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Fact and fiction in books for younger readers
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From: Rita Auerbach <RitaAuerbach>
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 02:18:45 -0500
While I too would like to see the authors' names on the covers of the Dear America series, I have been rather taken aback by the vehemence with which the series has been attacked by some correspondents. As a former history teacher, and as one with a great concern about "what is real," I am mystified by the number of adult readers who have assumed that these diaries are anything but fiction. The distinguished authors' names are clearly stated on the title pages. In the case of I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly, the fictional nature of the diary is also clearly stated in the "About the Author" section at the end of the book, and on the copyright page, also at the end of the book. Will children be confused? I can't speak for all children, but the students in my school who are enjoying the books seem to clearly understand that they are fictional.
For years children have been asking me for books written as diaries. With several very notable exceptions, I've had difficulty satisfying the children who love this format. I welcomed this series as an opportunity to fill these requests with sound historical fiction. I don't see the format, ribbons and all, as a ruse, but rather as an invitation to suspend disbelief and immerse oneself in another time.
I see no similarity between the creation of these fictional diarists and the distortions of a film such as Amistad which purports to reenact history but in fact takes unnecessary liberties with historical truth.
Each of the books in the series needs to be judged on its own merits, but we on the CSK Committee though that I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly was a moving depiction of a significant time.
Rita Auerbach, Librarian, Manorhaven School, Port Washington, NY
Received on Tue 24 Feb 1998 01:18:45 AM CST
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 02:18:45 -0500
While I too would like to see the authors' names on the covers of the Dear America series, I have been rather taken aback by the vehemence with which the series has been attacked by some correspondents. As a former history teacher, and as one with a great concern about "what is real," I am mystified by the number of adult readers who have assumed that these diaries are anything but fiction. The distinguished authors' names are clearly stated on the title pages. In the case of I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly, the fictional nature of the diary is also clearly stated in the "About the Author" section at the end of the book, and on the copyright page, also at the end of the book. Will children be confused? I can't speak for all children, but the students in my school who are enjoying the books seem to clearly understand that they are fictional.
For years children have been asking me for books written as diaries. With several very notable exceptions, I've had difficulty satisfying the children who love this format. I welcomed this series as an opportunity to fill these requests with sound historical fiction. I don't see the format, ribbons and all, as a ruse, but rather as an invitation to suspend disbelief and immerse oneself in another time.
I see no similarity between the creation of these fictional diarists and the distortions of a film such as Amistad which purports to reenact history but in fact takes unnecessary liberties with historical truth.
Each of the books in the series needs to be judged on its own merits, but we on the CSK Committee though that I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly was a moving depiction of a significant time.
Rita Auerbach, Librarian, Manorhaven School, Port Washington, NY
Received on Tue 24 Feb 1998 01:18:45 AM CST
