Windows and Words is a collection of seventeen essays that confirms and celebrates the artistry of Canadian Children's Literature. There are essays that survey a wealth of English language fiction, from the internationally acclaimed work of Lucy Maud Montgomery, the aboriginal adolescent novel, to the increasingly multi-cultural character of children's books. Others examine book illustration, visual literacy, and the creative partnership seen in the picture book and its art design. With contributions by two Governor General's Award winning authors, Janet Lunn and Tim Wynne-Jones, and a final commentary by Elizabeth Waterson, the heart of this collection offers a unique perspective on the artistry of writing for children and claims a rightful place for Canadian children's literature as literature.

Where do children travel when they read a story? In this collection, scholars and authors explore the imaginative geography of a wide range of places, from those of Indigenous myth to the fantasy worlds of Middle-earth, Earthsea, or Pacificus, from the semi-fantastic Wild Wood to real-world places like Canada's North, Chicago's World Fair, or the modern urban garden. What happens to young protagonists who explore new worlds, whether fantastic or realistic? What happens when Old World and New World myths collide? How do Indigenous myth and sense of place figure in books for the young? How do environmental or post-colonial concerns, history, memory, or even the unconscious affect an author's creation of place? How are steampunk and science fiction mythically re-enchanting for children? Imaginative geography means imaged earth writing: it creates what readers see when they enter the world of fiction. Exploring diverse genres for children, including picture books, fantasy, steampunk, and realistic novels as well as plays from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland from the early nineteenth century to the present, Children's Literature and Imaginative Geography provides new geographical perspectives on children's literature.