'One Day You and I Will Let Them All OUT': Attitudes Toward Animals in Hilary McKay's Fiction

Relationships between human and nonhuman animals are ubiquitous in children's literature, including anthropomorphized representations and depictions of pets, livestock, and wildlife. A critical animal studies perspective explores the relationship between human and nonhuman animals in fiction wi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Children's Literature Association Quarterly 2020-09, Vol.45 (3), p.261-280
Main Author: Terrile, Vikki C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambiguity
Animal welfare
Animals
Anthropocentrism
Attitudes
Awards & honors
Behavior
Children & youth
Childrens literature
Childrens picture books
Fiction
Literary characters
Literary criticism
Literary devices
Literature
Magical realism
Narrative techniques
Plot (Narrative)
Publishing
Publishing industry
Self concept
Vegetarianism
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Relationships between human and nonhuman animals are ubiquitous in children's literature, including anthropomorphized representations and depictions of pets, livestock, and wildlife. A critical animal studies perspective explores the relationship between human and nonhuman animals in fiction with the ideal that nonhuman animal characters have agency, goals, and identity comparable to human characters. This essay explores how the interactions between human and nonhuman characters in the middle grades fiction of award-winning British novelist Hilary McKay can be understood through a critical animal studies lens, focusing on McKay's use of animals to show growth and development in her human characters.
ISSN:0885-0429
1553-1201
1553-1201
DOI:10.1353/chq.2020.0031