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Learning, Liberation, and Posthumanism in The Wind on the Moon.

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Title: Learning, Liberation, and Posthumanism in The Wind on the Moon.
Authors: Danielsson, Karin M.1 (AUTHOR) karin.molander.danielsson@mdu.se
Source: Children's Literature in Education. Jun2026, Vol. 57 Issue 2, p215-229. 15p.
Subject Terms: *Learning, *Children's literature, Posthumanism, Anthropocentrism, Fictional characters, Liberty
Abstract: The Wind on the Moon (1944) is a children's novel by Eric Linklater, in which two nonhuman characters, a puma and a falcon, play a substantial role as friends, teachers and expert aids to the girl protagonists. In this article I argue that these nonhuman characters in The Wind on the Moon take a posthumanist stance, and that they are able to do so due to the traditional and perhaps underestimated presence of animals in children's literature. Their message of anti-anthropocentrism and bioegalitarianism gains further importance due to the novel's ubiquitous engagement with the motifs of learning and liberation. While learning can be said to be part of the general didactic discourse of most children's books, the strong liberation motif—especially when zoo animals are textually associated with prisoners of war—expresses a serious posthumanist critique which also suggests that there is more to learn from animal characters in children's literature than has often been supposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Children's Literature in Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Learning, Liberation, and Posthumanism in The Wind on the Moon.
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  Data: The Wind on the Moon (1944) is a children's novel by Eric Linklater, in which two nonhuman characters, a puma and a falcon, play a substantial role as friends, teachers and expert aids to the girl protagonists. In this article I argue that these nonhuman characters in The Wind on the Moon take a posthumanist stance, and that they are able to do so due to the traditional and perhaps underestimated presence of animals in children's literature. Their message of anti-anthropocentrism and bioegalitarianism gains further importance due to the novel's ubiquitous engagement with the motifs of learning and liberation. While learning can be said to be part of the general didactic discourse of most children's books, the strong liberation motif—especially when zoo animals are textually associated with prisoners of war—expresses a serious posthumanist critique which also suggests that there is more to learn from animal characters in children's literature than has often been supposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Children's Literature in Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1007/s10583-025-09607-0
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Learning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Children's literature
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Posthumanism
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      – SubjectFull: Anthropocentrism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fictional characters
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      – SubjectFull: Liberty
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              Text: Jun2026
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