Criticism and Theory of Children's Literature in Ketab-e Mah Kudak va Nojavan (Monthly Journal of Children and Young Adults) 1376-1380

Studying criticism and theories published in theoretical and specialized journals of children's literature can have an important role in highlighting the current of children’s literature finding the ups and downs of criticism and theorizing. In this study the papers and critical writings published in Monthly Journal of Children and Young Adults (from 1376 to 1380) are analyzed in order to find the general schema of children's literature and its theories and criticism in those years. According to the results, the most frequent subjects in these articles deal with re-writing, re-creating and folklore that emphasize the influence of oral and classical literature on children and young adult literature. Popular literature and child-like literature, criticizing the writer instead of his work and sharp and inappropriate tones are noticed in the poetry. Traditional criticism of children and young adult literature is dominant. Structuralist, sociological and archetypal criticism are usually used for fiction. Writing stories and criticism of fiction in this era is changing from known traditional patterns into more modern approaches. Satire and humor are neglected by critics and writers.