A Golden Age of Children’s Literature

Or so the history of children’s literature is usually told. That history, however, is wrong. J.K. Rowling’s success doesn’t just give us a recent series to add as an incidental to the received canon. It also gives us a chance to rewrite the entire list of classic children’s books we’re all supposed to know—for Rowling makes visible the fact that we are actually living now in a golden age of children’s literature.

That’s Joseph Bottum, editor of First Things , in his latest article, “Children’s Books, Lost and Found,” which can be found both in print in the December issue of First Things and online as our bonus article this month. Our features editor R.R. Reno recently interviewed Bottum about his article and the current state of children’s literature and you may listen to their conversation below.