26 important works of children's and youth literature in a humanistic reading: "Treasure Island," "Pippi Longstocking," "Pinocchio," "Gulliver's Travels," "Dishevelled Peter," "Jim Knopf," "Sams," "Defiant Head," "Harry Potter," and "The Wild Boys" reveal the social, cultural, and literary significance of children's books. The authors provide an exciting and easily understandable introduction to classic works of children's and young people's literature. Contributions from Regina Bendix, Barbara Buchenau, Heinrich Detering, Ute Dettmar, Bernd Dolle-Weinkauff, Hans-Heino Ewers, Susanne Friede, Brigitte Glaser, Dagmar Grenz, Karin Hoff, Julia Hoffmann, Torsten Hoffmann, Frank Kelleter, Tom Kindt, Lotta König, Gerhard Lauer, Doris Lemmermöhle, Carola Pohlmann, Frauke Reitemeier, Lutz Rühling, Barbara Schaff, Dirk Schumann, Kai Sina, Kaspar H. Spinner, Carola Surkamp, and Ingrid Tomkowi.