Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Education
Frog And Toad At The Academy: Gareth B. Matthews On How Children’S Literature Goes Philosophical, Maughn Rollins Gregory, Megan Jane Laverty
Frog And Toad At The Academy: Gareth B. Matthews On How Children’S Literature Goes Philosophical, Maughn Rollins Gregory, Megan Jane Laverty
Department of Educational Foundations Scholarship and Creative Works
Gareth B. Matthews (1929–2011) inaugurated the study of philosophy in children’s literature by simultaneously arguing (1) that philosophy is essentially an encounter with certain kinds of perplexities, (2) that genuine philosophical perplexities are readily found in many children’s stories, and (3) that many children are capable of appreciating and enjoying them. He wrote 58 reviews of philosophical children’s stories and co-authored a series of teacher guides for using such stories. Following Matthews’ example, others have produced resources recommending children’s stories as stimuli for intergenerational philosophical dialog. In our research, we study and systematize the different ways that Matthews understood children’s …