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[CCBC-Net] Criss Cross
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From: Monica Edinger <monicaedinger>
Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 11:14:43 -0500
On 2/19/06, Beth Wright <bethlibrarian at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> So here is my question, and I apologize for asking it so
> late in the discussion, but it has taken me this long to
> formulate my thoughts: a lot of CCBC-Net subscribers, and
> a lot of other adults too, do LOVE this book. Is it
> because you love the craft and construction of this
> immensely innovative novel, or because the characters and
> their stories have moved you? I'm asking this partly
> because I'm wondering which young readers will love it: the
> smaller group who love truly unusual books, or the larger
> group who love books that engage their emotions from the
> first page? Or is it really a book for both groups, and
> I'm just missing something?
I LOVE (sorry, couldn't resist:) this question! The issue of what draws in a reader is such a compelling one. For me, CRISS CROSS, was emotionally engaging and I was very moved by the varying circumstances of the characters. Those very small, minute events felt emotionally packed for me! And so while I admire the craft and was charmed by the construction, it wouldn't have succeeded for me without the emotional impact I had with the characters' and their different small circumstances. In fact, WHITTINGTON, which is also admirable in terms of craft and construction did not move me. Whereas I was totally engaged with Debbie and Hector and the others of CRISS CROSS, Lady, Whittington, and the two children did not similarly engage me emotionally.
I often wonder what it is about how we read that draws us to certain books. How much is experience and how much temperament? Or how much is the expectations we bring to a book? Expecting something to happen in CRISS CROSS, I wonder if some readers become frustrated when "nothing" does.
I have been wondering about how I'd teach this book in a way that would help a group of young readers engage with it. One thought I had was to give them a selection of similar books --- books that do not have driving dramatic plot lines, books that need to be savored and enjoyed and explored for something else. So far I could see using Alice in Wonderland and certain books of Paul Fleischman. (Perhaps Whirligig, Bull Run, or Dateline Troy?) Are there others that might work? (A number of books with intriguingly postmodern constructions also have more identifiable plots so I'd rule them out. Or they are for much older readers --- Moby Dick, for example!)
Monica
Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 11:14:43 -0500
On 2/19/06, Beth Wright <bethlibrarian at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> So here is my question, and I apologize for asking it so
> late in the discussion, but it has taken me this long to
> formulate my thoughts: a lot of CCBC-Net subscribers, and
> a lot of other adults too, do LOVE this book. Is it
> because you love the craft and construction of this
> immensely innovative novel, or because the characters and
> their stories have moved you? I'm asking this partly
> because I'm wondering which young readers will love it: the
> smaller group who love truly unusual books, or the larger
> group who love books that engage their emotions from the
> first page? Or is it really a book for both groups, and
> I'm just missing something?
I LOVE (sorry, couldn't resist:) this question! The issue of what draws in a reader is such a compelling one. For me, CRISS CROSS, was emotionally engaging and I was very moved by the varying circumstances of the characters. Those very small, minute events felt emotionally packed for me! And so while I admire the craft and was charmed by the construction, it wouldn't have succeeded for me without the emotional impact I had with the characters' and their different small circumstances. In fact, WHITTINGTON, which is also admirable in terms of craft and construction did not move me. Whereas I was totally engaged with Debbie and Hector and the others of CRISS CROSS, Lady, Whittington, and the two children did not similarly engage me emotionally.
I often wonder what it is about how we read that draws us to certain books. How much is experience and how much temperament? Or how much is the expectations we bring to a book? Expecting something to happen in CRISS CROSS, I wonder if some readers become frustrated when "nothing" does.
I have been wondering about how I'd teach this book in a way that would help a group of young readers engage with it. One thought I had was to give them a selection of similar books --- books that do not have driving dramatic plot lines, books that need to be savored and enjoyed and explored for something else. So far I could see using Alice in Wonderland and certain books of Paul Fleischman. (Perhaps Whirligig, Bull Run, or Dateline Troy?) Are there others that might work? (A number of books with intriguingly postmodern constructions also have more identifiable plots so I'd rule them out. Or they are for much older readers --- Moby Dick, for example!)
Monica
-- Monica Edinger The Dalton School New York NY edinger at dalton.org monicaedinger at gmail.comReceived on Sun 19 Feb 2006 10:14:43 AM CST
