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[CCBC-NET] Chris Raschka
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From: Barbara Tobin <vze2xvdf>
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 02:45:22 -0400
At the risk of us members of the Chris Raschka Fan Club taking over this discussion, Id like to make a comment about the risks Raschka takes as he explores new ways to tell different stories in different ways. The way he blurs the boundaries between music, text, and illustration seems to me to parallel what is happening with the structural innovation in young adult literature lately. Raschkas rhythmic experiments in creating a vibrant synergy of words, pictures, colors, sounds- all seamlessly blended into one (Dresang, 1999), are as much a pushing of the limits of the printed page as some of the structurally ambitious novels for older readers that we are seeing, by authors like Aidan Chambers, Chris Lynch, and Paul Fleischman.
Lauren Adams, a member of this years Printz Award Committee, has an interesting article about this in this months Horn Book, called
Disorderly Fiction (p. 521R8). She cites examples of contemporary authors who use, not always successfully, a variety of techniques
(including placement of type, second person narration, drawings, and footnotes) to try to convey simultaneously occurring thoughts and dialogue, and the near impossible task of reproducing thought with written words.
What Raschka tries to do with his jazz riff picture books is also near impossible, and not always palatable to some critics and readers, but that doesnt stop him from trying; and the results are writerly books that demand interactivity from the reader to help create a narrative that integrates form and content in surprising new ways. Monicas students are proof that kids are capable and open to enjoying these surprises.
Barbara Tobin (barbarat at gse.upenn.edu)
PS: Yesterday in Philadelphia, famous for its Mural Arts program
(http://www.muralarts.org/ ), a crowd gathered for the dedication of a mural of John Coltrane, who moved to Philly after graduating from high school, and studied music and performed here early in his career. The giant mural features his portrait, his home, and an image of him playing his saxophone. What a great spot for a reading of Raschkas Giant Steps!
Received on Mon 21 Oct 2002 01:45:22 AM CDT
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 02:45:22 -0400
At the risk of us members of the Chris Raschka Fan Club taking over this discussion, Id like to make a comment about the risks Raschka takes as he explores new ways to tell different stories in different ways. The way he blurs the boundaries between music, text, and illustration seems to me to parallel what is happening with the structural innovation in young adult literature lately. Raschkas rhythmic experiments in creating a vibrant synergy of words, pictures, colors, sounds- all seamlessly blended into one (Dresang, 1999), are as much a pushing of the limits of the printed page as some of the structurally ambitious novels for older readers that we are seeing, by authors like Aidan Chambers, Chris Lynch, and Paul Fleischman.
Lauren Adams, a member of this years Printz Award Committee, has an interesting article about this in this months Horn Book, called
Disorderly Fiction (p. 521R8). She cites examples of contemporary authors who use, not always successfully, a variety of techniques
(including placement of type, second person narration, drawings, and footnotes) to try to convey simultaneously occurring thoughts and dialogue, and the near impossible task of reproducing thought with written words.
What Raschka tries to do with his jazz riff picture books is also near impossible, and not always palatable to some critics and readers, but that doesnt stop him from trying; and the results are writerly books that demand interactivity from the reader to help create a narrative that integrates form and content in surprising new ways. Monicas students are proof that kids are capable and open to enjoying these surprises.
Barbara Tobin (barbarat at gse.upenn.edu)
PS: Yesterday in Philadelphia, famous for its Mural Arts program
(http://www.muralarts.org/ ), a crowd gathered for the dedication of a mural of John Coltrane, who moved to Philly after graduating from high school, and studied music and performed here early in his career. The giant mural features his portrait, his home, and an image of him playing his saxophone. What a great spot for a reading of Raschkas Giant Steps!
Received on Mon 21 Oct 2002 01:45:22 AM CDT
