Schimmels, Kristina Dawn

Irish author James Joyce has a negative reputation among many literary critics and readers for being difficult to understand. In fact, many university literature professors have a difficult time teaching Joyce in lower level literature courses for this purpose. However, Joyce’s children’s story The Cat and the Devil contains all of the elements that make Joyce’s adult works difficult, but since the story is aimed at a child readership, it is easier to read and comprehend. Professors would be wise to begin their lessons on Joyce with this short text.

The Robinsonade is a popular genre for adventure books aimed at boy readers. Seth Lerer states that this genre is "not just about adaptation or imitation. It is about completion" (2009, p. 145). The 1967 novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler captures the spirit of the Robinsonade tradition, but also adds to the genre by capturing a mostly girl readership by using a girl as a main character and making the all important deserted island the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. E.L. Konigsburg explores the traditions and tropes set by Daniel Defoe and other Robinsonade writers as she creates an engaging story that appeals to both girls and boys.