‘ … one of the best collections of critical essays on children’s literature to have appeared in recent years … This collection – Variations on a Theme of Islands – is not insular in any way. Its perspectives are broad and international, its manner scholarly and authoritative, and its effects illuminating’, Victor Watson, Inis.
'As a resource on Irish materials, the book has much to offer. As a set of reflections on a powerful idea that informs a broad range of materials for young writers, it is constantly interesting and thought-provoking. As a step in the strengthening of academic perspectives from and about Ireland, it is a terrific achievement’, Margaret Mackay, Children’s Literature Association Quarterly.
'... matches the scope of [Studies in Children's Literature: 1500–2000] but narrows the focus to thematic consideration of the importance of various kinds to children's literature through the ages', PJ Mathews, Irish Economic and Social History (2007).