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[CCBC-Net] changes to originals
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From: Cammie L. Backus <clbackus>
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 09:28:42 -0400
As an adult, I find it disconcerting to purchase a childhood favorite only to find that the details have changed. I would love to learn more about what changes have been made to the Ramona series, if anyone cares to elaborate. I do recall reading an interview with Cleary in which she stated that in one scene, she added a reference to DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time, since it was a huge part of her readers' daily lives.
I have very mixed feelings about textual revisions. While I understand the desire to keep literature fresh and relevant for young readers, I believe that children can learn about recent past history by reading the original texts of these books. Generally, publishers now seem less willing to believe that children can stretch their imagination and rise to the challenge of understanding unfamiliar events, words, etc.
My question is: Where do revisions stop? Should we axe the discussion of sanitary napkin belts in "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret" because girls now won't know what they are? For me, that phrase prompted me to talk to my mother, which in turn led to a discussion of how attitudes toward menstruation have changed over the decades.
On the other hand, artistic revisions to the cover do not bother me, unless they clearly run counter to text of the story (changing the color of a character's hair, etc.) I can understand craving the familiar version, as I had a recent set of the Chronicles of Narnia but spotted the ones with "old" covers in a used bookstore and bought them, despite the fact that the artwork is not great--it's simply that they were just like the set I had as a kid.
Cammie Backus
Received on Fri 21 Jul 2006 08:28:42 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 09:28:42 -0400
As an adult, I find it disconcerting to purchase a childhood favorite only to find that the details have changed. I would love to learn more about what changes have been made to the Ramona series, if anyone cares to elaborate. I do recall reading an interview with Cleary in which she stated that in one scene, she added a reference to DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time, since it was a huge part of her readers' daily lives.
I have very mixed feelings about textual revisions. While I understand the desire to keep literature fresh and relevant for young readers, I believe that children can learn about recent past history by reading the original texts of these books. Generally, publishers now seem less willing to believe that children can stretch their imagination and rise to the challenge of understanding unfamiliar events, words, etc.
My question is: Where do revisions stop? Should we axe the discussion of sanitary napkin belts in "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret" because girls now won't know what they are? For me, that phrase prompted me to talk to my mother, which in turn led to a discussion of how attitudes toward menstruation have changed over the decades.
On the other hand, artistic revisions to the cover do not bother me, unless they clearly run counter to text of the story (changing the color of a character's hair, etc.) I can understand craving the familiar version, as I had a recent set of the Chronicles of Narnia but spotted the ones with "old" covers in a used bookstore and bought them, despite the fact that the artwork is not great--it's simply that they were just like the set I had as a kid.
Cammie Backus
Received on Fri 21 Jul 2006 08:28:42 AM CDT
