Was: Golden Compass and is, Eowyn, Narnia, etc.

[marion11111]

danielle says:
> 
> omg I love that book, the kid lives in a tree and makes acorn pancakes, wonderful, can't 
remember the name though lol. The author eventually wrote some sequels, the thing to 
remember with the original book it was written back in the 50's i think and was set in the 
30's or 40's I believe. Its one of my favorite stories, found the title My Side of the 
Mountain, published in 1959, lord i love google lol. 
> 


marion11111:

Oh, oh, oh, I LOVED that book in the fourth grade!  So much!!  And I hated the outdoors 
and camping and everything about it, but I loved that book.  Kids still love it.  It's the detail 
I think.  I really felt like I could survive in the wilderness just by reading that book.  I loved 
the Little House books for the same reason. To this day, even though I know better, i just 
"know" I could slaughter a hog, make cheese, build a cabin, hinge a door with leather, trap 
fish and make a chimney because - Hey, I read it in Little House.  Juie of the Wolves - also 
by Jean Craighead George - has the same kind of survival detail.

I don't think as adults we should take the "abandoned child" concept too seriously.  It 
certainly never occured to me as a kid that the parents were neglectful, but instead I 
thought only of the boy and how smart and independent he was.  And couldn't I be the 
same?  

Another favorite childhood author, Beverly Cleary, has one of her characters playing make 
believe with her best friend and before the game can start they "have to get rid of the 
parents."  Have them eaten by wolves, lost in a snow storm, captured by pirates, but no 
children's fantasy story can start until the parents are out of the picture.  Think about it.   
Narnia, Nancy Drew, Little Women, the Melendy family, etc. all have children managing 
with little or no parental involvment.