I wanted to do a post today about something we've been studying in one particular module: Literature and it's Readers. This term is about children's literature, and how children's reading skills develop. For the past couple of lectures we've been learning about, amongst other things, what makes a classic children's book. What is it that causes certain books: The Hobbit, Charlotte's Web, The Railway Children, The Chronicles of Narnia and many others, to bridge generation gaps. What is it about these books that means your Granny read them, and your grandkids probably will too. Obviously, just because it is a classic, it doesn't mean you'll love it. Swallows and Amazons is a classic children's book. I tried reading it last year and found it very dull. I gave up (for now...one day I'll finish it, as it's on the BBC top 100 reads list I want to complete. Curse it's spine and bindings.) And it doesn't mean that just because it's a classic, it is never reappraised, or edited through the years. Of course they are. A famous example being Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree series.
Spot the old edition!
No longer do Dick and Fanny climb into magical lands with their neutrally named family members. Various edits for now, seemed to have settled on Rick and Frannie as the least offensive alternatives. Apart from little name changes, edits are often made to change offensive political, racial, or gendered elements. But the question I was faced with, was essentially, even after we have to edit them as the years go by, how do these books stand the test of time. It is most simply boiled down to a few bullet points.
1. An element of timelessness. If you set the story in a time frame anywhere but the present, it's less likely to date.
2. Characterisation
3. Literary Style
4. Imagination
5. Theme
6. Dramatic episodes Kids like to be scared (to a point). It's exciting!
7. Humorous episodes. They also love to laugh. Anything weird is hilarious if you're six.
But the more important thing I wanted to talk about here is the concept of Modern children's classics. Which authors, who've been writing more recently, do we think will live on through their literature. This is partially a matter of opinion. But sometimes fairly obvious. We were asked to bring to our lecture, a modern children's book that we believed had the makings of a children's classic. Half the class, myself included, brought in a Roald Dahl book. Dahl, to me, is classic children's literature in the making for sure. Our generation loved him as children, and when I was volunteering at a primary school last year, kids still love him just as much. Wondercrump, as the BFG would say.
Dahl: Modern Classic Material
But what else made the cut? We were split into groups of about three and asked to pick five books or authors we thought would make modern classics, ignoring Harry Potter and The Hunger Games. Here's what we settled on, in no particular order:
His Dark Materials Trilogy - Philip Pullman
The Jolly Pocket Postman - Janet Ahlberg
Jacqueline Wilson
Dick King Smith (Not to be confused with Rick King Smith...)
We're going on a Bear Hunt - Michael Rosen
Other suggestions included Meg and Mog, The Mr Men/Little Miss books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Gruffalo . And a load more that would take me forever to type. Who knows which of these books will still be read in the future. We could take a really bleak look at this and say that books won't exist in two hundred years (or maybe humans won't), so it doesn't matter. But the curious book worm inside me hopes some of these are still being enjoyed in 2214.
For now I'm off to finish Treasure Island, after a recommendation.
Over and out.
