UK Laureate Has Opinions
Not necessarily ones that other people agree with:
“Whereas authors like Enid Blyton are hand-holding narrators who lead children into safe environments, J. K. Rowling is more of an adult writer in that she leaves you hanging in the air at the end of chapters with no idea what is going to happen next.
“Figures appear and you don’t know whether they are a goodie or a baddie. You would think, traditionally, ‘That is for an older reader’, because young children more often than not cannot cope with that.”
…the rest is here.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Much as I love the idea of a Poet Laureate and admire the work of Michael Rosen (We’re going on a bear hunt is just about THE quintessential children’s picture book) I am shocked that he seems to be pushing the ’safe’ option for child readers. Hasn’t he ever read any fairy stories? Don’t kids keep coming back to them for more, even though the wicked witch or the giant is frightening? Rosen is making the common mistake of assuming that children can’t tell the difference between reality and a story. Hence the popularity of HP - children (and heaps of adults) can relate to him, be terrified with him, fall in love with him…and still at the end close the book and say “What a fantastic story!” Get real, Michael!