From: Beth Wright <bethlibrarian>
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:00:06 -0800 (PST)

When I'm recommending books to patrons in my public library, I keep in mind a mental list of books whose religious themes are subtle enough that readers need not be aware of them in order to enjoy the stories. C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy are my favorite examples of this kind of book. They work so well as adventure-filled fantasies that young readers don't need to understand, or even to see, their connections with Christian theology.

I've talked about this with parents who are not personally familiar with the Narnia books, but who are reluctant for their children to read them because they've heard the books have "all that Christian stuff" in them and think the novels are bound to be preachy or proselytizing. I find myself explaining that the religious themes are not overt, and that readers can enjoy the books without ever once considering religion. Interestingly, I've never had this kind of conversation with parents about the Pullman books. I'm not sure if this is because the religious overtones of the Pullman books are so clearly NOT advocating for religion (far from it, in fact), or because these overtones haven't hit the public radar yet, or because the books are for older and thus maybe, in their parents' eyes, less impressionable readers.

I know it's very late in the month to be wondering aloud about these things, so if anyone wants to email me directly with their thoughts, please do so:

bethlibrarian at yahoo.com

Beth Wright Youth Services Librarian Fletcher Free Library Burlington, Vermont



        
                
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Received on Mon 29 Nov 2004 01:00:06 PM CST