HP- childrens books?

[heiditandy]

No: HPFGUIDX 43118

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Kate Tanski <shindemo_ii at y...> wrote:
> One of the problems I have with the denial of the HP books as
> 'Children's Literature' is that most adults seem to believe that 
the
> label 'Children's Literature' refers to a dumbed down version of 
adult
> literature and, of course, HP is not dumbed down for children. In 
my
> research for my HP thesis, I've come across hundreds of articles 
that
> critically examine Children's Literature, and by no means believe 
it to
> be less worthy of criticism than adult literature. Alice in 
Wonderland
> is considered to be Children's Literature, yet Norton has a 
critically
> annotated version published which examines Lewis Carroll with the 
same
> sharpness that they examine Charlotte Bronte. Additionally, some 
of the
> best articles on Harry Potter come from Children's Literature
> magazines, although they are slowly seeping into the mainstream as 
more
> and more people accept HP as something special. 

Those of us who are helping organize the Harry Potter Symposium (set 
for next July 17-20 in Orlando, Florida - check out 
http://www.hp2003.org for details) certainly have seen some of the 
excellent scholarship about HP from among those who specialize in 
children's literature in the academic arena - we even focused our 
first send-out of our Call For Papers (coming soon to 
http://www.hp2003.org/CFP) on those who have a background in 
childrens' literature (as well as folklorists and cultural/social 
experts). However, I'm one of those who think that the series, as a 
whole, will turn out to be more than that - and I don't mean that in 
a way that denigrates. childrens' literature. I'm involved in a book 
circle that focuses on childrens' literature 
(http://www.livejournal.com/~nostalgia_books) and one of the reasons 
I picked up the HP books almost four years ago was because I enjoy 
reading childrens' literature - especially the books that really 
transcend genres. 

I really do hope that this is one of the subjects we work over at 
the symposium next year - and if it works out that we can get 
someone from the NY Time Book List to come, I think Penny will be 
eternally happy!

heidi 
Sponsorship Chair
http://www.hp2003.org