Elizabeth N. Goodenough

Elizabeth Goodenough is a Children’s Studies scholar and advocate living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Her most recent books investigate the representation of children through voice, environmental influence including war zones, and play in all its forms. As a universal of human experience, childhood offers a unique and unifying portal into discussions of the future and the most significant questions of our day.

Her books include Secret Spaces of Childhood, Under Fire: Childhood in the Shadow of War, Infant Tongues: The Voice of the Child in Literature, What the Presidents Read: Childhood Stories and Family Favorites, and A Revolution of One. She helped produce the award-winning PBS documentary Where Do the Children Play? and authored companion volumes A Study Guide to the Film and A Place for Play. She serves on advisory boards of The Michigan Quarterly Review and MAXCourage Curriculum.

She has taught at Harvard College; Claremont McKenna; and the University of Michigan’s Residential College, School of Education, and School of Information.

Education: Smith College (BA, 1969); Oxford University (1969-1970); Harvard University (MAT, 1971 and PhD, 1982).