Turning the Page

Book excerpt: Since the nineteenth century, children's literature has been adapted for both the stage and the screen. As the twentieth century progressed, children's books provided the material for an increasing range of new media, from radio to computer games, from television to cinema blockbuster. Although such adaptations are now recognised as a significant part of the culture of childhood and popular culture in general, little has been written about the range of products and experiences that they generate. This book brings together writers whose work offers contrasting perspectives on the process of adaptation and the varying transformations - social, historical and ideological - that take place when a text moves from the page to another medium. Linking all these contributions is an interest in the changing definition of children's literature and its target audience within an increasingly media-rich society.