CCBC-Net Archives
Cuckoo's Child
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: STL_SHAWN at CHSTLS.ORG <STL_SHAWN>
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 1996 19:20:31 -0400 (EDT)
Hello, since this is my first response, I will give a brief introduction - I, too, am a Wisconsin native (I was a children's librarian for nearly 5 years at the La Crosse public Library) who feels connected to home through the CCBC-net. I now am a youth services consultant in upstate New York.
I feel the same way about Mia,in "Cuckoo's Child" as I do Harriet, in
"Harriet the Spy." I do not identify with, or even like Mia (or Harriet) but I sympathize and empathize with her. (BUT, I like Cuckoo's Child and Harriet the Spy even though I do not like Mia or Harriet - I think I like Mia better than Harriet....) At times, feelings of empathy and sympathy are strangely strongest when identity is stripped away. And, why should Mia be a lovely, likable child? She very likely will never see her parents again, she is taken in by a virtual stranger, and the America of her dreams does not exist in Inonia, TN. Her rage and oddly devout rituals make her a real person, someone I believe could truly exist.
For years I have been fascinated by the role of absent parents in, especially ABSENT MOTHERS, in children's literature. I have added "Cuckoo's Child" tp my list of books with absent mothers. (Along with other favorites,
"Walk Two Moons," "The Midwife's Apprentice," "Dicey's Song," "A Solitary Blue".......) I rejoice when I do find strong mothers, (boy, did I love the mother in "Grab Hands and Run"), and am interested in my colleagues' opinions concerning absent mothers and absent parents. Other strong characters, i.e., the saintly Kit, the Grandparents Hiddle in Walk Two Moons, and the Grandmother in Dicey's Song often act as foster parents at chaotic, life-shattering times when characters learn more about their true selves by being separated from the one(s) who gave them life.
Perhaps this book is an examination of different aspects of saintliness.There is the role of ritual in Mia's life, the desired martyrdom of Sinclair the flagellation of the flesh, and Kit, who "just is." (I reread Madeleine L'Engle's Crosswicks journals this summer and was struck by the words, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" I imagine Mia, if she knew any psalms, saying these same words.)
I wanted to read more about Mia's sisters, Bibi and Nell. I love their strength, convictions, and sense of self. Even though her mother is missing, Mia is surrounded by strong, semi-saintly women who do not give up on her when I might have considered it. Thanks for listening, Shawn Brommer, Youth Services Consultant Southern Tier Library System Corning, New York stl_shawn at chstls.org
(For those of you who may wish to share titles of books dealing with absent parents/mothers, please contact me directly at my e-mail address; do not list titles on the ccbc-net. Thanks!)
Received on Wed 04 Sep 1996 06:20:31 PM CDT
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 1996 19:20:31 -0400 (EDT)
Hello, since this is my first response, I will give a brief introduction - I, too, am a Wisconsin native (I was a children's librarian for nearly 5 years at the La Crosse public Library) who feels connected to home through the CCBC-net. I now am a youth services consultant in upstate New York.
I feel the same way about Mia,in "Cuckoo's Child" as I do Harriet, in
"Harriet the Spy." I do not identify with, or even like Mia (or Harriet) but I sympathize and empathize with her. (BUT, I like Cuckoo's Child and Harriet the Spy even though I do not like Mia or Harriet - I think I like Mia better than Harriet....) At times, feelings of empathy and sympathy are strangely strongest when identity is stripped away. And, why should Mia be a lovely, likable child? She very likely will never see her parents again, she is taken in by a virtual stranger, and the America of her dreams does not exist in Inonia, TN. Her rage and oddly devout rituals make her a real person, someone I believe could truly exist.
For years I have been fascinated by the role of absent parents in, especially ABSENT MOTHERS, in children's literature. I have added "Cuckoo's Child" tp my list of books with absent mothers. (Along with other favorites,
"Walk Two Moons," "The Midwife's Apprentice," "Dicey's Song," "A Solitary Blue".......) I rejoice when I do find strong mothers, (boy, did I love the mother in "Grab Hands and Run"), and am interested in my colleagues' opinions concerning absent mothers and absent parents. Other strong characters, i.e., the saintly Kit, the Grandparents Hiddle in Walk Two Moons, and the Grandmother in Dicey's Song often act as foster parents at chaotic, life-shattering times when characters learn more about their true selves by being separated from the one(s) who gave them life.
Perhaps this book is an examination of different aspects of saintliness.There is the role of ritual in Mia's life, the desired martyrdom of Sinclair the flagellation of the flesh, and Kit, who "just is." (I reread Madeleine L'Engle's Crosswicks journals this summer and was struck by the words, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" I imagine Mia, if she knew any psalms, saying these same words.)
I wanted to read more about Mia's sisters, Bibi and Nell. I love their strength, convictions, and sense of self. Even though her mother is missing, Mia is surrounded by strong, semi-saintly women who do not give up on her when I might have considered it. Thanks for listening, Shawn Brommer, Youth Services Consultant Southern Tier Library System Corning, New York stl_shawn at chstls.org
(For those of you who may wish to share titles of books dealing with absent parents/mothers, please contact me directly at my e-mail address; do not list titles on the ccbc-net. Thanks!)
Received on Wed 04 Sep 1996 06:20:31 PM CDT
