Peter Hunt (literary critic)

Hunt was a pioneer of the academic study of children's literature as a literary, rather than educational, discipline at university level, and 'he has been instrumental in creating a world network of those whose research concerns are located in this domain'.

His books have been translated into Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese (Brazil) and Serbian.

Hunt's main preoccupations have been to reconcile mainstream critical theory and practice with the unique demands of texts for children, and to provide accessible resources for the discipline.

He coined the term 'childist criticism', 'a position rather than method' that addresses 'what some regard as a weakness in children's literature studies: the tendency to use theories from other disciplines rather than generate original approaches, and it can usefully be compared with ... écriture feminine’.

[5][6] His most recent work includes a co-written comparative study: The Fabulous Journeys of Alice and Pinocchio (2018).