From: K.T. Horning <khorning>
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 1998 09:56:15 -0600 (CST)

Debby, thanks for responding to the question about booktalking "Out of the Dust." Are there certain passages you find most effective for reading aloud? Also, do you have any response to the question Ellen raised about the burning scene being too horrific for kids? Is there anyone else who's shared the book with children who can respond?

I agree with Ellen that that certainly is a powerful, horrific scene but the fact that it moved me I saw more as a testament to Hesse's considerable writing ability. I think it's up to every reader to decide what he or she can take and, if something's too strong, put it back on the shelf, as Ellen did, and try something else.

There may be some children who are too sensitive for that scene but my own sense is that it's pretty mild compared with other images to which kids today are being exposed in books, movies, and television, not to mention the daily news. And, this may sound perverse but, if someone's going to burn to death in a book, I'd much rather have readers feel the horror than to stay completely detached from the scene.

Thanks, Ellen, for being brave enough to delurk with what you perceive as a minority opinion. You raised an important issue and I hope you'll continue to participate in the discussion.

Kathleen Horning (khorning at facstaff.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education University of Wisconsin-Madison
Received on Wed 04 Feb 1998 09:56:15 AM CST