Author Archives: hblunschi1@gsu.edu

The Comfort of Darkness

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Lisa Rowe Fraustino claims that children’s fiction has been dark for some time now, going as far back and further than Robert Cormier’s novels like The Chocolate War and I Am the Cheese, as well as works such as “The Outsiders” that came out somewhat earlier. The most successful and enduring works written for young adults are and have historically been fairly dark. The popularity of the dystopian novel in particular is due, at least thematically, to the desire create a dark shadow that exacerbates the problems that are apparent in our contemporary lives. Fraustino feels that the ultimate goal of this kind of dystopic fiction is to allow us to follow the protagonist that “makes us feel hope for humankind,” and to fight that force that creates jadedness and provide it with a kind of mascot for individuality and hopefulness.

I think Fraustino has a point, especially in regards to how readers feel about these heroic figures. There’s something incredibly fascinating and relatable about the character that stands up and fights in the face of something like a dystopia. I would go so far as to say that readers, even full aware of the unpleasantness and unhappiness in their fight, want to be those kinds of characters. It’s nice to have something to be willing to fight and die for.

I think Fraustino’s point about the desire to follow the individual is most relevant to The Giver. I remember reading the book when I was in middle school, and that was what I remembered the most. I remember looking at Jonas and being pleased about the actions he’d taken to do what he felt he must do. My favorite part of the book has always been when Jonas makes the decision to no longer take his Stirrings pills and throws them away. This moment was always incredibly significant for me, especially as a young reader. It’s really one of the few things we see Jonas do that’s truly for himself and no one else. He’s not trying to save someone or make a positive change for The Community, he just likes the way he feels without them. It’s that kind of action that’s so effective at endearing these characters to readers.

 

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where-the-wild-things-are-book

In my mind, Where the Wild Things Are is easily one of the greatest picture books ever published, and it meant a lot to me as a kid. The book had a special kind of understanding of children that other books just didn’t have, and it was willing to treat its readers as actual human beings, flaws and raw emotion included. Where the Wild Things Are saw a great deal of difficulty in initial publication due to its content, and I’m almost surprised it won the Caldecott when it did. I’m curious to see how well it fits the criteria put forth at the time.

Earliest Reading Memories

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It’s difficult to pinpoint the first memories I have of reading a book or even having a book read to me directly, and it’s probably more correct to say that I have a nebulous chunk of memories all involving my earliest reading experiences. With that in mind, it’s hard to say anything that involves concrete facts. What I do remember is my earliest feelings about the things I read and the emotional attachment I built around those first books. Most of the books I read early on I think I likely have more attachment to in terms of the situations surrounding them, but the earliest book I remember being read to me was Where the Wild Things Are.

I’m more than certain that other books were read to me before this and that I tried my hand at reading other books myself, but I think those memories stick out the most in my head because they were the first times that I felt a book really resonated with me and made me feel something personal. On a purely surface level, it was visually interesting, different than other picture books. The art was textured and colorful, but was understandable and filled the pages.

In terms of content, I think Where the Wild Things Are stood out because it wasn’t afraid to address the actual feelings of children. Its protagonist was a child who seemed to have actual feelings, and not always of the positive variety. It felt genuine, like it was willing to give children their own agency and self-knowledge. Many of the books that were popular for parents to read for children like the The Berenstain Bears didn’t seem to have that level of understanding and instead came across as being written to children instead of for them.