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War in books for children
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From: fran manushkin <franm>
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 11:21:14 -0500
The Fall 2002 issue of LILITH magazine had an article entitled, HOW BOOKS TELL THE BAD NEWS TO CHILDREN.They asked many writers to paricipate in a forum about this subject, ncluding Leslea Newman, Sandy Sasso, Gail Carson Levine, Esther Hautzig, Jane Yolen, Julius Lester, and Joanna Hurwitz. I was also asked to contribute my thoughts, and here's what I wrote:
Last year when I was teaching children's book writing in Tirana, Albania, a writer from Kosovo asked me how I would deal with war in a picture book. I replied that I wouldn't deal with it. I think children under stress need stories that emphasize close family relationships, stories with humor, and with characters who exercise some control over their lives. We cannot protect children from reality, but we can certainly give them stories that offer hope and comfort. Indeed, my Albanian students responded with the greatest enthusiasm to such classic stories of reassurance as GOODNIGHT, MOON and THE RUNAWAY BUNNY. Books can be a haven for children, and for the youngest child, I think that is one of their greatest functions. Fran
http:www.franmanushkin.com
Received on Tue 18 Mar 2003 10:21:14 AM CST
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 11:21:14 -0500
The Fall 2002 issue of LILITH magazine had an article entitled, HOW BOOKS TELL THE BAD NEWS TO CHILDREN.They asked many writers to paricipate in a forum about this subject, ncluding Leslea Newman, Sandy Sasso, Gail Carson Levine, Esther Hautzig, Jane Yolen, Julius Lester, and Joanna Hurwitz. I was also asked to contribute my thoughts, and here's what I wrote:
Last year when I was teaching children's book writing in Tirana, Albania, a writer from Kosovo asked me how I would deal with war in a picture book. I replied that I wouldn't deal with it. I think children under stress need stories that emphasize close family relationships, stories with humor, and with characters who exercise some control over their lives. We cannot protect children from reality, but we can certainly give them stories that offer hope and comfort. Indeed, my Albanian students responded with the greatest enthusiasm to such classic stories of reassurance as GOODNIGHT, MOON and THE RUNAWAY BUNNY. Books can be a haven for children, and for the youngest child, I think that is one of their greatest functions. Fran
http:www.franmanushkin.com
Received on Tue 18 Mar 2003 10:21:14 AM CST
