The Pleasures and Problems of Pooh
The 3rd Biennial Children’s Literature Symposium
On Zoom
Friday–Sunday, July 10–12, 2026
Conference Details
- Host: Hollins University Graduate Programs in Children’s Literature
- Chair: Chaired by Dr. Lisa Rowe Fraustino
This year’s hundredth anniversary of A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh, published in 1926, provides a springboard for reflection on the role of classic children’s literature.
“Here–we–are…all–of–us, and then, suddenly, we wake up one morning and, what do we find? We find a Strange Animal among us. An animal of whom we have never heard before! An animal who carries her family about with her in her pocket!” — Rabbit
INVITED KEYNOTERS INCLUDE:
- Lara Saguisag, Associate Professor and Georgiou Chair in Children’s Literature and Literacy at New York University and President of the Children’s Literature Association
- A Pooh Panel with Jennifer Harrison, editor of Positioning Pooh: Edward Bear after 100 Years; volume contributor and Millersville University professor Sarah E. Jackson; and distinguished East Carolina University emeritus professor C.W. Sullivan III
SYMPOSIUM ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
This online symposium seeks presentation proposals from authors, illustrators, librarians, publishers, educators, and scholars in any field. View the Call for Papers. Submit proposals of 500 words to Symposium-Abstract-Submissions by May 1, 2026. Submit Symposium Abstracts online
ART CHALLENGE
Illustrators are invited to submit images of your own creations related to Pooh and Pooh adjacent or influenced subjects. The symposium will include a digital art show and panel discussion session. Please submit artwork as JPGs or PNGs, no larger than 1000 pixels wide or no larger than 5mb. Submit online
GIRLS LITERATURE DISCUSSION GROUP
The final session of the symposium will be a meeting of the Hollins Girls’ Literature Discussion Group, for which we’ll be reading Tuck Everlasting upon its 50th anniversary of publication.
Call for Papers
This year’s hundredth anniversary of A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh, published in 1926, provides a springboard for reflection on the role of classic children’s literature. This online symposium seeks presentation proposals from authors, illustrators, librarians, publishers, educators, and scholars in any field. Possible topics for exploration include:
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Review Possible Topics for Exploration
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Close readings of how the Pooh stories interpellate young readers into social structures. Who’s out, who’s in?
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How does imaginative play socialize children into adult behaviors?
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How does adult nostalgia contribute to classic children’s literature?
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What is the role of illustrations by E. H. Shepard and/or later artists?
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What is the purpose of cuteness? What does it cover up? How does cuteness integrate with other aspects of storytelling and interpretation, and toward what effect?
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Comparative readings of Pooh with other classics or with contemporary pairings.
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Commercialization and/or Disnification of Pooh and other classic texts.
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Examinations of media adaptations or translations into other languages. What is kept? What is reinterpreted? How do those choices reflect ideology?
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Exploration of imaginative play and/or toys in children’s literature.
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Theoretical approaches—colonialism, whiteness, psychoanalytical, animal studies/anthropomorphism, food, boyhood, etc.
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What is the purpose of literary criticism, especially for books that are written primarily for children (not adults) to read?
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What do we do when books feel like they aren’t written for us (because of race, class, gender, and other aspects of identity)?
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How do our readings/experiences of a text change when we read it multiple times?
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How does the intergenerational evolution of our engagement with classics call attention to new issues and questions over time?
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Children’s Literature and Book Illustration
kidlit@hollins.edu