Contents: General introduction, M.O. Grenby; Part 1 Old Tales Retold: Introduction, M.O. Grenby; Before children's literature: children, chapbooks and popular culture in early modern Britain, M.O. Grenby; Robin Hood in boys' weeklies to 1914, Kevin Carpenter; From Madame d'Aulnoy to Mother Bunch: popularity and the fairy tale, David Blamires; From chapbooks to pantomime, George Speaight with Brian Alderson. Part 2 Forgotten Favourites: Introduction, Julia Briggs; Finding and sustaining a popular appeal: the case of Barbara Hofland, Dennis Butts; Telling the other side: Hesba Stretton's 'outcast' stories, Elaine Lomax; Exploiting a formula: the adventure stories of G.

A. Henty (1832-1902), Dennis Butts; Angela Brazil and the making of the girls' school story, Judy Simons. Part 3 Popular Instruction, Popularity Imposed: Introduction, M.O. Grenby; Rewarding reads? Giving, receiving and resisting evangelical reward and prize books, Kimberley Reynolds; Tracts, classic and brands: science for children in the 19th century, Aileen Fyfe; Popular education and big money: Mee, Hammerton and Northcliffe, Gillian Avery. Part 4 The Famous Three - Blyton, Dahl and Rowling: Introduction, Julia Briggs; From Froebel teacher to English Disney: the phenomenal success of Enid Blyton, David Rudd; 'And children swarmed to him like settlers. He became a land'. The outrageous success of Roald Dahl, Peter Hollindale; 'The most popular ever': the launching of Harry Potter, Julia Eccleshare; The brand, the intertext and the reader: reading desires in the 'Harry Potter' series, Stacy Gillis; Further reading; Index.