Terryberry, Karl J.

About the author: Karl J. Terryberry, an assistant professor of English at Daemen College in Amherst, NY, earned his PhD and MA in American Literature from the University of South Carolina. He taught children’s literature at the University of North Carolina (Elizabeth City) and American literature at several colleges in Western New York. In addition to his teaching and writing responsibilities at Daemen, he also works as a writing consultant.

Gender Instruction in the Tales for Children by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

2002 0-7734-7309-2
Mary E. Wilkins Freeman’s tales for and about children arose out of cultural constrictions formulated by a strict adherence and obedience to the Puritan values embedded in New England history. At the time she wrote these stories, New England was experiencing a population decline fueled by massive changes in industry and farming, and the effects of war. With young, industrious men pouring out of rural New England, Freeman concentrated on the women and the weak men who were left behind. Role models for boys were hard to find, and respectable mates for girls were few. Consequently, the lines dividing gender roles got blurred in Freeman’s world, and she set out to redraw the lines by redefining the roles of men and women for children. This text not only discusses the impact of such cultural and historical forces on gender in her writing, but it also categorizes both collected and uncollected tales by grouping together the products of Freeman’s gender instruction.

Readings in American Juvenile Literature

2006 0-7734-5601-5
This book is a study of popular children’s series books of the past century. It examines many facets of the field including prominent authors, sociological attitudes in popular children’s literature and recent research into the publishing patterns of early series books. It looks at two early story papers edited and published by Edward Stratemeyer, the publishing history of his early books and his attitude towards youthful heroism and villainy. It also includes recent research on such writers as Annie Fellows Johnston, Howard Garis and Percy Keese Fitzhugh. The study also explores the true origins of Boys Life, official magazine of the Boy Scouts of America. The research is a culmination of over forty years’ investigation into popular juvenile literature.