Skip to content
Toddling the Stacks
Menu
  • Episodes
  • Caldecott Winners
  • About
  • Contact
Menu

Mei Li | Children’s Literature Criticism: Lithography and Appropriation

Posted on May 20, 2026August 13, 2026 by sw.murnau

The second entry in our fortnightly Caldecott series focuses on Thomas Handforth’s 1938 Mei Li. Books naturally fall in and out of the publication cycle: some get found and republished, others remain dead. Despite having won one of the most prestigious awards in children’s literature, Thomas Handforth’s stunningly illustrated picture book debut is today out of print and can be quite pricey on the used market. Fingers crossed that your library has it!

Join us for a quick lesson on lithography and printing, with some thoughts on how Handforth’s background as a printer helped him to bring this tale to life in new and innovative ways!

 

Category: Caldecott Winners, Episodes

Post navigation

← Julia Donaldson’s Paper Chase | Children’s Literature Criticism: History of the Book & Discourse Networks
The Gift of Ramadan | Children’s Literature Criticism: Representation not Pedantry →
Listen on Apple Podcasts

Recent Posts

  • Robert Lawson’s They Were Strong and Good | Children’s Literature Criticism: Insularity, Kinship, and Family
  • BJ Novak’s The Book with No Pictures | Children’s Literature Criticism: Manifestos, Modernism, and the Works that Change Us
  • Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon | Children’s Literature Criticism: Freud’s Uncanny and Liminality
  • Lois Lenski’s The Little Train | Children’s Literature Criticism: Bibliography and Why Editions Matter
  • Berenstain Bears and Little Blue Truck | Children’s Literature Criticism: Serialization and Generic Form

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

Archives

  • August 2026
  • July 2026
  • June 2026
  • May 2026
  • April 2026

Currently Reading

Loading



  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Mail
© 2026 Toddling the Stacks | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme