Children’s literature as a genre has grown exponentially from early morality-racked lesson books to modern goofy masterpieces such as Captain Underpants—how did we switch from Order to Nonsense, and have we completely switched over? At Slate, Katy Waldman sits down with literary critic and professor Seth Lerer to discuss the evolution of children’s literature and the indefinable nature of the genre. Waldman and Lerer also talk about the first children’s books, the “golden age” of literature, and its contemporary heir, the dominating Harry Potter series.
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