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Canadian Children's Literature
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From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 20:10:00 -0500
It isn't possible to conclude this discussion. Ever. There's too much to be read and too much to be said.
As Perry Nodelman kindly pointed out, he "edited two special issues of the journal *Canadian Children's Literature* (numbers 86 and 87, 1997) on the topic,
*What's Canadian about Children's Literature?* These issues include a number of articles and a compendium of answers to the question by forty or so writers, editors, critics, etc. They had an intriguingly wide variety of different takes on the question."
I commend these two special issues to you. I also highly recommend all issues of this fine journal to you, especially to everyone whose interest in Canadian Children's and Young Adult Literature was reawakened this month. The journal "Canadian Children's Literature/Litterature canadienne pour la jeunesse: A journal of criticism/Une revue de critiques* has a web page
(http://wwwuoguelph.ca/englit.ccl/). A searchable index to all CCL issues can be found on the web, and it's indexed in print resources, too. The web index is located at
(http://libnt1.lib.uoguelph.ca/canchildlit/index.htm). Contents of CCL (Spring 1999) include articles about the works of Monica Hughes & Paul Yee, and more than 50 book reviews.
We realized that we were touching the very tip of the proverbial iceberg by even suggesting this topic. That's why we named several authors. However, after you began contributing other book titles and author's names, we decided to let the discussion meander wherever it could, and also because of the distress of the interruptions we all witnessed.
The question of "What's Canadian about Canadian children's literature?" is not only the title of Perry Nodelman's compendium of articles, it's a continuing dialogue within the pages of CCL, issue after issue, in one way or another. It's a question the Canadians are exploring. It's a challenging question for them, and in some instances it's challenging for reasons outsiders will never fully grasp. It's a question outsiders can also pose for themselves as they continue to become acquainted with Canadian books, authors, and artists.
Distinctive voices are more valuable than ever due to the increasing homogeneity of contemporary life. Ask "what's regional? not to mention
"what's national?" in any region of any nation, and immediately one is challenged to the utmost. Yes, this is only the beginning.
Thank you to everyone who ventured comments and responses to Canadian books and writers you've recommended to us. Thank you to the Canadians who were so patient with all outsiders during September. We want to continue to hear from you. We need to hear from you. The discussion can continue, even when it's not named "Canadian." Soon. As soon as next month, if you choose to contribute from your perspectives. Yes, I intended that plural reference. There's no single Canadian voice or perspective. And I think I can say that everyone knew that even before we began.
Best, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse (gmkruse at ccbc.education.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center (www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/) A Library of the School of Education University of Wisconsin - Madison
Received on Thu 30 Sep 1999 08:10:00 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 20:10:00 -0500
It isn't possible to conclude this discussion. Ever. There's too much to be read and too much to be said.
As Perry Nodelman kindly pointed out, he "edited two special issues of the journal *Canadian Children's Literature* (numbers 86 and 87, 1997) on the topic,
*What's Canadian about Children's Literature?* These issues include a number of articles and a compendium of answers to the question by forty or so writers, editors, critics, etc. They had an intriguingly wide variety of different takes on the question."
I commend these two special issues to you. I also highly recommend all issues of this fine journal to you, especially to everyone whose interest in Canadian Children's and Young Adult Literature was reawakened this month. The journal "Canadian Children's Literature/Litterature canadienne pour la jeunesse: A journal of criticism/Une revue de critiques* has a web page
(http://wwwuoguelph.ca/englit.ccl/). A searchable index to all CCL issues can be found on the web, and it's indexed in print resources, too. The web index is located at
(http://libnt1.lib.uoguelph.ca/canchildlit/index.htm). Contents of CCL (Spring 1999) include articles about the works of Monica Hughes & Paul Yee, and more than 50 book reviews.
We realized that we were touching the very tip of the proverbial iceberg by even suggesting this topic. That's why we named several authors. However, after you began contributing other book titles and author's names, we decided to let the discussion meander wherever it could, and also because of the distress of the interruptions we all witnessed.
The question of "What's Canadian about Canadian children's literature?" is not only the title of Perry Nodelman's compendium of articles, it's a continuing dialogue within the pages of CCL, issue after issue, in one way or another. It's a question the Canadians are exploring. It's a challenging question for them, and in some instances it's challenging for reasons outsiders will never fully grasp. It's a question outsiders can also pose for themselves as they continue to become acquainted with Canadian books, authors, and artists.
Distinctive voices are more valuable than ever due to the increasing homogeneity of contemporary life. Ask "what's regional? not to mention
"what's national?" in any region of any nation, and immediately one is challenged to the utmost. Yes, this is only the beginning.
Thank you to everyone who ventured comments and responses to Canadian books and writers you've recommended to us. Thank you to the Canadians who were so patient with all outsiders during September. We want to continue to hear from you. We need to hear from you. The discussion can continue, even when it's not named "Canadian." Soon. As soon as next month, if you choose to contribute from your perspectives. Yes, I intended that plural reference. There's no single Canadian voice or perspective. And I think I can say that everyone knew that even before we began.
Best, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse (gmkruse at ccbc.education.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center (www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/) A Library of the School of Education University of Wisconsin - Madison
Received on Thu 30 Sep 1999 08:10:00 PM CDT
