I Ran a Backstreet Boys Website for Superfans
Twenty years ago, as the group’s Millennium album topped music charts, one writer found belonging in an online community she unwittingly helped create.
Finding Comfort in the Gloomy Beauty of The Cure’s Disintegration
How one writer came to love the band’s dark, shimmering masterpiece as a teenager 30 years ago
The Knotty Nostalgia of the Hardy Boys Series
Why one writer still reads the wildly popular books with a mixture of love and disappointment, 60 years after they were revised to remove racist content
Child’s Play and the Very Human Horror of Creepy Dolls
The 1988 film introduced an iconic villain in Chucky—just one of many living toys that have haunted cinema for decades.
Paddington Bear and the Displaced Child
Growing up, one writer saw the beloved character as a mascot for the Latin American immigrant experience. Sixty years after Paddington’s debut book was published, his story still feels relevant.
Growing Up Without Jane the Virgin
On the show, men cry, embrace empathy, and are open of heart. Why one writer wishes he’d been able to watch it as a kid
Living Through Death With Harry Potter
Trauma and tragedy play a role in a lot of children’s literature. But it was J.K. Rowling’s series that helped me cope with almost dying.
The Dark Side of the Comics That Redefined Hinduism
Beloved by generations of Indian children like myself, the illustrated-book series Amar Chitra Katha also reinforced many forms of intolerance.
What a Forgotten Kids' Book Reveals About U.S. Publishing
Released in 1927, the poignant children’s novel Gay Neck was written by an Indian immigrant who became the first person of color to win the Newbery Medal.
Coming of Age With The Legend of Zelda
The franchise’s evolving complexity, its young protagonists, and its accessibility make it a particularly apt reflection of entering adulthood.
Imagining a Black Wonder Woman
Growing up, I was told my favorite comic-book heroine was white. And yet her struggles always seemed uniquely similar to my own.
Bend It Like Beckham and the Art of Balancing Cultures
When the film debuted 15 years ago, it taught me that shaping a hybrid identity could be a beautiful, inventive, and at times lonely experience.
Hayao Miyazaki and the Art of Being a Woman
The famed Japanese animator and director created heroines who defied feminine stereotypes and showed me how to be at home in my own skin.
Dear America: Reading Through History
In the aftermath of 9/11, the young-adult historical fiction series showed me how people move forward after earth-shattering moments.
Ghostwriter: The Most Literary '90s Kids Show
The children’s series inspired its young audience to appreciate the mysteries and power of language.
Labyrinth and the Dark Heart of Childhood
Jim Henson’s 1986 film understands at its core that youth is full of mystery, tricks, and danger.
Little House and the Art of Hiding Your Feelings
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s popular book series championed emotional restraint—an approach I’ve come to both question and appreciate in adulthood.
She-Ra and the Fight Against the Token Girl
Decades before the outcry against the Ghostbusters remake, a 1980s kids show tried—and failed—to subvert male-centric stories.
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Why Hollywood Doesn’t Tell More Stories for—and About—Girls
It has partly to do with a dearth of women behind the scenes, changing audience tastes, and an evolving industry.
Coming to Terms With Tintin
The scrappy Belgian reporter was my childhood hero. Reading his books as an adult is a little more complicated.
How to Play Like a Girl
For toymakers like Lego, where is the line between making products children love and telling kids how they should play?
Finding My Identity Via The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The ’90s American sitcom was crucial in helping me understand blackness as a young girl of Nigerian descent growing up in Scotland.
Frog and Toad and the Self
Arnold Lobel’s beloved books taught children to understand and appreciate their individuality.
Chance the Rapper and the Lessons of Childhood
The uplifting Coloring Book makes profound use of Millennial nostalgia.
Harriet Tubman Was My Wonder Woman
The black history icons I learned about as a child were larger-than-life—and they prepared me to grapple with America’s racial past.
Optimus Prime and Me
As a young girl in a new country, I looked to the leader of the Autobots for lessons in fitting in.
Every Episode of David Attenborough’s Life Series, Ranked
A long love letter to the creator of the world’s greatest nature documentaries, on the eve of his 90th birthday.
Will Toys Ever Go Beyond Blue and Pink?
Products marketed to children are more divided by gender stereotypes than ever, but the Internet is increasingly offering alternatives to Hot Wheels and Barbies.
The Kids’ Show That Taught Me to Ask 'Why?'
The PBS-aired educational program 3-2-1 Contact was one of the best things on TV in the 1980s.
The Perils of Choose Your Own Adventure Books
The series allowed children to build their own story—but it also created false perceptions about decision-making.
The Absurd Joy of Sideways Stories From Wayside School
The classic children’s book, first published in 1978, is an early primer for young readers who will eventually find their way to more profound surrealism.
How Rugrats Made Me Feel Comfortable in America
The long-running cartoon’s representation of Judaism was one of the first on television.
Why I Write Scary Stories for Children
Their imaginations respond to being empowered against the things that terrify them.
How Early Computer Games Influenced Internet Culture
Virtual playspaces of the 1980s encouraged openness and creativity, which would later become foundational values of the web.
Where Are All the Kidcasts?
Kids learn from podcasts, so why aren’t adults making more for them?
The Wildest Rumpus: Maurice Sendak and the Art of Death
Nothing informed the writer’s work so much as his abiding fascination with mortality and menace.
Why the British Tell Better Children’s Stories
Their history informs fantastical myths and legends, while American tales tend to focus on moral realism.
The Powerpuff Girls Redefined What Little Girls Are Made Of
The hit Cartoon Network show, which is set for a reboot in 2016, appealed to kids and adults with its three subtly subversive, (super)empowered female leads.
What the Hellish Babadook Has to Say About Childhood Grief
The best horror film of 2014 understands that kids, especially very young ones, deal with loss much differently than adults do.
On Nostalgia for Bad Childhood Movies: The Swan Princess at 20
My favorite film as a kid was little-known, not-Disney, and not great. I'm fine with that.
Postmodernism—for Kids
Fifteen years ago, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events built a huge following among children–in part because it used highly self-conscious, experimental literary techniques.