English Language and Literature Commons^™

Punishment And Praise: Grappling With Shyness In Children's And Young Adult Literature, Katherine Stein

Theses & Honors Papers

This thesis examines the treatment of childhood shyness in literature for children and young adults. With over thirty examples and reviews of children’s and young adult texts, it describes how shyness is often regarded as a problem in common social models and becomes stigmatized. It reproves the often cruel and disdainful treatment of shyness in such literature and calls for a new look at the common childhood “ailment.”