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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:08:22 -0500
For the first part of October we're looking at "More Scary Stories" for children on CCBC-Net, continuing a discussion we first had back in October 2005.
I believe that discussion began with mention of Neil Gaiman's novel "Coraline." And it's another Gaiman novel, "The Graveyard Book," that I'm thinking of right now.
Among the many things I appreciate about "The Graveyard Book" is the fact that it's the archetypically "scary" figures--the ghosts in the graveyard--that are in fact the loving, caring, nurturing--and often funny--figures in young Bod's life. The scariest character --and he's pretty ominous--is the killer, who is very rooted in the human world.
(As an aside, much like "Coraline" had a cover that I thought discourage readers who don't like scary stories from picking it up, I think the title of "The Graveyard Book" serves the same purpose. It allows kids to self-censor--or self-select in a more informed way.)
What are some of your favorite books for children* in which the intent was to create a frisson of fear in the reader?
Additionally--or alternatively--what experiences have you had (or had with child readers) in which a book that you weren't expecting to be scary or upsetting had that effect? Was there a single scene or element in an otherwise, or seemingly, innocuous story that had a surprising effect?
For ease of following the discussion, please label your subject line if it will follow one particular strand, e.g., : More Scary Stories vs. Unexpectedly Scary (Disturbing, Upsetting, etc.)
Megan
*we'll look at young adult literature the second half of the month
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Tue 04 Oct 2011 10:08:22 AM CDT
Date: Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:08:22 -0500
For the first part of October we're looking at "More Scary Stories" for children on CCBC-Net, continuing a discussion we first had back in October 2005.
I believe that discussion began with mention of Neil Gaiman's novel "Coraline." And it's another Gaiman novel, "The Graveyard Book," that I'm thinking of right now.
Among the many things I appreciate about "The Graveyard Book" is the fact that it's the archetypically "scary" figures--the ghosts in the graveyard--that are in fact the loving, caring, nurturing--and often funny--figures in young Bod's life. The scariest character --and he's pretty ominous--is the killer, who is very rooted in the human world.
(As an aside, much like "Coraline" had a cover that I thought discourage readers who don't like scary stories from picking it up, I think the title of "The Graveyard Book" serves the same purpose. It allows kids to self-censor--or self-select in a more informed way.)
What are some of your favorite books for children* in which the intent was to create a frisson of fear in the reader?
Additionally--or alternatively--what experiences have you had (or had with child readers) in which a book that you weren't expecting to be scary or upsetting had that effect? Was there a single scene or element in an otherwise, or seemingly, innocuous story that had a surprising effect?
For ease of following the discussion, please label your subject line if it will follow one particular strand, e.g., : More Scary Stories vs. Unexpectedly Scary (Disturbing, Upsetting, etc.)
Megan
*we'll look at young adult literature the second half of the month
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Tue 04 Oct 2011 10:08:22 AM CDT
