Children’s literature in Bengal has a rich history, not unusual since Bengal was in the lead during the 19th century, and even later. The Bengal renaissance had also seen a rich proliferation of literature, including the genre of children’s literature. Children’s books are generally regarded as ‘frivolous’ and ‘ephemeral’ and the genre has not attracted the amount of critical attention that it deserves. There is therefore a huge gap—between the literature, and research on the same, between the vibrancy of the literature, and the dryness of the research. Children’s literature in Bengali is also unique in many ways. For instance, in most languages, those who write for children and those who write for adults are almost exclusive fields. For instance, in recent times, the author of the Harry Potter series—(for children/young adults/adults), J.K. Rowling had to actually change her pen name, when writing a novel in another genre, so associated was she with Harry potter. Occasionally an adult writer may write a book for children or vice versa. But the two distinct groups are always there.
November 2015, volume 39, No 11