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From: Linnea Hendrickson <lhendr>
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 22:29:56 -0600
Two books, both about school:
The recent Australian Book of the Year for Older Readers (I hope I have that right), Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta is certainly about transitions as this sixteen-year old moves to a formerly all-boys school in her junior year and her mother suffers a nervous breakdown.
On a very different level, Jack the Wolf, by Yvonne Jagtenberg
(translated from Dutch) shows Jack's experiences on his first day of school. The reviews criticized the book for its ambiguity, but I found the ambiguity refreshing and intriguing and probably closer to the actual mindset of many 5 year-olds than more cheerful and straightforward tales. I think this book, which I'm sad but not surprised to see remaindered, would be a great one for discussion, and I could see it being the kind of book that some children would love, partly because of the ambiguity that allows them to form their own interpretations and make the story theirs.
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 22:29:56 -0600
Two books, both about school:
The recent Australian Book of the Year for Older Readers (I hope I have that right), Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta is certainly about transitions as this sixteen-year old moves to a formerly all-boys school in her junior year and her mother suffers a nervous breakdown.
On a very different level, Jack the Wolf, by Yvonne Jagtenberg
(translated from Dutch) shows Jack's experiences on his first day of school. The reviews criticized the book for its ambiguity, but I found the ambiguity refreshing and intriguing and probably closer to the actual mindset of many 5 year-olds than more cheerful and straightforward tales. I think this book, which I'm sad but not surprised to see remaindered, would be a great one for discussion, and I could see it being the kind of book that some children would love, partly because of the ambiguity that allows them to form their own interpretations and make the story theirs.
-- Linnea Linnea Hendrickson Albuquerque, NM Lhendr at some.place http://www.unm.edu/~lhendrReceived on Tue 14 Sep 2004 11:29:56 PM CDT
