This book draws on original material and approaches from the developing fields of the history of emotions and childhood studies and brings together scholars from history, literature and cultural studies, to reappraise how the early modern world reacted to the deaths of children. Child death was the great equaliser of the early modern period, affecting people of all ages and conditions. It is well recognised that the deaths of children struck at the heart of early modern families, yet less known is the variety of ways that not only parents, but siblings, communities and even nations, responded to childhood death. The contributors to this volume ask what emotional responses to child death tell us about childhood and the place of children in society. Placing children and their voices at the heart of this investigation, they track how emotional norms, values, and practices shifted across the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries through different religious, legal and national traditions. This collection demonstrates that child death was not just a family matter, but integral to how communities and societies defined themselves. Chapter 5 of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

Kimberley Reynolds and Nicola Humble here provide a radical revision of Victorian constructions of femininity. Using a wide range of textual examples (including children's literature, sensations fiction, diaries, and autobiography) as well as visual illustrations, Victorian Heroines offers a new look at the representation of women and sexuality in nineteenth-century literature and painting.

Arguing against the conventional dyadic model that interprets Victorian fiction in terms of a rigid distinction between the good and bad, the sexual and asexual woman, the authors suggest a more complex paradigm, simultaneously concealing and revealing contradictory attitudes to Victorian womanhood.

The book explores the highly erotic fantasy elements frequently found in widely disseminated orthodox female images, and effectively demonstrates how both male and female writers used similar techniques to subvert this orthodoxy. Drawing on contemporary critical and cultural theories, "Victorian Heroines" is a lucid and accessible analysis of the depiction of women during this period, challenging the prevalent views of recent decades.

In Grimms' fairy tales, things are not always as they seem ... An evil stepmother casts one spell too many in Little Brother and Little Sister. Can the Goose Girl prove her royal heritage and claim her husband? Of three sons, only one truly loves his father, but he must struggle to prove his loyalty in The Water of Life. A king promises his children to animals of the wild but is there more to these creatures than meets the eye? These four fairy tales and their stunning illustrations will capture and enchant children's imaginations. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

This beautifully illustrated story is an adaptation of the Welsh legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod, the lost area of Wales which disappeared beneath the sea. This drowned land was once a pleasant and prosperous kingdom, its low-lying fields protected from the waves by a high sea wall. But only Mererid, the storm child, knows that the tide-gates are failing and the next storm will breach the wall. As clouds and ravens gather overhead, she must race to save her friends and the kingdom before it's too late... TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the world's best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

The gods have power to transform people into whatever they want in these ancient myths. What will happen when Arachne challenges a goddess to a spinning competition? Talkative Echo is doomed to a life of silence, only able to repeat what others say. Narcissus's good looks get the better of him when he catches sight of his reflection. Baucis and Philemon long to live together forever will the god Jupiter make this happen? The ancient world is brought to life in these vibrant tales. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

This thrilling tale is adapted from Shahnameh, the epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi in the 10th century. Rostam is the mightiest hero who has ever lived, and Rakhsh is his faithful horse - as strong as his master and quite a bit cleverer too. They have fought the fiercest creatures and most hideous monsters, but might have finally met their match... TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the world's best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Matchmaking Emma thinks she is quite the expert when it comes to love; setting up her friends is her favourite pastime. But sometimes her interfering doesn't get her the results she wants! With all the dashing young men in her life, will Emma ever stop to think about what might be inside her own heart? Austen's classic and much-loved tale is marvellously retold, bringing with it all the drama and intrigue of Regency life. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening. This pack contains six books, one of each of the following titles:Mischief Makers, A Christmas Carol, Who Needs Stories?, Decisions, Decisions, Changing Shape and Peter and the Wolf.

Sebastian and Viola cause all sorts of trouble when they switch places in the romantic comedy Twelfth Night. Learn the history of the most famous Roman emperor of all when you enter Julius Caesar's world of treachery and murder. Leontes' jealousy loses him his family and his mind. Can he find his way out of the darkness in The Winter's Tale? Shakespeare Stories allows children to discover the delights of the Bard in these three prose retellings. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Don Quixote may just be the silliest knight-errant in all of Spain! Along with his 'trusty steed' Rocinante and his patient squire Sancho, he insists on gallivanting around the country in search of noble deeds. Cervantes' ludicrious eponymous hero is brought to life in this hilarious retelling, overflowing with misplaced and madcap heroism. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Thumbelina may only be the size of a thumb, but she is brimful of kindness and good nature. Stolen away in the middle of the night, she is forced to take refuge wherever she can find it. Slimy toads, mice and moles all offer her shelter, but it isn't always comfortable. Will she ever find a place that she can truly call her home? Enchanting storytelling and illustrations capture the magic of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

If a shard of the magic mirror enters your eye, you become a servant of the cold-hearted Snow Queen, doomed to a life of ice and snow. At least, that's what the storybook says ... and surely it can't be true? But when her best friend Kai disappears without a trace, Gerda begins to suspect that this mysterious Snow Queen might be to blame. Travelling through the seasons to find him, will Gerda be able to discover the truth and can her warm heart keep her safe in the frozen north? TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

The peaceful town of Hamelin is overrun with rats: they are raiding larders, hiding in cupboards, sneaking into bed linen and driving the locals to despair. Desperate for help, they turn to the mysterious Pied Piper who promises a solution. But when the Piper falls out with the mayor, he takes away more than the townspeople ever expected. A wonderfully vivid interpretation of the story, which tackles trust, pride and revenge. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Rip Van Winkle is a kind man with a grumpy wife! One afternoon, he meets a group of old-fashioned men high in the Catskill mountains, and tries an unusual drink which sends him straight to sleep ... When he awakes, Rip has grown a long beard but that isn't the only thing to have changed. What else will he discover when he returns home? Washington Irving's classic story about the man who falls asleep for twenty years will enchant a new generation of readers in this fabulously illustrated retelling. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Two stories full of love, devotion and sacrifice. A mournful statue is helped by a swallow to carry out acts of charity around the city. A nightingale longs to find a red rose for her friend, but the rose bush asks a high price. Both these feathered creatures pay the ultimate price to help others, showing that true love is selfless. These retellings of Oscar Wilde's tragic short stories will reduce you to tears with their beauty and magic. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

If you are greedy, you might lose out on the good things you already have ... One good turn deserves another ... Be careful if you trick someone because they might trick you back. Maybe the animals in the stories should have listened to these wise words! Aesop's ancient fables are brilliantly retold with vibrant illustrations. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

This beautifully illustrated story is an adaptation of the Welsh legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod, the lost area of Wales which disappeared beneath the sea. This drowned land was once a pleasant and prosperous kingdom, its low-lying fields protected from the waves by a high sea wall. But only Mererid, the storm child, knows that the tide-gates are failing and the next storm will breach the sea wall. As clouds and ravens gather overhead, she must race to save her friends and the kingdom before it's too late... TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the world's best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening. This pack provides 6 copies of the same title.

Ebenezer Scrooge can't stand Christmas; he thinks it is all a waste of time. All he cares about is working hard and making money. But some ghostly visitors make him look again at his cold, lonely life. Can he change his ways and embrace the festive spirit before it is too late? Charles Dickens's Victorian story is wonderfully adapted with haunting illustrations which bring even the ghosts to life. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Elizabeth Laird retells a beautiful set of folk stories from East Africa and the Middle East. These stories in this collection have travelled across countries, survived through centuries, been retold by generations and have found their way into this book. They are stories of tricks and jokes, leopards and goats, heroes and fools, sorrows and joys - each one of them a perfectly formed gem. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the world's best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Children's literature takes many forms - works adapted for children in antiquity, picture books and pop-ups - and now includes the latest online games and eBooks. This vast and amorphous subject is both intimately related to other areas of literary and cultural investigation but also has its own set of concerns, issues and challenges. From familiar authors including Beatrix Potter and Roald Dahl, classic books such as Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, and The Secret Garden, to modern works including Harry Potter and the Twilight series, thisVery Short Introduction provides an overview of the history of children's literature as it has developed in English, whilst at the same time introducing key debates, developments, and figures in the field. Raising questions about what shape the future of literature for children should take, and exploring the crossover with adult fiction, Reynolds shows that writing for children - whether on page or screen - has participated in shaping and directing ideas about culture, society and childhood. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Peter knows he shouldn't go out of the house alone: his grandfather has told him of the dangers. But children are curious, and don't always do what they are told. Along with his friends the duck, the bird and the cat, Peter ventures out into the snow and encounters a terrifying wolf. He'll need all his courage and brains to make it back in one piece. With haunting illustrations and an explanation of its musical origins, this story will captivate its readers. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening. This pack contains 36 books, six of each of the following titles: Mischief Makers, A Christmas Carol, Who Needs Stories?, Decisions, Decisions, Changing Shape and Peter and the Wolf.

Henry Fleming just wants to be a hero. So when he gets the chance to fight in the American Civil War he signs up right away. But out on the battlefield it's a long way from home, and the reality of war is not as romantic as he thought. When you're doomed if you fight and doomed if you run, what's a man to do? Henry doesn't want to be a coward, but sometimes courage is the hardest thing to find. Follow him on his journey of discovery, where the boundaries of right and wrong are not so easy to see. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Elizabeth Laird retells a beautiful set of folk stories from East Africa and the Middle East. These stories in this collection have travelled across countries, survived through centuries, been retold by generations and have found their way into this book. They are stories of tricks and jokes, leopards and goats, heroes and fools, sorrows and joys - each one of them a perfectly formed gem. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the world's best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening. This pack provides 6 copies of the same title.

Till Owlglass can paint pictures that only those of noble birth are able to see ... or at least, that's what he tells the pompous Count! Anansi, the naughty spider, puts his tricks to good use when his friend Antelope is in trouble. Brer Rabbit outfoxes the fox when he finds himself stuck in a well! Three lovable tricksters are brought together in this collection of stories from around the world. TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the worlds best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.