Book Review: Colin Heywood’s Childhood in Modern Europe

Childhood in Modern Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2018, 280 pp.) is a meaningful contribution by Colin Heywood to the textbook series “New Approaches to European History.” The book clearly introduces and explores the major themes and problems in the history of childhood studies in Europe. The work brings together existing studies of childhood across Europe and adopts a comparative approach; its scope includes the Mediterranean regions, Russia, Western Europe, and the Nordic countries, although northwestern Europe is its primary focus. Heywood also considers the interaction with the United States, the imperial conquests, and mass migratory movements where relevant. The book’s take on these issues does not aim to be comprehensive or partial; it mostly covers these issues practically and to the extent that they had repercussions for either children’s lives or children’s studies. However, I found it useful for contextualizing these changes in a wider context. For instance, Heywood acknowledges how the increased cultural influence of the United States in the 20th century was welcomed in some ways and resented in others rather than making an overarching case for how the United States was perceived independent of context.