From: Maggi Rohde <maggi>
Date: Sat, 5 May 2001 09:50:27 -0600 (MDT)

I am fascinated by the number of librarians who thought this series was so fantastic -- and also by the number of non?ntasy readers who were drawn in by Pullman's writing and his character.

I am also an avid fantasy reader, and while I thoroughly enjoyed the story and Pullman's storytelling, I don't consider HDM to be any more significant an achievement than many other excellent fantasy series. Perhaps it is that the series is aimed at children and young adults, and has left out much of the heavy violence and sex which permeates epic fantasy, that makes it so remarkable.

I bought The Golden Compass as a early pub copy, before I went to library school, based only on the publiers' hype (a big display in B&N with lots of quotes from other fantasy writers). I tried reading it, but didn't find it sufficiently compelling, and it sat on my shelf -- I didn't hear anything about the series from other librarians until some years later. The second time I tried reading it, I ignored my initial ho-hum reaction and was able to get into the story (and I did! I went out and bought the other two and finished them in five days).

So, yes, I cried at the death of Roger and Lee. Yes, I was fascinated by Pullman's pseudo-physics and the use of daemons. Yes, I was compelled to finish the story. But I could say the same for Susan Cooper's quintogy, or Anne McCaffrey's Harper Hall trilogy (neither of which have any sex or excessive violence), or several adult fantasy series I've read over the years.

And, particularly because the writing is so complex and challenging, I'm not sure why so many of your patrons (kids) enjoyed the books so much. Any thoughts?

I'm enjoying everyone's comments!

Maggi Rohde, Children's Librarian Canton Public Library, MI

Booklists for YAs on the Web: http://www.seemore.mi.org/booklists/
Received on Sat 05 May 2001 10:50:27 AM CDT