tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post5688418291683452077..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: Why children’s books are the opposite of tragedies - C.J. BusbyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-58471353937288610262014-05-07T19:17:21.621+01:002014-05-07T19:17:21.621+01:00What a fascinating post. It isn't only transfo...What a fascinating post. It isn't only transformational stories either (The boy who became more motif). The Famous Five and the Narnia books have the same formula without transforming their protagonists.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09799125598133377058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-37127828007750612722014-05-07T09:09:09.746+01:002014-05-07T09:09:09.746+01:00Well said. It makes me think of the quote from Nei...Well said. It makes me think of the quote from Neil Gaiman via G. K. Chesterton (Chesterton said it first in a more roundabout way):<br /><br />"Fairytales don't teach children that monsters exist. Children already know that. Fairytales teach them that monsters can be killed."Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-6688401733154694272014-05-06T19:57:32.230+01:002014-05-06T19:57:32.230+01:00Lovely post - and I think we adults would do bette...Lovely post - and I think we adults would do better if we were like children - 'always becoming' as you put it so well.K.M.Lockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07540392557430776265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-77547373438758518282014-05-06T18:12:43.435+01:002014-05-06T18:12:43.435+01:00That feeling of hope at the end of children's ...That feeling of hope at the end of children's book is very important - to kids. A lot of the kids I know really cannot understand why an author has to kill of a charcter they've grown attached to. I still feel the same way now, maybe I never grew up! I've read some Teen/YA books recently, a couple in particular, both acclaimed, with horrible endings. It just made me, and my teen, wonder - why??Savita Kalhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07977368691995933130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-57412709189797044852014-05-06T15:27:29.776+01:002014-05-06T15:27:29.776+01:00Ah...have you read Adrian Mole as an adult? I nev...Ah...have you read Adrian Mole as an adult? I never "got it" as an adolescent, but as an adult I find Adrian hilarious. I think I understand much more about the context, though, and maybe it is more of an adult book. But it was certainly first published as a juvenile.<br />Emma Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02718171070716804800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-70339161641635761222014-05-06T12:20:16.412+01:002014-05-06T12:20:16.412+01:00That's a good point, Emma. I KNEW someone woul...That's a good point, Emma. I KNEW someone would come up with an exception almost immediately! But I do think that with William and Jennings part of the fun for children reading them (as opposed to more knowing adults) is that despite the fact that their grand plans often end in being caught and grounded, they have big dreams, and the stories always hold out the hope that somehow, one day, they will triumph over the teachers and the grown-ups! I'm not so sure about Adrian Mole - I never liked it, and really hate Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Are they more adult-oriented books? Certainly Adrian Mole seemed to appeal to teenagers more at the time they came out - but I'm truly stumped with the appeal of Wimpy Kid.<br /> C.J.Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12288574235370421625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-68320864307031648102014-05-06T10:08:18.157+01:002014-05-06T10:08:18.157+01:00Welcome to ABBA, C.J! What a fascinating post. I...Welcome to ABBA, C.J! What a fascinating post. I'm thinking thought that there is a strain of children's humour that is an exception to this: we laugh at Just William, Jennings, Ordinary Jack, Adrian Mole and maybe now the Diary of a Wimpy Kid because we see how ordinary they are, and know that their aspirations are often pipe-dreams. Adrian Mole is not going to be a poet and intellectual, and we wouldn't like him so much if he were.Emma Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02718171070716804800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-27757208712402081632014-05-06T09:55:12.946+01:002014-05-06T09:55:12.946+01:00I would agree with this, absolutely. There must be...I would agree with this, absolutely. There must be hope in children's literature, if only by virtue of the fact that children are characterised by having a future in which new and unexpected things can happen. I don't think tragedies can't be transformative for the audience, but children's literature is definitely a type of literature that is all about latency, potential and change.Clémentine Beauvaishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03115567199751033932noreply@blogger.com