Jackie Wullschlager explains how children's literature changed in England from the mid-1800s to the early 20th century, as the concept of what a child is like changed. Children began to be thought of as imaginative and interesting creatures on their own, and were seen less and less as little adults.

The five authors featured in this book are still popular, and Wullschlager claims they will always be. Alice in Wonderland, A Book of Nonsense, Peter Pan, Wind in the Willows, Winnie-the-Pooh, and their like, are classics. They have effects on how books for kids are written today.

The books were written and drawn, mostly, by men who did not want to grow up and who liked children more than adults. And, these men seemed, mostly, to be no threat to their child friends. This is a thought hard to grasp by our current-day attitudes. There are interesting ideas about the writer's upbringings, and about their personalities.

There is much in Inventing Wonderland about society and history. There might have been more about publishing business and technology and how books for children became more and more available over time. There could have been more discussion as to why the books were all written by men. But this is still a fascinating study of one kind of literature. ( )

only 2 in ILL, no CC