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Dateline:Troy/an Australian perspective
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From: Barbara Tobin <bjt1986>
Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 22:42:46 -0400
In response to John Peters' criticism (5/13/97) of Fleischman's Dateline: Troy, I have to admit that I have not yet been able to locate a copy of the book to judge for myself, but recently came across of a review of it in one of my Australian review journals, by Maurice Saxby, who is perhaps our pre-eminent scholar of children's literature. I thought his perspective may be of some interest to the list, or at least draw some reaction. He agrees with John that this is indeed an ingenious idea, and acknowledges that it is a beautifully produced book, one that may well appeal to serious minded readers knowledgeable in world history and current affairs (and preferably some background in Homer). Saxby is somewhat of a scholar of ancient hero tales himself, and notes that his personal preference would be "to allow the reverberations of the Iliad to do their own work" without the intrusion on his responses to these timeless archetypal myths, of international warfare, "particularly always from an American point of view".
If you would like to see Saxby's idea of how this unimpeded response might occur, check out his large volume published by Peter Bedrick Books
(1990,ISBN 0 87226 342 8): _The Great Deeds of Superheroes_. This is a collection of his retellings of the tales of the immortal heroic figures of ancient times (Ancient Greece, Sumeria and Babylon, Old Scandinavia, the Old Testament, Old England, Medieval France and Spain). Saxby includes an introductory essay and chart of the folktale elements that provide a context for understanding the heroic pattern. Hans Christian Andersen Award winner, Robert Ingpen's strikingly beautiful illustrations are a dramatic feature of the book. You might also want to check out Saxby's companion volume, The Great Deeds of Heroic Women.
So, what are the implications for young readers of all this? Perhaps that they should first meet these heroes within their own cultural context, before they are juxtaposed against the modern images and connections made by Fleischman. What do you think?
********************************************* Barbara J. Tobin Department of Educational Theory and Practice 115 Stone Building Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306 at 65 Phone: (904) 644T58 Email: bjt1986 at garnet.acns.fsu.edu
*********************************************
Received on Thu 15 May 1997 09:42:46 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 22:42:46 -0400
In response to John Peters' criticism (5/13/97) of Fleischman's Dateline: Troy, I have to admit that I have not yet been able to locate a copy of the book to judge for myself, but recently came across of a review of it in one of my Australian review journals, by Maurice Saxby, who is perhaps our pre-eminent scholar of children's literature. I thought his perspective may be of some interest to the list, or at least draw some reaction. He agrees with John that this is indeed an ingenious idea, and acknowledges that it is a beautifully produced book, one that may well appeal to serious minded readers knowledgeable in world history and current affairs (and preferably some background in Homer). Saxby is somewhat of a scholar of ancient hero tales himself, and notes that his personal preference would be "to allow the reverberations of the Iliad to do their own work" without the intrusion on his responses to these timeless archetypal myths, of international warfare, "particularly always from an American point of view".
If you would like to see Saxby's idea of how this unimpeded response might occur, check out his large volume published by Peter Bedrick Books
(1990,ISBN 0 87226 342 8): _The Great Deeds of Superheroes_. This is a collection of his retellings of the tales of the immortal heroic figures of ancient times (Ancient Greece, Sumeria and Babylon, Old Scandinavia, the Old Testament, Old England, Medieval France and Spain). Saxby includes an introductory essay and chart of the folktale elements that provide a context for understanding the heroic pattern. Hans Christian Andersen Award winner, Robert Ingpen's strikingly beautiful illustrations are a dramatic feature of the book. You might also want to check out Saxby's companion volume, The Great Deeds of Heroic Women.
So, what are the implications for young readers of all this? Perhaps that they should first meet these heroes within their own cultural context, before they are juxtaposed against the modern images and connections made by Fleischman. What do you think?
********************************************* Barbara J. Tobin Department of Educational Theory and Practice 115 Stone Building Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306 at 65 Phone: (904) 644T58 Email: bjt1986 at garnet.acns.fsu.edu
*********************************************
Received on Thu 15 May 1997 09:42:46 PM CDT
