---Philip Nel, author of Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books

Is theory for beginners? If all theorists were as intellectually broad-minded, playfully pedagogical, and mercifully undogmatic as Kenneth Kidd, then it would be. His witty and wide-ranging account of how children’s literature sometimes functions as theory and theory sometimes engages creatively with children (and other novices) is wonderfully eclectic and illuminating.---Marah Gubar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

...the spirit of the book is one of delight in the sheer fun of philosophical and theoretical exploration; it is infused with appreciation for the ways in which the most daunting books of philosophy and theory nonetheless express a childlike sense of adventurous wonder and the ways in which the simplest texts for the youngest of readers can contain sophisticated and elegant philosophizing and theorizing. It is a generous book that welcomes learners both young and old into a feast for the mind.---Children's Literature Association Quarterly

Theory for Beginners is a meaningful contemplation of literatures that construct themselves for the novice reader and is successful in highlighting how children’s literature lives within, as well as alongside, philosophical and theoretical pursuits.---International Research in Children's Literature

Serious students of childhood studies, children’s literature,philosophy, and theory will find this book useful. Recommended.---Choice Reviews