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Jacob Have I Loved and Other Classics
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From: khorning at facstaff.wisc.edu <khorning>
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 16:52:56 -0500
Someone asked about why people thought "Jacob Have I Loved" is such a great book. Well, I haven't read it since it first came out in 1980 (or was it 1981?) but I still remember the intensity of feeling that came through the point of view of the main character, Sarah Louise. Another thing I recall that added to the aesthetic for me as a reader was the author's fine use of language. The metaphors and similes she used throughout were anchored in the island setting, and that gave the book a strong sense of time and place as well. I think the book is quite distinctive for its literary style, characterization, and setting, so it's easy for me to see why it won a literary award.
On the other hand, there is such a thing as personal taste when it comes to reading. Maybe "Jacob Have I Loved" isn't everyone's cup of tea. I don't think we all have to agree on books. "Jacob" was not one of the books discussed at the Newbery preconference because the discussion groups only looked at books published from 193079.
Much as I appreciate the literary quality of "Jacob Have I Loved" I have a hard time designating it as a "classic." Now that I'm thinking of it, though, I'd be hard-pressed to say why exactly. It may have something to do with the fact that it hasn't been around for long enough to see if it's stood the test of time. I think a book has to survive a couple of generations before we can begin to think of it as a classic. Even then, it seems to me that there's some elusive element related to a book's survival on its own merits, generally because children have taken it to heart, and then remember it when they become adults and are able to pass it along successfully to the next generation, who also take it to heart. The book that comes most readily to mind as a 20th century classic is "Charlotte's Web."
How do the rest of you out there define "classic"?
Kathleen T. Horning (khorning at facstaff.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education University of Wisconsin-Madison
Received on Mon 14 Jul 1997 04:52:56 PM CDT
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 16:52:56 -0500
Someone asked about why people thought "Jacob Have I Loved" is such a great book. Well, I haven't read it since it first came out in 1980 (or was it 1981?) but I still remember the intensity of feeling that came through the point of view of the main character, Sarah Louise. Another thing I recall that added to the aesthetic for me as a reader was the author's fine use of language. The metaphors and similes she used throughout were anchored in the island setting, and that gave the book a strong sense of time and place as well. I think the book is quite distinctive for its literary style, characterization, and setting, so it's easy for me to see why it won a literary award.
On the other hand, there is such a thing as personal taste when it comes to reading. Maybe "Jacob Have I Loved" isn't everyone's cup of tea. I don't think we all have to agree on books. "Jacob" was not one of the books discussed at the Newbery preconference because the discussion groups only looked at books published from 193079.
Much as I appreciate the literary quality of "Jacob Have I Loved" I have a hard time designating it as a "classic." Now that I'm thinking of it, though, I'd be hard-pressed to say why exactly. It may have something to do with the fact that it hasn't been around for long enough to see if it's stood the test of time. I think a book has to survive a couple of generations before we can begin to think of it as a classic. Even then, it seems to me that there's some elusive element related to a book's survival on its own merits, generally because children have taken it to heart, and then remember it when they become adults and are able to pass it along successfully to the next generation, who also take it to heart. The book that comes most readily to mind as a 20th century classic is "Charlotte's Web."
How do the rest of you out there define "classic"?
Kathleen T. Horning (khorning at facstaff.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education University of Wisconsin-Madison
Received on Mon 14 Jul 1997 04:52:56 PM CDT
