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[CCBC-Net] reading to escape or cope
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From: Killeen, Erlene <Erlene.Killeen>
Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:34:55 -0400
In reply to the current discussion and particularly Monica's point about Harry Potter -- Isn't that what fairy tales and folklore do for children
(and all of us) as well? Who isn't thrilled when Hansel & Gretel outwit the witch or when Cinderella's goodness is rewarded?
Good stories give us a world that we can live in for the moments and compare, contrast to our own lives. They help us cope with whatever! Being a reader in a small Midwestern town as a child saved me from isolation, boredom, and loneliness. I could travel the world, have a variety of friends, and experience life beyond my community. I was able to think "great ideas" and get to know famous people. Those stories helped me cope with times of despair, awkwardness, and melancholy. They kept me dreaming and hoping for a better world. All children need that!
The escapist literature from my youth still draws young readers -- Pippi Longstocking, the Little House series, The Secret Garden, The Box Car Children, Alice in Wonderland, National Velvet, and many others! Read on! Erlene
"I've always credited the current popularity of fantasy to Harry Potter, but am now wondering if 9/11 isn't a factor too. The best fantasy novels deal with the most significant issues of life --- what is good, what is evil, and what to do about it. I've always felt that one reason the genre is appealing to young readers is that far from being escapist, its authors create compelling environments in which the same huge issues that we are dealing with daily in real life are being considered, grappled with, and won over. In these works, it is pluck, intelligence, verve, self-sacrifice, and other realistic human behaviors not magic that really matter." Monica
Erlene Bishop Killeen Instructional Systems Specialist Library and Media Dept. of Defense Education Agency 4040 Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203 703-588-3132
"Nothing is ever achieved without enthusiasm." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Received on Tue 12 Sep 2006 04:34:55 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:34:55 -0400
In reply to the current discussion and particularly Monica's point about Harry Potter -- Isn't that what fairy tales and folklore do for children
(and all of us) as well? Who isn't thrilled when Hansel & Gretel outwit the witch or when Cinderella's goodness is rewarded?
Good stories give us a world that we can live in for the moments and compare, contrast to our own lives. They help us cope with whatever! Being a reader in a small Midwestern town as a child saved me from isolation, boredom, and loneliness. I could travel the world, have a variety of friends, and experience life beyond my community. I was able to think "great ideas" and get to know famous people. Those stories helped me cope with times of despair, awkwardness, and melancholy. They kept me dreaming and hoping for a better world. All children need that!
The escapist literature from my youth still draws young readers -- Pippi Longstocking, the Little House series, The Secret Garden, The Box Car Children, Alice in Wonderland, National Velvet, and many others! Read on! Erlene
"I've always credited the current popularity of fantasy to Harry Potter, but am now wondering if 9/11 isn't a factor too. The best fantasy novels deal with the most significant issues of life --- what is good, what is evil, and what to do about it. I've always felt that one reason the genre is appealing to young readers is that far from being escapist, its authors create compelling environments in which the same huge issues that we are dealing with daily in real life are being considered, grappled with, and won over. In these works, it is pluck, intelligence, verve, self-sacrifice, and other realistic human behaviors not magic that really matter." Monica
Erlene Bishop Killeen Instructional Systems Specialist Library and Media Dept. of Defense Education Agency 4040 Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203 703-588-3132
"Nothing is ever achieved without enthusiasm." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Received on Tue 12 Sep 2006 04:34:55 PM CDT
