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A couple of things more about Pullman
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From: Monica R. Edinger <edinger>
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 10:27:03 +0100
I just wanted to draw list members' attention to Tim Ditlow's PW article,
"Behind the Scenes of an Audiobook"
(http://www.publishersweekly.com/articles/20010514_95648.asp) about taping The Amber Spyglass audiobook. (Alec McCowen is Balthamos!) I wonder if those who were disappointed with this last volume in the trilogy will feel differently upon hearing the audiobook version.
Also, before this month on Pullman ends, I would like to mention how much I like I Was a Rat! I've read it aloud several times to my fourth graders and they've always enjoyed it tremendously. I recommend it especially for anyone investigate fairy tales with children, especially if you are asking them to go afield into parodies and other variations.
What I like so much about Pullman is how much he respects his child readers. (He's a bit less so of adults readers, esp. if they are Narnia fans!) He does not simplify his stories for them. They are complex, full of irony, and witty. And he just trusts that kids are perfectly capable of managing this. Some of my kids complained initially that they were confused with I Was a Rat!, but I insisted that they work a bit at their listening and not be so passive. That is, they might have to do a bit of thinking (horrors!) to figure out the story.
I often find that certain of my students do expect that some adult (that is, me) is going to take them by the metaphoric hand and lead them through every story. I think that they've been taught to expect that, unfortunately. And I think it is our fault. Too many of us do shepherd them through each story or decide too quickly that they are not developmentally ready for it.
Frankly, I expect some intellectual gumption in my students. I would not impose any of the His Dark Materials volumes on them as read alouds as I do think that as a class they are too young for them and like them far too much to have them bomb. (Although I do have a handful of students who read them with pleasure on their own.) However, I think they are perfectly capable of taking on slightly less predictable stories, stories like I Was a Rat! Without my nursing them through it.
I do wonder though if I Was a Rat! is more appreciated as a read aloud. Anyone have kids who loved it on their own? And if so, how old were they and what were the circumstances of their reading it?
Monica
Monica Edinger The Dalton School New York NY edinger at dalton.org monicaedinger at yahoo.com
Received on Sat 19 May 2001 04:27:03 AM CDT
Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 10:27:03 +0100
I just wanted to draw list members' attention to Tim Ditlow's PW article,
"Behind the Scenes of an Audiobook"
(http://www.publishersweekly.com/articles/20010514_95648.asp) about taping The Amber Spyglass audiobook. (Alec McCowen is Balthamos!) I wonder if those who were disappointed with this last volume in the trilogy will feel differently upon hearing the audiobook version.
Also, before this month on Pullman ends, I would like to mention how much I like I Was a Rat! I've read it aloud several times to my fourth graders and they've always enjoyed it tremendously. I recommend it especially for anyone investigate fairy tales with children, especially if you are asking them to go afield into parodies and other variations.
What I like so much about Pullman is how much he respects his child readers. (He's a bit less so of adults readers, esp. if they are Narnia fans!) He does not simplify his stories for them. They are complex, full of irony, and witty. And he just trusts that kids are perfectly capable of managing this. Some of my kids complained initially that they were confused with I Was a Rat!, but I insisted that they work a bit at their listening and not be so passive. That is, they might have to do a bit of thinking (horrors!) to figure out the story.
I often find that certain of my students do expect that some adult (that is, me) is going to take them by the metaphoric hand and lead them through every story. I think that they've been taught to expect that, unfortunately. And I think it is our fault. Too many of us do shepherd them through each story or decide too quickly that they are not developmentally ready for it.
Frankly, I expect some intellectual gumption in my students. I would not impose any of the His Dark Materials volumes on them as read alouds as I do think that as a class they are too young for them and like them far too much to have them bomb. (Although I do have a handful of students who read them with pleasure on their own.) However, I think they are perfectly capable of taking on slightly less predictable stories, stories like I Was a Rat! Without my nursing them through it.
I do wonder though if I Was a Rat! is more appreciated as a read aloud. Anyone have kids who loved it on their own? And if so, how old were they and what were the circumstances of their reading it?
Monica
Monica Edinger The Dalton School New York NY edinger at dalton.org monicaedinger at yahoo.com
Received on Sat 19 May 2001 04:27:03 AM CDT
