Begegnungen von Jung und Alt in der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur

Age is a central characteristic of literary figures. It determines their scope of action, their behavioral repertoire, their social relationships with others, and much more. The category of age is particularly significant in children's and young adult literature: through age constructions, questions of dependencies, knowledge, experiences, memories, and development can be negotiated. In this context, adults appear not only as parents and teachers but also as (great-)grandparents and older individuals in various social roles, becoming important counterparts for child and youth figures—especially concerning existential themes such as illness and death. However, this topic has been underexplored in literary studies and didactics. This volume changes that: using relevant texts from the genres of picture books, children's and young adult novels, as well as film, the authors focus on these diverse relationship constellations. The result is an important contribution to the exploration of current children's and youth media.