Books: Kids' Lit? Yes/No: Discuss
{ Books & Learning }
June 4, 2008
Confession time.
When I was a child, I loved children’s fantasy, especially mid-century British stuff. Couldn’t get enough of C.S. Lewis and other writers that are less trendy these days.
But the more popular kids’ books become with the near-menopausal, the more movies and spin-offs and mania there is, the less I can stand them now that I am a nominal grownup.
I cannot figure out whether this is:
a) An honest growing out of the genre. Perhaps children’s books are not coy enough for me, or
b) My own condescending need to disdain anything popular.
Thoughts? (Be gentle here if you’re voting for choice B…I may have an affectation, but I’m still sensitive).
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just who are you calling the near menopausal here? you’re younger than me. (yes, i have my own sensitive spots.)
ok, this is a subject close to my heart. if you look at my librarything booklist it is hard to miss the glut of children’s lit/middle reader junk i have listed. i really enjoy the category and more than a few of my favorite books of all time are in this genre. plus, i have the perfect beard in the person of my offspring. so, i can read pretty much whatever i want without feeling the least bit self conscious.
that said, with one notable exception in Diana Wynne Jones’ fine novels “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “Castle in the Air” i haven’t read anything “mass market” for middle readers that i would pass on to my child that was published since about 1987.
i mean, the harry potter series was tolerable, at first. it went into the toilet the more acclaim and attention it garnered. the “his dark materials” series was too esoteric and preachy for me (and this comes from someone who reads “A Swiftly Tilting Planet” annually just on principle) and though i am pretty curious about lemony snicket, i havent quite mustered the courage. maybe i’ll be pleasantly surprised.
i think there is still a rich vein of children’s lit out there, but i’m not so sure it has been published recently. personally, i think most authors pander to children to a degree i find insulting and this tends to be the primary problem with the genre of late. i think that really good books require effort, no matter to what audience they are addressed, and that the notion of making their readers WORK a little scares many authors out of crafting stories that will be rewarding and have some depth. rather they seem to produce distracting tripe which might then be peddled via other media-ums.
children, all people really, will rise to the expectations we set for them. and this is one area i think shows the recent trend away from challenging each other for more. and unchallenging art is virtually never rewarding.
I think Autumn correctly identified my distaste for a good deal of children’s literature of recent years … the writing seems too scripted, unimaginative and predictable. I long for more complex, realistic characters that challenge the reader.
I read most everything my kids read and it’s interesting to see that as their reading ability has grown, they seek out more challenging books on their own and reject the cookie-cutter plotlines of more popular kids’ books without my direction. They’ve started to really be able to define their tastes in literature.