Signs of Exclusion? Monsters from Classical Mythology in Children’s and Young Adult Culture

This book explores how mythical monsters, present in children’s and young adult culture, become perceived as symbols for various groups that communities tend to exclude because of their lack of conformity. It also questions whether the excluded characters, once symbolically re-created as monsters, are more likely to emancipate and gain a voice or feel condemned to isolation, aware that a society, where ‘normality’ in its broadest sense is highly valued, would deny them a true integration. A thorough analysis of constructs of exclusion in children’s and young adults’ culture (literature, films, and TV-series) presented in the consecutive chapters of the book demonstrate how classical mythology and its ‘monsters’ emphasize and clarify the phenomenon of exclusion and its related concepts.