The Golden Compass

          The Golden Compass is suppose to be Philip Pullman's response to C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  Both novels have many similarities and if one knows what to look for it is somewhat obvious that Pullman is mocking Lewis in his in-depth novel The Golden Compass.  Both novel's have a main character that is a female protagonist.  In Pullman's case it's Lyra.  Her story is similar to the children in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  Like them, she has been placed in the care of people other than her parents.  Both stories also have settings that involve an element of spiritualism.  With Lucy, she found the entrance to Narnia in the back of a wardrobe.  In The Golden Compass, Lyra finds nothing in the wardrobe she is hiding in.  It is a plain wardrobe. 
          The beginning of this book actually reminded me of Harriet the Spy.  Lyra is hiding in a wardrobe and spying on the meeting that her uncle is the main speaker for.  He has asked her to watch the face of the Master, who ironically has attempted to kill him in order to protect Lyra from her fate.  It is when children begin disappearing in the novel that a stark comparison between the White Witch and the Gobblers can be made.  She was turning citizens of Narnia to stone and the Gobblers were kidnapping children.
          The spiritual elements of each story are interesting also.  Lewis subtly places religious themes and ideas throughout his novel, it is only as an adult that one finds the abundance of religious text.  It seems from the first page of The Golden Compass Pullman is forcing the reader to acknowledge it.  The human characters all have daemons and it is the children who's daemons are seduced that disappear.  Pullman's attempt to make his opinion of C.S. Lewis's work apparent was successful.              

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

          The Chronicles of Narnia are a set of seven books.  My Mom bought me this set when I was in third grade, from the Scholastic book order form that was given to the class each month. From the book set, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the only book I picked up to read.  As soon as I reached chapter two I put the book down and never bothered with it again until last week.  This book is written for a child.  It has a simple plot, there is no advanced language, the sentence structure is simplistic, and there are many fictional, mystical characters.  
          This book struck me as very religious in its underlying tone.  It actually reminded me of a parody on South Park, which I had thought was a joke.  The parody suggested that Aslan was a Jesus allegory.  It was when he rose from the dead in the book that I began to take the parody seriously.  Shortly after that scene Aslan continued to portray and uphold specific mystical characteristics.  What I found interesting was that he was able to bring the statues back to life.  
          There was a feeling throughout this book that although there was a murder and war, that nothing bad would actually happen.  No children would be severely harmed, no good characters would die permanently, and there would be a happy ending.  This can especially be assumed because this book is only the second of seven.  The ending of this book was a little strange for me.  Mainly in the way the children had forgotten how they arrived in Narnia.  It was as if they had forgotten who they were because they couldn't remember their origins.  What raised questions for me was the way the professor handled their story.  Had he been there himself?  Is that how he knew they would not be able to get back through the same door? Or was he just humoring them?

They're Wild Things

          There is a reoccurring theme found in these children's stories and it brings up the question, "When did main characters in children's literature become such brats?"  Eloise is a spoiled brat that terrorizes the hotel she stays at.  There is no parental influence, or even one present.  She is raised by her nanny, the same way Harriet was raised by Ole Golly.  Eloise even makes similar observations about the people around her like Harriet did.  Eloise admits to lying, but unlike Harriet, her nanny doesn't advise her to.  It was interesting that Eloise charged everything to the room.  This might have something to do with the time period it was written, which was about the time major credit use first appeared in culture.  I was honestly surprised that Eloise was never kicked out of the hotel.
          Max in Where the Wild Things Are is also a brat.  He is punished and pouts, but he also uses his imagination in a way Eloise did not.  He travels to far away lands.  There he ends up punishing the wild things the same way his mother punished them.  It's interesting the way he sends the wild things to bed with no dinner.  He sees nothing wrong with the things he was doing at his house.  To him there was nothing wrong with torturing the dog, nailing things to the wall, and being "wild."  
          There appears to be some kind of commotion, or disruption, in all the stories.  In The Cat in the Hat the children are bored exactly how Eloise was bored in the hotel.  Instead of being trouble makers themselves they have help from the Cat in the Hat.  The Cat, Eloise, Thing 1, and Thing 2 are very similar.  They do not see their actions as wrong and they destroy everything around them.  The parents are also absent in The Cat in the Hat.  An interesting comparison found is that the Cat repeats everything in sets of three just as Eloise's nanny does.  The only difference is that the fish is an acting role model for the children dealing with The Cat in the Hat.   
   

Harriet the Spy

          What can be said about Harriet the Spy that has not been said about the previous novels?  They all feature a young girl as the main character, there's a family dynamic, at some point there is term oil that has to be dealt with, yet Harriet the Spy is different.  Could it be that her story takes place in the 20th Century?  Lerer said it best when he stated, "Life in such a world is life in the already-uttered, where no statement can be taken at face value and where success comes not just through strength or knowledge but through a streetwise, bullshitty wit" (306).
          Harriet relates more to Cassie Logan than any other characters we've read about.  She is independent and through her notebook, she is able to express her thoughts and ideas freely.  Harriet is not excluded from school bullies and the silent treatment, but it is through the advice of Ole Golly that she is able to move past it.  In fact, Ole Golly seems to be more of a mother to Harriet and understand her more that her own mother.  She is the person that is constantly giving Harriet advice and guiding her through life situations.  She knows what Harriet is going to say or do before she does it.  Old Golly reminded me of Mary Poppins.  She was the fantastic nanny that disappears, forcing the child to grow up and move from adolescence into another stage of their life, the more adult stage.
          Harriet's ability to deal with chaos and catastrophe is thanks to Ole Golly.  She advises her one last time to lie if you have too.  It seems that everything Harriet experiences throughout the book really is preparing her to be a better person and a spy.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

          Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a children's novel that shows the experiences a family living in Mississippi in 1933.  The young family owns their own land, much to their neighbor's dissatisfaction.  There are no racist subtleties in this book, it is out in the open and up front.  The night riders cruse the dirt roads of Mississippi terrorizing the African American citizens.  Mr. Granger seems to be the instigator and fuel for the racist environment that the community has to deal with.  While the Wallace's seem to be the ignorant red necks that always taking things one step too far.  The terror that the African American people have to live with during this time in United States history is unacceptable.
          How does a child understand the adult content that this book is saturated with?  This book was upsetting to me.  Throughout this book I was in a constant state of fear, worry, and anxiety.  I was nervous and upset as if I was a member of the Logan family.  This book is very well written, it is just too advanced and graphic for a young child.  There are many violent and graphic scenes.  It becomes gruesome toward the end.  I don't believe that this is children's literature.  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is more suited for middle and high school students.  Everyone should have to read this book at least once in their lives, just not when they are six years old. 

The Birchbark House

     The Birchbark House was an interesting book to read.  It paralleled Little House on the Prairie in a few ways.   This story is told from the perspective of the Native Americans and allows the readers to see their point of view of manifest destiny.  It shows the struggles they went through on "the prairie," the ways they stayed alive, and how they cultivated the land.  Apparently, Mrs. Scott was wrong when she implied that they just walked around and didn't farm.  The Native Americans were doing what wealthy people do now, going from their summer home to their winter home and vice versa. 
     The Birchbark House is the story about a young girl named Omakayas and how she deals with life, especially when a stranger infects them with small pox's.  As I read this book I kept thinking of the differences between Omakayas and Laura, from Little House on the Prairie.  The responsibilities and chores that Omakayas has are so much more than anything Laura had.  Laura never had to protect the corn from crows or help tan a moose hide.  I also noticed that the women in The Birchbark House did a lot of the work Pa would have done on the prairie.  They were the ones that got the summer and winter house ready, not Deydey.  Deydey was actually absent most of the year as Omakayas points out.  
     I was disappointed when they got small pox's.  I felt betrayed for them and even more upset when the baby died from it.  I don't believe Laura would have been able to handle an out break of small pox's.  She was not able to handle malaria alone.  I found Omakayas bravery fantastic and interesting that she was rescued as an infant by Old Tallow.  This story was a lot sadder than Little House on the Prairie.

Little House on the Prairie

          While reading this book I found many of the same issues with it that Michael Dorris did, while he was reading it to his young daughter.  The first thing that struck me was how open and out right Ma was with her racist views of the Indians.  Also that the neighbors seemed to have the same view points.  Looking past this, the next thing that struck me was that one of the main characters had the authors first and middle name as her own.  Granted, if I were to write a novel I would want to live on forever also and might grace a character with my name.  
          But, it is the foreshadowing in the beginning that is most important.  Ma was continually implying that the Indians were something to fear and not interact with.  There is a mood instilled that the Ingalls's shouldn't settle on the prairie.  It seems to be a bad idea and the novel proves this to be true.  Their neighbor almost dies, helping them dig a well, everyone in the family catches malaria, they are robbed at least two times by local tribes, the prairie catches fire, and they are eventually forced to leave.  These events prove that settling on Indian Territory and not a few miles down, was the wrong decision.  
          This novel also reminded me of the rules Locke had for children.  It seemed that Laura was always disobeying her parents and enforcing the idea that her actions were what "not to do."  While her sister Mary, followed their parents orders/directions and was the "good daughter."  This seemed to be a way to educate children and teach them manners without them noticing.  A final thought that I had while reading Little House on the Prairie was why didn't the pack of fifty wolves try to eat the family?  The wolves had at least two opportunities to attack them and never once tried.  Is it a symbol for the way the Indian's never attacked them?               

Kim and The Children's Empire

          Rudyard Kipling’s Kim is a wonderful book about a young boy and his adventures throughout India.  The novel takes place during the nineteenth century.  Being that this was the time period chosen, there is a lot of hidden and underline references to the colonization of India by Great Britain.  Much of the novel involves Britain’s attempt to mold Kim into a perfect spy.  His first set of training begins with his friend, Mahbub, who is a horse trader.  He began testing Kim when he was young, unknown to Kim, as a telegraph boy.  Kim meets a lama and begins traveling India with him; they are in search of a river that washes away all your sins.        

          On this quest, the two run into the British army and Kim is taken in because, he is “one of them,” despite his orphan past and the upbringing he received by a local Indian woman.  Britain takes advantage of this and sends Kim to school.  He escapes and runs to Mahbub.  Betraying him, he returns him to the British.  Throughout the novel Kim is taught by many experts on how to act, speak, and behave in any situation, he also learns the art of disguise.  

          Lerer brought up an interesting point in Children’s Literature: a Reader’s History from Aesop to Harry Potter, “The key to institutional success is how one “cuts up”: behaves, cuts a figure, acts and speaks (the idiom seems to have emerged from school and sporting slang in the mid-nineteenth century).”  Throughout the book Kim is being taught these lessons and actually putting them to use.  He quickly learns the rhetoric needed when he comes in contact with another “charmed one,” and his quick thinking enables his to disguise a man using curry powder.  Although this is thought of as an adventure novel for boys I think it could also be considered a bildungsroman.

The Romantic Child

We began with fairy tales, touched on the education of children based on Locke’s beliefs, and now are venturing into the educational styles of “The Romantic Child.”  Mary Wollstonecraft believed that beauty fades and that every young girl needs to be educated because, they must be able to have a meaningful conversation.  Priscilla Wakefield’s “From Mental Improvement; or, The Beauty and Wonders of Nature and Art, conveyed in a series of Instructive Conversations (1794),” was extremely boring.  It was like reading from a dictionary for four pages.  I realize that the point is to teach children the proper way to have a conversation and use social topics of the time.  “The Purple Jar,” by Maria Edgeworth teaches a valuable lesson.  If the young girl had listened to her mother and had been a smart consumer, comparing the two products, she would have been happy.  Unfortunately, she is miserable because, of her impulse buy.  This is the departure from fairy tales and into a more realistic life lesson.  William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience (1789-94) title pages show images of life and death.  The early edition has a mother and two children sitting under a tree reading.  The later edition has the mother lying down and the children in morning positions around her.  His poetry is just as intense.  In “The Little Black Boy,” the small child is comforting an assumed white child.  He was raised to expect hardship and is now stronger than the other child.  Much of Blake’s poetry has a religious theme.  God is found in almost every poem, especially “The Chimney Sweeper.”  The religious child comforts the miserable one, who is named Tom.  In his sleep, Tom finds comfort and peace by accepting God.  The chimney sweepers are children.  This is for many reasons, the main ones are that children are small, can be pushed around, and don’t eat as much as grown men.    

Locke and Children's Literature

Who would have thought that children's literature was designed as an educational tool?  That it was intended as a means of creating well rounded, God fearing, polite, and well mannered children; with the hope of them becoming functioning adults?  Children's literature was actually developed in response to the need of an educational system.  This explains why fairy tales contain life lessons and morals.  John Locke was one of the main people who founded children's education and literature.  He used common sense when writing for children, his goal was to not only make them literate, but to also teach them to succeed and be better people.  It seemed that every children's book reinforced the ten commandments, even the alphabet books.  Early children's books were some what intense and focused on the ABC's and rhyming.  This promoted literacy, developed sentence structure, and interestingly forwarded the Puritan movement.  Some of the early works were The House that Jack Built and The Burial of Cock Robin.  I remember reading these myself as a child and even discussing The House that Jack Built in my syntax class over the summer.  The early forms of lesson books were known as horn-books and battledore.  Chapbooks were small cheap books that preserved fairy tales and were popular because of their price.  The book Orbis Sensualium Pictus (1659) reminded me of an early college textbook.  This book was suppose to be for small children and teach them how to read.  What I found interesting was that when a student learned to read they didn't have to attend school anymore.  Although this is probably redundant, if pupils stayed in school till, say 8 years old, and became literate; does that mean at 8 years old that child was considered an adult?  What I found most interesting about the chapters in Lerer was that Winnie the Pooh and Where the Wild Things Are were based off of Robinson Crusue, I had never known that.       

Fairy Tales

          Fairy tales are a part of every culture.  People from all walks of life have heard some version of the informational tales and Disney has profited greatly from them, while altering the meaning of the tales.  In "Perrault's Stories or Tales from Times Past, with Morals (1697)," Sleeping Beauty and her children are almost devoured by the Prince's mother, who is part ogre.  Disney has left this out of their version of the tale.  "Puss in Boots," is the standard story of a cat that benefits it's owner.  Ironically, no one seems to mind that the cat in this story has on a pair of boots and has the ability to speak to humans.  
          "Blue Beard," was a puzzling, gruesome fairy tale.  It involves an older, strange man that seduces, and ends up marrying his young neighbor.  While her husband is away on business, the young wife is given full run of the house.  He husband gives her only one warning, don't enter the small closet.  As curiosity has killed the cat, the young wife unlocks the closet door, finds all her husband's dead former wives, she then notices that the key is magical and stained with blood.  These fairy tales all involve some form of magic and control/power struggle.  Blue Beard murdered his former wives because, they disobeyed him.  This tale ends with Blue Beard being murdered by his current wife's brothers, as he is attempting to kill her.  This fairy tale has no real moral.  The disobedient wife lives, while the disobeyed husband is murdered.  There is a slight  lesson in karma toward the husband.
          Most interesting are the difference variations of "Little Red Riding Hood."  The Grimm version is the one closest to the American version, although every tale has a different ending.  The Italian version has the harshest ending of all.  An ogre plays the part of the wolf and savagely eats Red Riding Hood.  "Little Thumb," is similar to "Hansel and Grettle."  The only difference is that Little Thumb and his brothers return to their parents every time they are abandoned in the woods.  This brings up the question: Why? How do you return to and take care of people that don't want you?