Philip Pullman on Children's Lit

[Elizabeth Dalton]

No: HPFGUIDX 29476

Pullman is a fine one to be talking about the value of story, considering 
what he did with *Amber Spyglass*... but I suppose that's OT for this 
list.

I read "children's" fiction all the time, especially in the sub-category 
"young adult." I find books there read quickly (I don't have a lot of time 
to read these days), and I think a lot of them are very well written. 
Pullman is right that many "adult" authors get too carried away with 
trying to be clever. Young adult fiction frequently deals with very 
difficult problems (death, divorce, addiction, issues of conscience), 
often in a very clear and understandable way. When I read "adult" fiction, 
usually science fiction, fantasy, or historical fiction, I am usually 
looking for the same themes of people trying to deal with difficult 
problems. I read "genre" fiction by preference because often radically 
changing the setting will help the author get at the problem in a fresh 
and particularly helpful way.

In particular, I've enjoyed reading Tamora Pierce's books lately. I 
suppose that's OT too.

Hey, maybe we should start "HPforGrownups-OtherBooks". Or 
KidsLitforGrownups. Or is it already out there and I've missed it? :)

Elizabeth

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., caliburncy at y... wrote:

> ....  So instead I offer a Carnegie Medal acceptance 
> speech by children's author Philip Pullman as one reason why adults 
> might read children's literature (other than nostalgia and the other 
> reasons you gave)
> 
> http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/philippullman/speech.html
> 
> -Luke