From: Megan Schliesman <Schliesman>
Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 15:48:25 -0500

In my first post on Cormier, when I alluded to the fact that there might be hope in Cormier's work, it was the very fact that his books are so thought-provoking that I was thinking of. It's true that they aren't happy or feel-good or necessarily hopeful in and of themselves, but any work that has the power to provoke so much thinking after the fact among readers--especially young readers--is ultimately hopeful in my mind.

A few people have mentioned teens who greatly appreciate Cormier. I'd like to hear more from anyone who can share teen's responses to his work.

Also, much of our discussion has focused on Cormier's early and middle?reer works, such as The Chocolate War, I Am the Cheese and Fade. What about some of his later--and latest--works, such as Tenderness and In the Middle of the Night? Or the autobiographical Frenchtown Summer?

I found Frenchtown Summer a stunning read--full of mood and character and small significant moments. And exquisite language. A very different experience from other Cormier works, and perhaps one not as appealing to teens (anyone?), but truly wonderful for me.

Megan


Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education UW-Madison 608&2?03 schliesman at education.wisc.edu
Received on Tue 21 Aug 2001 03:48:25 PM CDT