File(s) under permanent embargo
Making difference SUPER : a critical approach to the politics of celebrity-authored children's books
Recent years have seen a flood of celebrity-authored children’s books enter the children’s literature marketplace. This paper tracks the evolution of this phenomenon as it pertains to contemporary celebrity culture, and responds to the question: what are the embedded messages about identity at play in such texts? The key contention here is that these works endorse celebrity as the most desirable identity category for the children of the new millennium, going so far as to position difference as a commodity to be traded in the quest for fame. Using critical theory around celebrity culture, and through a close reading of a short celebrity-authored picture book, this paper demonstrates that far from being innocuous pieces of popular culture, such books beckon children into a world that increasingly values visibility and stardom above all else.
History
Journal
Journal of children's literature studiesVolume
7Issue
3Pagination
98 - 113Publisher
Pied Piper PublishingLocation
Lichfield, EnglandISSN
1743-0526Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2010, Pied Piper PublishingUsage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC