The phrase is ubiquitous. It is the subject if numerous memes. It adorns construction barriers in Disney’s theme parks. Walt speaks it in “Celebrate the Magic,” a short series of clips that used to precede the fireworks at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. I came across it an article published just today. Moving from the
Excellent scholarship by Marah Gubar, Claudia Nelson, Victoria Ford Smith, M. O. Grenby, Alexandra Valint, and others has more than demonstrated the importance of children’s literature to nineteenth-century culture more broadly. My first book contributed to that conversation, arguing that Romantic-era children’s tales helped shape the reading habits of the Victorians. Last summer, I signed
One thing about the setup of university literature courses has always bothered me: we spend the majority of our time discussing texts together, and — in the best classes — students develop a rapport with each other. Students learn from each other and develop their skills in verbalizing their interpretations. Then at the end of
