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@article{190874,
        author = {Dr Umeshkumar J Solanki},
        title = {Children’s Literature as Serious Art: Re-reading Ruskin Bond},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {},
        volume = {12},
        number = {no},
        pages = {400-407},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=190874},
        abstract = {Children’s literature has long occupied a marginal position within literary criticism, often dismissed as simplistic, didactic, or lacking aesthetic seriousness. This paper challenges such assumptions by re-reading the children’s fiction of Ruskin Bond as a form of serious literary art. Through close textual analysis of selected short stories and narratives, the study argues that Bond’s apparent simplicity conceals thematic depth, emotional complexity, and ethical subtlety. His writings for children engage profoundly with issues of loneliness, loss, belonging, memory, and human–nature relationships, thereby transcending age-based literary categorization.
Drawing upon theories of children’s literature, reader-response criticism, and childhood studies, the paper demonstrates how Bond rejects overt moralization in favor of experiential learning and emotional authenticity. His minimalist prose style, intimate narrative voice, and focus on everyday moments allow young readers to encounter complex emotional truths without didactic imposition. Nature and animals, recurrent motifs in Bond’s writing, function not merely as decorative elements but as moral and psychological companions that nurture empathy and ecological awareness.
By repositioning Bond’s children’s literature within serious critical discourse, this study contests the hierarchy that privileges adult literature over writing for children. It argues that Bond’s work exemplifies how simplicity can coexist with artistic sophistication. The paper ultimately contributes to Indian English literary studies by reaffirming children’s literature as a legitimate and significant form of artistic expression.},
        keywords = {Children’s literature, Ruskin Bond, Serious art, Narrative simplicity, Childhood studies, Indian English literature, Emotional realism},
        month = {},
        }