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OverviewWhile adult concern about gender in children’s books has made recent headlines, this discussion is far from new. As Gregory M. Pfitzer reveals, the writers and editors at Bobbs-Merrill, the publisher of the Childhood of Famous Americans book series published between 1932 and 1958, thought carefully about how their books would influence the development of their male readers. These books emphasized inspiring tales over historical accuracy and were written in simple language, with characters, dialogue, and stories that were intended to teach boys how to be successful men. But this was a specific image of American manhood. Published in an era when sociologists, psychologists, and other experts worried about male delinquency, the men envisioned in these books were steeped in Cold War racial and gender stereotypes, and questions about citizenship and responsibility. Based on deep archival research into the publication history of the series, “From Boys to Men” sheds light on current controversies on children’s books and presentations of gender diversity. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Gregory M. PfitzerPublisher: University of Massachusetts Press Imprint: University of Massachusetts Press ISBN: 9781625347961ISBN 10: 1625347960 Pages: 464 Publication Date: 31 July 2024 Audience: College/higher education , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface “Fiction Is the Lie through Which We Tell the Truth” Part I: Moral Education: Exemplary Figures Chapter One The Boy Problem Abe Lincoln and the Childhood of Famous Americans Series Part II: Public Servants: Statesmen and Politicians Chapter Two Seeking a National Audience Lee and Jefferson as Honorable Virginians Chapter Three The Series Concept The Founding Fathers as Male Role Models Part III: Military Readiness: War and Peace Chapter Four “Mama’s Boys” and “Infantile” Men The Roosevelts and the Masculine Mystique Chapter Five Citizen Soldiers and Fetishizing the Military Male Part IV: Social Relationships: Exclusivity and Race Chapter Six Frontier Manhood and the Dangers of “Going Native” Chapter Seven “Persecution Hounds” and the “Threat” of African American Masculinity Part V: The Vocational and Recreational: Balancing Work and Play Chapter Eight “Boys at Work” Technology and Business as Manly Pursuits Chapter Nine “Muscular Masculinity” Protecting Our Boys from Delinquency through Sports Part VI: The Intellectual Boy: The Power of Literacy Chapter Ten Male Delinquency and the Challenges of Historical Literacy Conclusion “Welcome Back, Miss Hazelrod” Notes IndexReviews“The Childhood of Famous Americans books had tremendous reach and richly deserve the kind of careful attention Pfitzer gives them. The back-and-forth between author and creators is fascinating in terms of recent questions in the children’s lit field around who creates children’s books and the way mainstream publishing as an institution has been a barrier to diversity of authors and themes.”—Sara L. Schwebel, author of Child-Sized History: Fictions of the Past in U.S. Classrooms “‘From Boys to Men’ has an impressive amount of archival research and provides a vivid, telling rendering of the inner working of an American publishing house.” —Paige Gray, author of Cub Reporters: American Children’s Literature and Journalism in the Golden Age """The Childhood of Famous Americans books had tremendous reach and richly deserve the kind of careful attention Pfitzer gives them. The back-and-forth between author and creators is fascinating in terms of recent questions in the children's lit field around who creates children's books and the way mainstream publishing as an institution has been a barrier to diversity of authors and themes.""--Sara L. Schwebel, author of Child-Sized History: Fictions of the Past in U.S. Classrooms ""'From Boys to Men' has an impressive amount of archival research and provides a vivid, telling rendering of the inner working of an American publishing house."" --Paige Gray, author of Cub Reporters: American Children's Literature and Journalism in the Golden Age" Author InformationGregory M. Pfitzer is professor of American studies at Skidmore College and author, most recently, of “Fame is Not Just for the Fellas”: Female Renown and the Childhood of Famous Americans Series. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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