From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman>
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 16:10:21 -0500

Today let's begin our discussion for the second part of August: Of Orphans, Abandonment and Children and Teens on Their Own

Plots involving abandoned or orphaned children are almost as old as children's fiction itself. Whether child characters have been literally orphaned, physically or emotionally abandoned, or temporarily removed from adult supervision, the plot of children on their own is an archetype that has been explored over and over again.

Among the questions we are curious about: what are there ways the archetype plays out differently between literature for children and literature for teens? Or from country to country? What about across genres? Do books like Harry Potter, or the books of Roald Dahl or Lemony Snicket, have anything in common with the realistic fiction in books such as Cynthia Voigt's stories about the Tillerman family ?

And, of course, why is this such a rich theme for children's and young adult authors to explore? What is it that resonates so deeply for child and young adult readers? Does it speak to their greatest fears? Their greatest fantasies? Both?

Megan

Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, UW-Madison 600 N. Park St., Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706

ph: 608-262-9503 fax: 608-262-4933 schliesman at education.wisc.edu
Received on Wed 17 Aug 2005 04:10:21 PM CDT