This collection approaches the deconstruction of American “childhood” from a wide variety of critical, interdisciplinary lenses and gestures toward the construction of a more realistic, twenty-first century definition of “childhood”—one which is defined by the real-life struggles of childhood and not by romanticized notions of “innocence.”

This collection argues that the romanticized conflation of “childhood” and “innocence” in American culture has been on a steady decline at least since the 1960s--largely due to postmodern critiques of overarching narratives involving both “the child” and the “innocence” of childhood. Additionally, this collection highlights and analyzes examples of children’s literature and culture throughout the 20^th century (and into the 21^st) which pointedly defy traditional, idealized notions of “childhood”. Such an analysis serves to reiterate the idea that the romanticized notion of “childhood” which has pervaded American culture for over two centuries is little more than a cultural construction that bears little to no resemblance to the actual, lived experience of American children.

Introduction: “The Death of Childhood”, James M. Curtis

Part One: Deconstructing 20th Century Childhood

Chapter One: “The Domesticated Adventuress: Dorothy Gale, Ozma of Oz, and the Pitfalls of Princess-hood”, Rodney Marcel Fierce

Chapter Two: “‘A Place for You’: Subjectivity and Representation in The Brownies Book”, James M. Curtis

Chapter Three: “Homecoming: Finding (and Losing) the American Child”, Rebecca Long

Part Two: Towards a More Postmodern Childhood: Challenging Childhood “Innocence” in the Late 20^th and Early 21^st Century

Chapter Four: ‘Growing Up Too Fast, Too Soon’: The Child Prodigy in Late Postmodernist Literature”, Oliver J. Hancock

Chapter Five: “In Support of Idyllic Childhood: How Book Challenges Reveal American Views on Childhood and Adolescent Innocence in the 1980s and into the 21st Century”, Sarah K. Mazur

Chapter Six: “Fear of Science in the Cold War and the Unknown Childhood: The It’s Alive Trilogy”, Erika Tiburcio Moreno

Chapter Seven: “Four Little Activists: The Death of Black Childhood Innocence in Spike Lee’s 4 Little Girls”, Douglas C. MacLeod, Jr.

Chapter Eight: “Technically I’m 112: Youth and Darkness in Avatar: the Last Airbender”, Colleen Etman