Must we create another oppressed group?
Children need literature to read, to enjoy; to grow in and with. How can Children's and Young Adult literature be seen as less--lesser? These groupings of books or genres are not focused for those who would criticize them. Children's and Young Adult books, their topics, point of views, format, and style are meant for children and young adults and not exactly for other age and maturity groups. And yet, these various works of art are exactly that. These are the tools in which we craft the mental progression of the young we have bared. Why would we consider such important tools as lesser? Is it that our children are lesser? Do they not have the potential for higher education and must stick to the lesser? How can we press to oppress them on the basis of illustrations and wonderful fables, that teach more moral than perhaps you ever could?
Caldecott Medal winner for 2008: The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a current book which holds back nothing from the imagination and the conceptual birth of plot and characters. The book stetchs our youth in both spelling, vocabulary, and topics. Perfect for the budding mine.
Think before you speak...
Think before you speak less of things...
Perhaps you are approching irrelevance
and you're ideas are bankrupt.
KimC.
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Dear Kim,
ReplyDeleteI think you've hit on something really important here with your question about children being "lesser." In most cultures, children are an "oppressed" group. They are treated very differently from the ways we tend to treat "equals." This reality likely has something to do with the notion that books for children are less "valuable" than other kinds of published literature.
I appreciated the opportunity to read your thoughts here. I'll look forward to seeing other ideas that you share in your blog.
Best,
T. Emert
Kim, you have really hit the nail on the head with the idea that children's lit, however "simple" or "easy" it is to read, is still shaping kids' minds to be ready to become free-thinking, intelligent adults. Our attitudes towards them and what they read reflect how we encourage them to be as people. It is so important to recognize, as you have, that children's literature is artistic, creative, and can open their minds up to reading more and thinking more for themselves. Thinking of children's lit as lesser is truly oppressive as you have so nicely stated. Great thoughts, Kim.
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