"Coming of Age" childrens' series

[plinsenmayer]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C6835
From: plinsenmayer
Subject: "Coming of Age" childrens' series
Date: 8/14/00 10:24 am  (ET)

Hi:

I'm glad Ebony is posing my question about other "coming of age" series
to her group. I'll look forward to their response.

<<<LMM expresses her frustration at having to write "girl's series" in
her Journals, which have in recent years been made public. She wished to
make her later Anne novels more realistic, but her publishers wanted more
juvenile themes--and were convinced her readership did too. Her desire
to write truly adult fiction was never fulfilled b/c she was stuck with
the AoGG label.>>>

My favorite childrens' author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, faced the same
dilemna. Her daughter, who was a famous writer in her own right & who
eventually assisted her mother with editing & perhaps even writing the
Little House books, was at first loathe to do so because "everyone knows
there's no market in juvenile fiction." She thought her mother would
be better served writing serialized stories for popular magazines, as
she herself was doing. Not many people have heard of Rose Wilder Lane &
her writing. But, her mother's "juveniles" are among the classics of
childrens' lit. The one book that Wilder wrote about her post-married
life was never submitted for publication by Wilder or her daughter during
their lifetimes.

<<<My hope is that JKR stands firm and writes the story that is inside
her. I hope she doesn't compromise anything just b/c some feel that a
nine year old should read Book 7.>>>

My post from last week with the excerpts from the Entertainment Weekly
interview with JKR should allay your concerns. I was thrilled that she
is sticking to her guns & writing the story as she wants to write it.

Cepheus -- I don't think the Tolkien books that you cited qualify as a
"coming of age" series or a "bildungsroman." I am impressed also that you
read them at such an early age. I'm personally not enjoying Tolkien much.

Penny (still trying to wade through Lord of the Rings trilogy)