From: NJSawicki at aol.com <NJSawicki>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002 23:21:54 EDT

Oh my.....Jody, this question is for you, and it is about your last paragraph:

"Some of my Australian friends have said, only partly joking I suspect, that Australians should also celebrate Thanksgiving...being thankful that the pilgrims went to American and the convicts came here. It certainly is a less uptight society here and it is reflected in the novels."

Are you an American living in Australia? Can you be more specific about the last sentence? I can no longer quickly trace the evolution of the teenage/middle grade novel in the U.S. versus the teenage/middle grade novel in Australia which I could have done at one time, but Australia has not had an indigenous children's literature for long...most children's books, including novels, were imported from Great Britain. Since the U.S. is acknowledged by publishers throughout the world, and certainly in the English speaking world as having been the forerunner of realistic fiction for kids, I would be interested to know how you reached your conclusion. How do you define uptight society? And how do you see it play out in American and Australian fiction? When you say you are not sure Diane Wolfer's novel would have been " so easily accepted in the States," what do you mean? That is would not have been published? That it not would have been well reviewed, and/or it would not have sold well? Norma Jean
Received on Mon 22 Jul 2002 10:21:54 PM CDT