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From: Becky McDonald <beckymcd>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 00:47:58 -0500
I read the comments of CCBC-NET contributors about Peter Sis with my usual awe. As always, I appreciate the insights offered by the participants.
I have loved the perspective Sis gave us in Madlenka, but then I am not a member of an ethnic minority. I view the book as Sis's way of showing his love for New York and all its diversity, in contrast to his beloved homeland in the time of his childhood. He tells us that when he was a young man in Communist Czechoslovakia, artists' works were carefully scrutinized for any secret, subversive messages. In The Three Golden Keys, the artist returns to his mysterious Prague and finds the three keys that will unlock the secrets of the city as well as the locks on his boyhood home. His world was a maze; Madlenka's world is a square, open and friendly, and all of the earth is available to her. She is free. I admire Mr. Sis for his splendid work and for many other reasons, including his intense love of family, home, and his ability to adapt. I suspect the artist was surprised to hear of the objections to Madlenka, when he meant it as a tribute to his daughter, to his adopted country, and to Madlenka's friends on her block. He intended his message to be straightforward and not at all subversive.
I think many of us are afraid to comment because we do not want to offend anyone. Please, keep sharing your thoughts with us. How else can we grow? Becky McDonald beckymcd at camalott.com
Received on Thu 28 Jun 2001 12:47:58 AM CDT
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 00:47:58 -0500
I read the comments of CCBC-NET contributors about Peter Sis with my usual awe. As always, I appreciate the insights offered by the participants.
I have loved the perspective Sis gave us in Madlenka, but then I am not a member of an ethnic minority. I view the book as Sis's way of showing his love for New York and all its diversity, in contrast to his beloved homeland in the time of his childhood. He tells us that when he was a young man in Communist Czechoslovakia, artists' works were carefully scrutinized for any secret, subversive messages. In The Three Golden Keys, the artist returns to his mysterious Prague and finds the three keys that will unlock the secrets of the city as well as the locks on his boyhood home. His world was a maze; Madlenka's world is a square, open and friendly, and all of the earth is available to her. She is free. I admire Mr. Sis for his splendid work and for many other reasons, including his intense love of family, home, and his ability to adapt. I suspect the artist was surprised to hear of the objections to Madlenka, when he meant it as a tribute to his daughter, to his adopted country, and to Madlenka's friends on her block. He intended his message to be straightforward and not at all subversive.
I think many of us are afraid to comment because we do not want to offend anyone. Please, keep sharing your thoughts with us. How else can we grow? Becky McDonald beckymcd at camalott.com
Received on Thu 28 Jun 2001 12:47:58 AM CDT
