CCBC-Net Archives
Books U.S. Teenagers Still Don't Have a Chance to Read
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From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 15:12:57 -0500
It's so good to hear from Lee and M.E. and Norma Jean and all others who know from the inside how complex the publishing and bookselling world is and can be.
It's good to remember the high editorial standards set by Ursula Nordstrom and Charlotte Zolotow. They published some of the edgiest and finest works during their decades of responsibility.
By the way, if you've never had a chance to the book "Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom" edited by Leonard S. Marcus (HarperCollins, 1998) , you'll find it to be compelling reading. It right into the CCBC-Net theme "How Far Is Too Far?" in many respects, as well. If you're extremely interested, you can find a lively CCBC-Net discussion of "Dear Genius" in the CCBC-Net archives (August, 1998 - I think).
I wonder what these editors would have said about publishing two highly praised Y.A. novels published in the U.K. but unable - to date - to find U.S. publishers:
"Divided City" by the Scottish writer Theresa Breslin and "A Little Piece of Ground" by Elizabeth Laird, an author from England.
"Divided City" is set in Glasgow in the month of May when the Orange Walks have begun. A teenager from a traditional Protestant family by chance becomes caught up in politics when a young Muslim asylum seeker becomes part of what began as an ordinary day. "A Little Piece of Ground" involves a young Palestinian teenager facing with daily life under Israeli occupation. Both novels involve kids needing to make moral choices based upon the politics of the world stage, so to speak. Why aren't these novels available in our nation for our teenagers to read?
I have my own theory. Adults in the U.S. seem to be flocking to libraries and bookstores to read "Persepolis" by Marjane Saprati (formerly of Iran) - about which Megan wrote earlier today - and "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (formerly of Afghanistan). Why? Because many U.S. adults know that we "don't know." We long for closer looks at what's happening to real people in other parts of the world, as well as to people we see every day.
Kids don't realize what they don't know. They can become more aware, more finely tuned to more than world music and international celebrities in entertainment and athletics. One way is through authentic experiences with the film and book literature. Can books such as "The Divided City" and "A Little Piece of Ground" become part of what they experience through literature? Who are today's editors with the vision and the support to publish these and other such possibly edgy books? Do such books go "too far?" How far is too far in today's global village?
Perhaps some in the CCBC-Net community who live in Canada, or Australia, or England, or elsewhere will want to comment. You've been quiet while with considerable civility we've been waging our own version of the cultural civil war now raging in the U.S... and others, too?
Peace, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at education.wisc.edu
Received on Thu 23 Jun 2005 03:12:57 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 15:12:57 -0500
It's so good to hear from Lee and M.E. and Norma Jean and all others who know from the inside how complex the publishing and bookselling world is and can be.
It's good to remember the high editorial standards set by Ursula Nordstrom and Charlotte Zolotow. They published some of the edgiest and finest works during their decades of responsibility.
By the way, if you've never had a chance to the book "Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom" edited by Leonard S. Marcus (HarperCollins, 1998) , you'll find it to be compelling reading. It right into the CCBC-Net theme "How Far Is Too Far?" in many respects, as well. If you're extremely interested, you can find a lively CCBC-Net discussion of "Dear Genius" in the CCBC-Net archives (August, 1998 - I think).
I wonder what these editors would have said about publishing two highly praised Y.A. novels published in the U.K. but unable - to date - to find U.S. publishers:
"Divided City" by the Scottish writer Theresa Breslin and "A Little Piece of Ground" by Elizabeth Laird, an author from England.
"Divided City" is set in Glasgow in the month of May when the Orange Walks have begun. A teenager from a traditional Protestant family by chance becomes caught up in politics when a young Muslim asylum seeker becomes part of what began as an ordinary day. "A Little Piece of Ground" involves a young Palestinian teenager facing with daily life under Israeli occupation. Both novels involve kids needing to make moral choices based upon the politics of the world stage, so to speak. Why aren't these novels available in our nation for our teenagers to read?
I have my own theory. Adults in the U.S. seem to be flocking to libraries and bookstores to read "Persepolis" by Marjane Saprati (formerly of Iran) - about which Megan wrote earlier today - and "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (formerly of Afghanistan). Why? Because many U.S. adults know that we "don't know." We long for closer looks at what's happening to real people in other parts of the world, as well as to people we see every day.
Kids don't realize what they don't know. They can become more aware, more finely tuned to more than world music and international celebrities in entertainment and athletics. One way is through authentic experiences with the film and book literature. Can books such as "The Divided City" and "A Little Piece of Ground" become part of what they experience through literature? Who are today's editors with the vision and the support to publish these and other such possibly edgy books? Do such books go "too far?" How far is too far in today's global village?
Perhaps some in the CCBC-Net community who live in Canada, or Australia, or England, or elsewhere will want to comment. You've been quiet while with considerable civility we've been waging our own version of the cultural civil war now raging in the U.S... and others, too?
Peace, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at education.wisc.edu
Received on Thu 23 Jun 2005 03:12:57 PM CDT
