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[CCBC-Net] Harry Potter and levels
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From: Connie Rockman <connie.rock>
Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 17:48:02 -0400
Perhaps I am revealing my own intellectual shortcomings, but I find the Harry Potter books anything but simplistic and shallow. They may appear deceptively simple on the surface, but I feel they are growing increasingly complex and nuanced. They stand up to multiple readings, and just holding all those details, plot threads, and characters together is an astounding bit of work, in addition to all the subtle learning about relationships, family, prejudice, and character growth.
Recently, I had the pleasure of re-reading the entire Prydain series of Lloyd Alexander. The series will soon be reissued and repackaged in new paperback editions. It was interesting to revisit books I loved on first reading (30 years ago) and read aloud with my own children. Compared to the Potter books, they are not as lengthy or as complicated in plot, but what both series have in common - and what is lacking in much fantasy, I think - is humor. I believe that is a key ingredient that has made the Potter books so popular - with all ages - and is a good reason to remind today's kids about the Alexander books. Even though I knew how the series would end, in the last chapter of The High King, I found myself in tears, at my advanced and jaded age - that's special! The new editions contain pronunciation guides for all those tongue-twisting Welsh names.
The time frame when kids take to these various fantasies can vary widely from child to child. I remember a girl in an upper-elementary reading club I was running when HP started taking off. She steadfastly refused to read them, had no interest, and couldn't be convinced otherwise when she was 10-12 years old. I saw her recently, now a junior in high school, and has just started reading HP, is careening through the series, can't get enough of it, and insists on owning all six volumes.
Someone in an earlier post mentioned the Dark is Rising sequence as
'boring' to kids - but that hasn't been my experience. My son has a winter solstice birthday (Dec. 21) and read The Dark during the season when he was turning 11, as Will does in that story. It was a galvanizing experience for him, he loved every page of each of the 5 books, and has been a science fiction/fantasy reader ever since (he's now a 30-something physics teacher.)
There are no real guideposts for who will take to fantasy or when. Some will unfortunately miss it altogether. But for those who are able to give themselves to fantasy, I think there is no wiser truth than what Susan Cooper said in an article entitled "Escaping into Ourselves":
". . .We aren't escaping out, we're escaping in, without any idea of what we may encounter. Fantasy is the metaphor through which we discover ourselves." (Susan Cooper, Dreams and Wishes: Essays on Writing for Children, McElderry Books, 1996)
Connie Rockman
Received on Tue 09 May 2006 04:48:02 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 17:48:02 -0400
Perhaps I am revealing my own intellectual shortcomings, but I find the Harry Potter books anything but simplistic and shallow. They may appear deceptively simple on the surface, but I feel they are growing increasingly complex and nuanced. They stand up to multiple readings, and just holding all those details, plot threads, and characters together is an astounding bit of work, in addition to all the subtle learning about relationships, family, prejudice, and character growth.
Recently, I had the pleasure of re-reading the entire Prydain series of Lloyd Alexander. The series will soon be reissued and repackaged in new paperback editions. It was interesting to revisit books I loved on first reading (30 years ago) and read aloud with my own children. Compared to the Potter books, they are not as lengthy or as complicated in plot, but what both series have in common - and what is lacking in much fantasy, I think - is humor. I believe that is a key ingredient that has made the Potter books so popular - with all ages - and is a good reason to remind today's kids about the Alexander books. Even though I knew how the series would end, in the last chapter of The High King, I found myself in tears, at my advanced and jaded age - that's special! The new editions contain pronunciation guides for all those tongue-twisting Welsh names.
The time frame when kids take to these various fantasies can vary widely from child to child. I remember a girl in an upper-elementary reading club I was running when HP started taking off. She steadfastly refused to read them, had no interest, and couldn't be convinced otherwise when she was 10-12 years old. I saw her recently, now a junior in high school, and has just started reading HP, is careening through the series, can't get enough of it, and insists on owning all six volumes.
Someone in an earlier post mentioned the Dark is Rising sequence as
'boring' to kids - but that hasn't been my experience. My son has a winter solstice birthday (Dec. 21) and read The Dark during the season when he was turning 11, as Will does in that story. It was a galvanizing experience for him, he loved every page of each of the 5 books, and has been a science fiction/fantasy reader ever since (he's now a 30-something physics teacher.)
There are no real guideposts for who will take to fantasy or when. Some will unfortunately miss it altogether. But for those who are able to give themselves to fantasy, I think there is no wiser truth than what Susan Cooper said in an article entitled "Escaping into Ourselves":
". . .We aren't escaping out, we're escaping in, without any idea of what we may encounter. Fantasy is the metaphor through which we discover ourselves." (Susan Cooper, Dreams and Wishes: Essays on Writing for Children, McElderry Books, 1996)
Connie Rockman
Received on Tue 09 May 2006 04:48:02 PM CDT
