For Kids of All Ages

Book excerpt: In For Kids of All Ages,members of the National Society of Film Critics celebrate the wonder of childhood in cinema. In this volume, original essays commissioned especially for this collection stand alongside classic reviews from prominent film critics like Jay Carr and Roger Ebert. Each of the ten sections in this collection takes on a particular aspect of children’s cinema, from animated features to adaptations of beloved novels. The films discussed here range from the early 1890s to the present. The contributors draw on personal connections that make their insights more trenchant and compelling. The essays and reviews in For Kids of All Ages are not just a list of recommendations—though plenty are included—but an illuminating, often personal study of children’s movies, children in movies, and the childish wonder that is the essence of film. Contributors include John Anderson, Sheila Benson, Jay Carr, Justin Chang, Godfrey Cheshire, Morris Dickstein, Roger Ebert, David Fear, Robert Horton, J. R. Jones, Peter Keough, Andy Klein, Nathan Lee, Emanuel Levy, Gerald Peary, Mary Pols, Peter Rainer, Carrie Rickey, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Michael Sragow, David Sterritt, Charles Taylor, Peter Travers, Kenneth Turan, James Verniere, Michael Wilmington, and Stephanie Zacharek.