M(Res.)Taught MA course
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Graduate Centre for International Research in Childhood: Literature, Culture, Media The world-famous MA, run by CIRCL, is the oldest accredited degree in the field in Britain, and is taught by specialists in Children's Literature, whose research is published internationally. JOIN TODAY
There are three sections of links to interesting sites below, as follows:
Links to Course Texts on the Web
Academic Children's Literature Studies Sites
(Literary) Theory Sites
This section contains links to course texts available on the Web.
Search the huge Project Gutenberg site with out-of-copyright texts (including — mostly nineteenth century — children's literature).
Children's Literature Center of the American Library of Congress's digitized children's literature texts
J. J. Rousseau, Emile
Classics for Young People (this is a site on 'The Children's Literature Web Guide' (see below), with a large range of classic children's texts on the web: this link takes you directly there.).
Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature
Kipling's 'Just So Stories'
For a list of past MA dissertations from the CIRCL MA in Children's Literature please see our MA Dissertations page.
There are thousands of sites on the web to do with children's literature. The vast majority, however, are not concerned with academic work or research but with sites for parents, librarians, or other interested groups.
The sites mentioned below have been stringently selected to be of relevance to academic work and research.
If you wish to find the other types of site then links on the other sites will take you there. Otherwise just search the web as you would in general.
Sites from other countries and areas
International Research Society Children's Literature (IRSCL)
The Children's Literature Web Guide. (this is not an academic site as such, but it is one of the oldest and largest general sites on children's literature)
Oxford Children's Literature and Youth Culture Colloquium (jointly run by Oxford University and University of California, Berkeley, USA)
National Graduate Centre for Language and Literacy, University of Reading.
The UK Children and Media Network Home Page.
The Roehampton Institute National Graduate Centre for Research in Children's Literature Web-Site.
Children's Literature Center of the American Library of Congress
Wayne State University, Purdy/Kresge Library, Children's Literature Resource Guide
Graduate Centre for Research in Young People's Texts and Cultures at the University of Winnipeg in Canada
Jim May's Eighteenth Century Children's Literature Bibliography site
Professor Ruth Bottigheimer's Bibliography of British Books for Children & Adolescents 1470-1770
International Graduate Centre for Research in Children's Literature, Literacy and Creativity at the University of Worcester, UK.
Research Collections at the University of Worcester
Sussex Graduate Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy at the University of Chichester.
The University of Pittsburgh's 'Representing Childhood' project
The Web-Site of the French 'Graduate Centre International d'Etudes en Litterature de Jeunesse'
Dutch Royal Library Children's Book resources
(available also in English if you click on 'English homepage')
'Bookchat site' on South African Children's Literature
(in English; including access to the SACBIP database (South African Children's Books in Print); mostly in English and isiXhosa).
Puku: South African Book Project
Greek Children's Literature Web-site (in English)
Children's Literature Studies in Italy (partly in English, partly in Italian)
Shiras University Graduate Centre for Children's Literature Studies (SUCCLS) in Iran
University of Frankfurt Institute for Children's Literature Studies (in German)
Many students ask for further resources for the Theory course of the MA in Children's Literature. Here are some of the largest and best web-sites on literary theory:
Voice of the Shuttle. Web Page for Humanities Research. (look under: 'literary theory' if you get lost in this vast site!)
Resources for Comparative Literature and Literary Theory
Eclat: The 'Essential' Comparative Literature and Theory Site
Excite Guide: this is not a site but a search engine, but it collects very good links to specific articles, journals, and bibliographies.
Students' Views
'The MA is like choosing the red pill in the film the Matrix - because you can't look at the world the same way after taking the course!'
Zoe Roxon, CIRCL MA 2010-11
'The Children's Literature Masters has been really enjoyable, I loved revisiting old childhood favourites and viewing them from a new perspective as well as discovering new authors, critics and opinions on children's literature.'
Ellie Hunt, CIRCL MA 2009-10
"I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Always challenging, the course approached and encouraged me to deal with many issues in a rigorously academic way. The work on the course was always innovative and now I can see how the course changed the way I can think about problems and solutions in both academic and non-academic contexts. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to deal with their own and other's assumptions in a thoughtful and explorative way."
Christopher Johnson, CIRCL MA 2015-2016
'Studying the Children's Literature MA at Reading was a hugely challenging and rewarding experience for me. When I began the course I had no idea how much my own thinking, reading and argument would develop, so much so that by the end I considered continuing with a PhD. A year after completing the MA I won University Studentship funding to undertake a PhD at CIRCL. I would recommend the Children's Literature MA to anybody who wishes to develop their critical thinking in any subject area, n...
Helen Ainslie, CIRCL MA 2004-5, CIRCL PhD 2006-9
The [M(Res)] seminars I attended in CIRCL during my one year's visit are always inspiring and profound, which have greatly improved my research skills and changed my mindset for doing research in children's literature. The seminars taught me to find the perspectives in the text we analysed and develop my own judgment, which is the most challenging yet most rewarding thing in doing research. From my own experience as a teacher, such seminars are most effective in forging critical and indepe...
XU Derong (David), Associate Professor, Ocean University of China, CIRCL Academic Visiting Fellow, 2016-17
My one year's visit in CIRCL is the most rewarding academic experience that I have ever had. I found the [M(Res.)] seminars very stimulating. With "positive reinforcement", all the participants are encouraged and involved. I am always encouraged and inspired by the discussions that were held in the seminars, which are though-provoking and very interactive, heated sometimes yet always in a very pleasant and harmonious atmosphere. I am greatly indebted to Karin, Neil and Sue for their wonder...
JIANG Jianli (Tina), Associate Professor, Qingdao Technological University, China, CIRCL Academic Visiting Fellow 2016-17
'I was nervous doing the course as a part-time student as I worried that I may be at a disadvantage. This was definitely not the case. The course is structured so well, and the support I received from [the MA staff] Karin, Neil and Sue (as well as the other students over both years) ensured that I was given the same opportunities, guidance and experience as everyone else. I have really enjoyed this degree and I can see that it has changed the way I think. I would recommend it to anyone who...
Samantha Horsfield, CIRCL MA 2011-13 (part-time)
Click on this text to read an interview with Professor So Jin Park about her experiences as a student on the MA (now M(Res)) in Children's Literature.
Professor So Jin Park, CIRCL MA
'Studying the MA in Children's Literature was an excellent introduction to and preparation for academic practice and further research as it provided me with an opportunity to engage in discussions surrounding the issues addressed by current researchers during CIRCL seminars in a nurturing and supportive environment.'
Catrin Edwards, CIRCL MA 2006-7, CIRCL PhD 2010
'I know that I would never have thought of undertaking a PhD without undertaking my MA in CIRCL.'
Sara Zadrozny (then: Sara Broad), CIRCL MA 2003-4
'My undergraduate degree was English Literature with Education Studies at the University of Cambridge and as part of that course I took a module in Children's Literature and absolutely loved it. I therefore decided to research MA courses so that I could further develop my interest. I was advised by my tutors at Cambridge that the most rigorous course was the one offered by the University of Reading and I was thrilled to be offered a place. During the MA the tutors were friendly and support...
Hannah Smith (now: Anglin-Jaffe), CIRCL MA 2001-2, CIRCL PhD 2005
Click on this text to read an interview with Dr Kia Michalopoulou about her experiences of the MA(Res) in Children's Literature and the CIRCL PhD.
Dr Evdokia (Kia) Michalopoulou, CIRCL MA, CIRCL PhD
"My masters with CIRCL has increased my confidence and my critical thinking skills monumentally. At the conclusion of this course and with the support of the lecturers and my course mates I now work for an academic publisher in a senior role of Marketing Manager. Not only is CIRCL an academic challenge, but it is also a community, as a part time student I have been able to meet two cohorts of students, both of which have had incredible, individual and inspiring individuals within. The cour...
Katy Corderoy, MA 2017-19
'This whole year has been an exercise in learning how to think in new and different ways. I can't imagine ever finding any program quite like it and I'm glad to have taken part in it.'
Charlotte Randall, CIRCL MA 2015-16
'Be prepared to completely challenge the way you think about interpreting texts and media'; 'take this course if you want to go for a doctorate and actually do something original ... there's no program like it in the States.'
American student, CIRCL MA 2009-10
'With great support from the tutors and friends I have had a wonderful year in exploring and reconsidering the way I have been thinking all my life. In many ways it is my personal journey during which I have learnt a lot, not only about how to (or not to) find an answer but also about how to raise a question. As an international student I would like to say that the MA is very challenging, yet very liberating.'
Sireethorn (Pam) Simawathna, CIRCL MA 2012-13
Click on this text to read an interview with CIRCL Visiting Scholar 2018-19 Dr Haiya Dong about her studies and experiences while at CIRCL in Reading, including of the M(Res) in Children's Literature!
Dr Haiya Dong, CIRCL Visiting Scholar 2018-19 Interview
'The Children's Literature Masters has been really enjoyable, I loved revisting old childhood favourites and viewing them from a new perspective as well as discovering new authors, critics and opinions on children's literature.'
Sue Lee, CIRCL MA 2012-13
'After a first term I felt the benefits of the [CIRCL] approach in all areas, not just academically, and at the close of [the taught part of the MA] am excited to continue my learning into my dissertation and take the approach into my next steps, in a career and personal sense.'
Lisa Stallard, CIRCL MA 2011-12
'The Reading MA in Children's Literature was a stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable experience for me. The course is intellectually demanding and wide-ranging in its approach to the field of children's literature and its cultural context. Though it focuses on the child in literature it is not restrictive. Many of the issues raised during the course of study are pertinent to all kinds of literature. There are ample opportunities for students to engage in discussion and to make their own con...
Hilary Fraser, CIRCL MA 1999-2000, CIRCL PhD 2009
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