Since this is the last blog . . .

I will go all out and (gasp) answer both questions. Maybe someone, someday will find this obscure blog and realize how special children's and young adult literature is. To all those nonbelievers out there, you can't have read the books we did this semester. I already discussed the idea of children's and young adult literature as being lesser in my first posting, but one can never praise amazing authors enough. While I never completely abandoned young adult literatue, for the past couple of years I have been reading mostly British and American literature from way back when. Maybe that's why I tend to talk about works of literature in the past tense. The novels we read took me back to my past as well as bring me to the present. Some of the authors we read -Avi, Lois Lowry- were reminders of books I enjoyed as a child. However, the books we read this semester were completely new to me. I found myself enjoying them not as light reads but works of literature that are revealing and often revolutionary.

There are two books we read this semester that I won't forget. How can I, after I actually went out and spent the money to buy them after I read borrowed copies from the library? The first one is Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret. When I first saw the book on library displays after it won the Caldecott Medal, I looked at the cover and thought, "I'll pass." It looked like it would be a bright, crazy story about a boy who made things, perhaps things that got him in trouble. I ended up having to read it for class anyways. And am I glad I did. This is one of the most amazing books I have laid eyes on. The story itself is full of interesting facts that most people wouldn't know, yet it is made accessible through the story of a young boy. The book, though, is ingenius. The way Selznick picked up the story in pictures like movie slides then swtiched to text was seamless and unique.

The other book I can't get over is Lois Lowry's The Giver. I don't know how I missed it as a child, but I don't think it lost any of its effect when I read it as an adult. I was absorebed into Jonas's world. The story provoked so many thoughts and questions that I will probably still be thinking about many years from now. The distopia of the utopia was done in a way that, while we have to agree that Jonas's world is no utopia, it turns our world upside down and makes us question those same values that make the "community" so horrifying.

These are only two examples of a long list of young adult books that we read in class and I read outside of class that show the greatness of their writers. Hugo Cabret is truly a great piece of work that required a lot of skill and talent. I don't even think that "skill" and "talent" completely describe what Selznick had to have had in able to think of, let alone create, this book. There have to be better words somewhere, but I can't think of a fitting one right now. The same goes for Lowry, an incredible writer whose books, especially The Giver, continue to provoke and affect readers today. I would love to know what she was thinking when she wrote The Giver. People who create such works cannot be "inferior" writers. They just chose a different and equally important medium to let out their genius. Granted, there are some books I think young people could do without (*cough* Twilight saga), but works like the ones we read in class flood the gateway of literature and beyond with rich ideas. Just imagine how much thought has to go into books like the ones mentioned if we are able take so much from them. If people like us consider the authors of children's and young adult books as inferior writers, what do we call ourselves?

We Are All Connected

Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a novel that represents intersections between texts and literary concepts, but also between cultures. The diary format of the novel joins a long tradition of books written as diaries which deal with issues regarding culture. Such books, due to the very personal nature of diaries, allow readers to experience the issues raised in the novels from a more personal perspective. There is much in the novel that all readers can relate to by drawing on their own experiences. Alexi deals with issues very sepcific to a part-time Indian, but the conflicts behind those issues are experienced by everyone.
The hero archetype/coming of age story is also present in Alexie's novel. Junior/Arnold leaves everything he is familiar with to enter a whole new culture, and is taken back into the fold (by Rowdy) after many growing experiences. Alexie portrays the hero archetype on so many different levels. Physically, Junior travels out of the reservation he grew up on to reach a better life. Culturally, he is forced to leave his native culture behind (becuase leaving the reservation meant that you were turning your back on your tribe) and enters the White world. Internally, he goes from being Junior to Arnold. He must resolve the conflicts on all of these levels.

The Giver: A Glimpse into the Future

The Giver as a whole is an unforgettable book. For me, it was both disturbing, not in an I don't approve way, but in an I never would have thought of something like that way, and powerful. I don' think I'll stop thinking about it any time soon. As a coming of age novel, the way it goes about with the idea of loss of innocence is powerful. Five years from now, I know that I will remember the scene where Jonas learns that "release" isn't being let out of the community to find a different, and, to Jonas, better life. It was devastating, with the whole set up of him beginning to care about Gabriel, who might be released. Watching anyone kill a baby for any reason is an experience that would turn one's world upside down, watching your "father" do it all smiley and for what you know is a very shallow reason, well, I don't know how the Giver was able to watch Jonas experience it, let alone imagine what Jonas must have felt. I think that learning that the release meant death was the biggest blow, or maybe I can call it "pain," Jonas could have faced, even bigger than the war scene.

Some more scenes I will probably remember are the scene where Jonas realizes the childhood game he used to play is actually a war game, the scene where he tries to get Asher to see the colors in the flowers, and the discussion Jonas has with his parents about love. As you can see, the whole book is memorable.

The ending will always stick with me wondering what really happened. However, I also find myself wondering if what "really" happened even matters. Jonas broke free of the community and took his and Gabriel's lives into his own hands. I think that he still ended up with much more than those in the community did. He also believed that he experienced whatever it was that happened. Could that be enough?

I can't say that the book was a happy book, but it will always have its place in my most recommended books list. I have already gotten eleven young teens to read it, and they came back wanting to talk about it. That is a feat not all authors manage, even if they do get published.

Feminist Approach to Man on the Moon Marigolds

A play written by a man with the only visible characters being women is in itself something for feminist critics to work with. One point I found fascinating in the play was how all three of the main characters, Beatrice, Ruthie, and Tillie, seem somehow incomplete. Beatrice and Ruthie are the almost typical overtly feminine characters who wear red lipstick and smoke. Yet they are social outcasts because they are thought to be crazy. Tillie can be seen as breaking out of the stereotypical female role by being successful in school, especially in science. However, she is the one who finds a male figure, even if we don't see much of him in the play. While none of the characters are stereotypically feminine characters, they aren't strong either.

And the Award Goes to. . .

Judy Blundell's book What I Saw and How I Lied. An element that I thought was award worthy was the time setting. I think that the time setting made the characters' experience unique and different from other YA novels. Blundell did a wonderful job in developing her characters and setting, taking readers into that time period to experience what it was like to be a teenager. The details made the story believable, even if a reader does not know the time period.
Another element that made this novel unique was the subject matter. The fact that the character, when faced with the ultimate decision in the novel, chose to do the morally wrong thing is not something you see very often. The readers can feel how difficult her decision was and the forced focus she describes as she faces the courtroom. While not giving clear cut answers on how to deal with life's difficult issues, the novel allows readers to form their own opinion on what the main character did. Blundell handled very sensitive and mature content such as sexuality, antisemitism, war, serious family issues and infidelity without making them the overshadow the main character's own turmoil as a maturing young woman, making the read informative and multifaceted but not overwhelming. Overall, the novel had award worthy handling of it's subject matter.

Who Reads Poetry for Fun?

1. What were your reactions to reading a novel written in verse, like Make Lemonade? What do you think about this style and format for novels generally? Is there something particular about younger readers that makes this choice on an author's part appropriate or appealing?

As a teen, I have to admit I didn't read any more poetry than was required. I love imagery and all, but I didn't like poetry and found it unnecessary because I had great novels that were written in real sentences. The breaks in sentences in poems always bothered me because I would pause at the end of each line, ruining the beauty of the sentence. I felt like each line was a cliff that I fall off of to get to the next one. Now, as an English major, I make it a point to study more poetry because it is one of my weaknesses. Make Lemonade was kind of ironic because it was the story of a girl who didn't understand metaphors and imagery (think astronaut), which are essential parts of most poetry, and is written in verse. Each section of the novel tells a part of the story that actually flowed despite what to me often seems like broken sentences. The chapters didn't exactly flow together like a conventional novel. It was more episodic than narrative, which might appeal to readers who, unlike me, don't like in between details.

Novels written in verse might be appropriate for young readers because it might be less intimidating than a book of poetry, per se. It is a good way to introduce young readers to poetry. It is also another genre for them to explore amongst other new genres they are exposed to as they move on from children's literature. I don't know, maybe some of them will look at a novel in verse and feel that they are reading at a very mature level, boosting their confidence in their reading.

It All Looks the Same

First off, sorry this post is so late. I came to see if I had any comments only to discover I saved it as a draft and never posted it.

So here goes. . .

No one really says much against children's literature unless they are in a field that has something to do with child development. Children's books are cute and colorful to the average children's book viewer. Young adult literature doesn't get as many fluffy points. When I ask readers at our level (many of whom spent highschool reading what is defined as Literature) why they tend to disparage young adult literature, the main answer I get is that it all looks the same: a young teen character who either enters the book looking for answers or discovers questions about themselves and goes on a journey to figure them out. They all follow the same teen novel format. I feel that much of this attitude towards young adult literature can be blamed on marketing techniques. We ourselves have read books from a vastly different genres (adventure, historical, gay/lesbian, poetic) in this class and found that each one was a self discovery novel. Yet each author takes the idea of a young adult novel, even if they don't start out with the intention of writing young adult, and makes it his or her own.

I always enjoyed young adult literature for its purpose but never analyzed it as closely as we do in this class. Looking back at the novels that I have read, I realize how even archetypal characters are so different in each author's words. Despite marketing ploys to categorize young adult literature, each book is unique. I always appreciated the skill required to create a book for, lets face it, people who don't really read. Through our careful reading, I now better appreciate the technical skills involved in writing these books. Prevalent archetypes are so common because they are successful. They also give readers a degree of familiarity with a book that could keep them reading. However, readers wouldn't keep reading the same thing over and over again. The archetypes are not the overpowering force in these books. It's the individual skills of the authors, and the way they make the story their own by exploring topics that are relevant to young readers that keeps young adult literature going. There is much mature content in young adult literature, and dealing with such topics as part of the self discovery of a young person probably makes it easier to keep it proper for the audience the books are intended for.

Who is Bo?

I want to concentrate on Bo's place in the novel Finding H.F. Best friend to H.F., who we cast as the archetypal hero in a coming of age novel, in the first half of the novel Bo seems to be the archetypal sidekick. He is quiet and sensible and, as H.F. says, he always follows her. We get the feeling that he is sensitive to people and understands them. As Margaret put it, he seems wise. However, we don't hear much from him until the second half of the book. In this part of the book, some of us argued that we see a new Bo. I argue that the sense we get of Bo in the first half is realized. While he meets Preacher Dave and Bill and begins to believe in his hope that he can make it somewhere, he was already working towards a better life. His main role is still as H.F.'s friend. He snaps her out of her miseries and knows how to help her when she needs it. While he continues to be a support to H.F., Watts develops him as a character, making him as known to us as H.F. is.

Caldecott Medal: Reading the Pictures Too

When I say that I love being read to by a child who can't read, many people ask, "If they can't read, how are they reading to you?" It's amazing how children tell the stories they see in pictures. I know several children who don't know how to read yet who solemnly go to the library, check out picture books, and "read" them for hours, flipping each page and running their fingers along the words as they tell you the story. I once tried to take the pictures from a book without the words and came up with a story that was completely irrelevant to the actual story. Given children's interest in the pictures and their interpretation of the story from the pictures, having pictures that go with the story is important. This is true not just for children who can't read but are "reading" a story, but for children who are being read to as well as those children who can read. The pictures in a book will end up being a distraction if they are not tied in with the story.

I am sure there is a very scientific explanation for all of this. One that comes to mind is that abstract thinking develops as the child gets older, hence the gradual decrease of pictures in books for older children.

To honor the illustrators of picture books, the Caldecott Medal is an award given to a picture book published during the year. The medal is not only acknowledging great pictures, but the story being told in the pictures; the story the children (and many of us) "read." Again, Hugo Cabret comes to mind as an extreme, and amazing, form of "reading" the pictures. The Caldecott Medal isn't just a fancy seal. It is a recognition of an important part of children's literature.

Literature with an L

Children's literature is just as important as what people like to call Literature. It introduces children to the world of the written word and has as much of an effect on children as what is called Literature is supposed to have those who can read it. We can hardly expect twelve year olds, let alone five year olds, to pick up Shakespeare or Milton and understand them. Children's literature provides literature that is understandable to children. Considering it as lesser trivializes its importance in the development of children.

The question of whether children's literature is lesser can be seen in another context. I seriously doubt an author of a children's book had to get high, or low, for that matter, on substances in able to create a piece of literature that is brilliant. After all, they do need to keep the content appropriate. However, just because they didn't have to artificially enhance their imaginations doesn't mean they have an easy or trivial job. Creating a story that readers will connect with takes skill no matter who the readers are. Keeping the attention of enough children to make a children's book a success is no easy task.

A great example of a piece of literature written for children is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Unique in style and engaging in content, this book is one of the most amazing children's/preteen books I have ever read. It is very well developed and sophisticated, yet easy to understand. This book commends Selznick as an author and illustrator. After reading this book, I would challenge anyone to call Selznick a lesser author or his book lesser Literature.