Our purpose in this course will be to develop a critical appreciation of the roles of children's literature in the social construction of gender--not only how it prescribes or resists normative gender roles, but how it represents the subjective experience of growing up gendered. With a grounding in gender theory and critical texts, we will explore the early beginnings of children's literature in collections of folklore and fairy tales, then move on to modern classics and contemporary favorites, limiting our scope to works for young children and pre-teens.