The book’s second section brings eight original scholarly features to the general reader. Rising scholars give in-depth interviews and features on topics from models of motherhood in Pixar to echoes of war in Harry Potter.

The author challenges his readers with a score of bold concepts: “You do not have to buy what I’m selling,” he writes. “It’s worse: you have to understand it, break it down, reply to it, and then produce your own theory to replace mine.”

Also included in “Kid Lit” are 28 pages of lesson plans, to help teachers leverage this idea-rich material into productive classroom sessions.

Durwood uses well-known stories and characters to introduce concepts of literary theory. He sees discussions of story structure and sidekicks to be the beginnings of a lifetime of critical thinking for our young readers.