The Documented Child

Immigrationis at once a personal, immediate, and urgent issue that plays a central role in the United States’ perception of itself. In The Documented Child, scholar Maya Socolovsky demonstrates how the portrayal of Latinx children has shifted over the first two decades of the twenty-first century in literary texts aimed at children and young adults and looks at how these shifts map onto broader changes in immigration policy and discourse. Through a critical inquiry into picture books and middle-grade and young adult literature, Socolovsky argues that the literary documentations of—and for—U.S. Latinx children have shifted over the decades, from an emphasis on hybrid transnationalism to that of a more American-oriented self. Socolovsky delves into texts written from 1997 to 2020, a period marked by tremendous changes in U.S. immigration policies, amplified discourses around nationhood, and an increasingly militarized border. The author shows how children’s and young adult books have shifted their depictions of the border, personal and national identity, and sovereignty.

For students, scholars, and educators of Latinx studies and children’s literature, this work shows how the creators of children’s literature reflect new strategies for representing the undocumented Latinx child protagonist. While earlier books document the child as a transnational (sometimes global) subject, later books document her as both a transnational and U.S. national subject. The Documented Child explores this change as a necessary survival strategy, reflecting current awareness that cultural hybridity and transnational identity are not sufficient stand-ins for the stability and security of legal personhood.