''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature'' is a

reference work A reference work is a work, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually ''referred'' to f ...

first published in 1984, with its most recent edition in 2015. The

Oxford Companions ''Oxford Companions'' is a book series published by Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates b ...

is a

book series A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their pub ...

providing general knowledge within a specific area, in this case,

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. The first edition of ''Companion'', by the husband-and-wife team of

Humphrey Carpenter Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (29 April 1946 – 4 January 2005) was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inkl ...

and Mari Prichard, was published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

in 1984.

Iona and Peter Opie Iona Margaret Balfour Opie, (13 October 1923 – 23 October 2017) and Peter Mason Opie (25 November 1918 – 5 February 1982) were an English married team of folklorists who applied modern techniques to understanding children's literature and ...

originally intended to write the ''Companion'' but did not complete it. Although they consulted with others, Carpenter and Prichard wrote each entry themselves. In about 2,000 entries, it covers children's books and folklore from the Commonwealth, United States, and some other countries.

Daniel Hahn Daniel Hahn (born 26 November 1973) is a British writer, editor and translator. He is the author of a number of works of non-fiction, including the history book ''The Tower Menagerie'', and one of the editors of The Ultimate Book Guide, a ser ...

's updated edition of the ''Companion'' was published in 2015. Its longest entry is on ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

''.

References

1984 books Oxford University Press books Books about books {{Ref-book-stub