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From: Connie Rockman <connie.rock>
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 17:13:00 -0400
I heard from one friend yesterday whose kid spent the hour chasing movie links on the internet with questions about how does HP overcome the evil of Voldemort? HP may be all fluff and fantasy but I suspect at this moment it helps titrate fear and helplessness in a way that leads to healing.
Linda Goettina, D.M.H."
"Fluff and fantasy"? I think not. While the lists of books that deal with grieving and violence may be a perfectly valid response to what many of us are feeling, and what some of us may need for talking with children, my overwhelming sense is that it is through metaphor and allegory that most children will be able to best deal with these horrific events.
In her book of speeches and writings, _Dreams and Wishes_(McElderry, 1996), Susan Cooper makes a direct connection between her vision in _The Dark is Rising_ series and her experiences as a child in wartime Britain being subjected to bombings, shelters, anti-aircraft fire, and gas masks in her daily life at home and school. (This was in her Newbery Award winning speech in 1976 for _The Grey King_). The way her adult mind worked out many of those horrific memories was through allegory, and her descriptions of the Dark and the evil consciousness behind its actions is, to my mind, a highly effective way of helping children cope with disaster. Ditto for Rowling and her remarkable conception of the embodiment of evil in Voldemort. And for Lloyd Alexander and his depiction of Arawn in the Prydain series. And, of course, others who are so adept at writing high fantasy; the ones I've mentioned are just my particular favorites.
The beauty of these fantasy approaches to dealing with pure evil is that they show Harry Potter, Will, and Taran - the young protagonists - and, yes, Hermione and Eilonwy, and other sidekicks - eventually vanquishing the evil. And not alone, but through some group effort, some ensemble action. With adult characters as mentors and helpers along the way, but eventually they must rely on their own power. Through the fantasy which is really an extension of the old folk stories, legends, and hero/heroine tales through the ages - hope is kept alive. And that is what children want to know - can I get through this? will the evil triumph? what can someone as young/small/helpless as I am accomplish in the face of evil? Folklore and fantasy can empower the young at a much deeper, more visceral level sometimes than other forms of literature.
Recommended for healing lists: Alexander, Lloyd. The Book of Three
The Black Cauldron
The Castle of Llyr
Taran Wanderer
The High King (All have been recently reissued in attractive new editions by Holt, with pronunciation guides for those tongue-twisting Welsh names) Cooper, Susan. Over Sea, Under Stone
The Dark is Rising
Greenwitch
The Grey King
Silver on the Tree Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
And one more book, not fantasy, just published this month, that could be enormously helpful in starting discussions of prejudice and reactions to evil in real life:
_Witness_ by Karen Hesse (Scholastic, 2001). This is the story of the Ku Klux Klan infiltrating a small town in Vermont in the 1920s. Based on actual events and told in 11 different voices, somewhat in the style of Spoon River Anthology or Under Milkwood. You hear the voices of bigotry and voices of reason and voices of those being victimized. You hear voices of fear and compassion and hatred and love. It's a remarkable piece of work. Scholastic also has a discussion guide available for all who contact their marketing department that will aid in getting discussions started, as they do for the Harry Potter books.
Connie Rockman Children's Literature Consultant Stratford, CT
Received on Fri 14 Sep 2001 04:13:00 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 17:13:00 -0400
I heard from one friend yesterday whose kid spent the hour chasing movie links on the internet with questions about how does HP overcome the evil of Voldemort? HP may be all fluff and fantasy but I suspect at this moment it helps titrate fear and helplessness in a way that leads to healing.
Linda Goettina, D.M.H."
"Fluff and fantasy"? I think not. While the lists of books that deal with grieving and violence may be a perfectly valid response to what many of us are feeling, and what some of us may need for talking with children, my overwhelming sense is that it is through metaphor and allegory that most children will be able to best deal with these horrific events.
In her book of speeches and writings, _Dreams and Wishes_(McElderry, 1996), Susan Cooper makes a direct connection between her vision in _The Dark is Rising_ series and her experiences as a child in wartime Britain being subjected to bombings, shelters, anti-aircraft fire, and gas masks in her daily life at home and school. (This was in her Newbery Award winning speech in 1976 for _The Grey King_). The way her adult mind worked out many of those horrific memories was through allegory, and her descriptions of the Dark and the evil consciousness behind its actions is, to my mind, a highly effective way of helping children cope with disaster. Ditto for Rowling and her remarkable conception of the embodiment of evil in Voldemort. And for Lloyd Alexander and his depiction of Arawn in the Prydain series. And, of course, others who are so adept at writing high fantasy; the ones I've mentioned are just my particular favorites.
The beauty of these fantasy approaches to dealing with pure evil is that they show Harry Potter, Will, and Taran - the young protagonists - and, yes, Hermione and Eilonwy, and other sidekicks - eventually vanquishing the evil. And not alone, but through some group effort, some ensemble action. With adult characters as mentors and helpers along the way, but eventually they must rely on their own power. Through the fantasy which is really an extension of the old folk stories, legends, and hero/heroine tales through the ages - hope is kept alive. And that is what children want to know - can I get through this? will the evil triumph? what can someone as young/small/helpless as I am accomplish in the face of evil? Folklore and fantasy can empower the young at a much deeper, more visceral level sometimes than other forms of literature.
Recommended for healing lists: Alexander, Lloyd. The Book of Three
The Black Cauldron
The Castle of Llyr
Taran Wanderer
The High King (All have been recently reissued in attractive new editions by Holt, with pronunciation guides for those tongue-twisting Welsh names) Cooper, Susan. Over Sea, Under Stone
The Dark is Rising
Greenwitch
The Grey King
Silver on the Tree Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
And one more book, not fantasy, just published this month, that could be enormously helpful in starting discussions of prejudice and reactions to evil in real life:
_Witness_ by Karen Hesse (Scholastic, 2001). This is the story of the Ku Klux Klan infiltrating a small town in Vermont in the 1920s. Based on actual events and told in 11 different voices, somewhat in the style of Spoon River Anthology or Under Milkwood. You hear the voices of bigotry and voices of reason and voices of those being victimized. You hear voices of fear and compassion and hatred and love. It's a remarkable piece of work. Scholastic also has a discussion guide available for all who contact their marketing department that will aid in getting discussions started, as they do for the Harry Potter books.
Connie Rockman Children's Literature Consultant Stratford, CT
Received on Fri 14 Sep 2001 04:13:00 PM CDT
