From: Steven Engelfried <stevene>
Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1999 20:26:32 -0700

One reason I'm glad of "Redwall's" success is that it gives me another chance to recommend "Watership Down." It's not necessarily a natural next step for fans of general animal stories, because it's longer, more complicated, etc. But Redwall readers aren't intimidated by a long book, and the action and heroism relate very well, even though it's a step up in complexity. One tricky thing about kids reading "Watership Down" is that the other Adams animal books aren't as accessible (or as good). After I read "Watership Down" in the eighth grade, I enjoyed "Shardik," but it was a lot tougher going. And then there's "Maia," which is definitely not a kid's book. I know when I was thirteen if I found a good author I wanted to read everything he wrote...but I don't think I would have been ready for "Maia"
(which hadn't been published yet). Other crossover authors, like Stephen King and Michael Crichton write some books that are clearly way more "adult" than others. I'm not always quite sure how to approach this as a librarian. I remember when Crichton's "Disclosure" came out I would mention that it's
"different" to the middle school fans of his science fiction books. I could mention the subject matter, but certainly couldn't say they shouldn't read it. On the other hand, I've never seen a young Judy Blume fan interested in one of her adult titles...I guess they're more clearly packaged for different readers.

Steven Engelfried, Children's Librarian Deschutes Public Library 601 NW Wall Street Bend, OR 97701 ph: 541a7p72 fax: 541a7p73 e-mail: stevene at dpls.lib.or.us
Received on Wed 09 Jun 1999 10:26:32 PM CDT