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matt3706
Registered User
(11/26/00 10:53:05 pm)
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Post 1950 Children's Books
I was wondering if anyone can help. I have to write a paper about a post 1950 childrens book that relates to the changing attitudes in gender or race of the time period. Does anyone know any good books that fit into this category, and if so where I can get info about it. Preferably a book that isnt too long, but it doesnt matter. Thanks
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Catja
Unregistered User
(11/27/00 12:14:22 am)
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Children's Books
Oh Goddess, there are hundreds
-- that's why it's so hard to come up with just one! Here's some
stuff off the top of my head.
L'Engle, _A Wrinkle in Time_
McKinley, _The Hero and the Crown_, _The Blue Sword_ -- anything by her, really
Raskin, _The Westing Game_ (a personal favorite)
Crutcher, _Chinese handcuffs_
Mahy, _The Tricksters_ (another personal favorite)
Fitzhugh, _Harriet the Spy_
Hamilton, _The House of Dies Drear_ (or anything by her)
Sebastyen, _Words by Heart_
Taylor, _Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry_
Spinelli, _Maniac Magee_
Danziger, _The Cat Ate My Gymsuit_, _Can You sue Your Parents for Malpractice?_ and others
Duane, _Deep Wizardry_
Miles, _The Real Me_ (hilarious!)
Korman, _The Zucchini Warriors_ (also hilarious!)
There's been quite a bit of critical work done on L'Engle, Fitzhugh, and Hamilton; there's also a very good book about Ellen Raskin. Check out _Women writers of Children's Literature_, ed. Harold Bloom, for some good essays on L'Engle and Fitzhugh.
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Terri
Registered User
(11/27/00 2:43:36 am)
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Re: Children's Books
I want to second those recommendations of Margaret Mahey's "The Tricksters" (as well as her novel "The Changeover") and Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword.
Edited by: Terri at: 11/27/00
2:44:34 am
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Kate
Unregistered User
(11/27/00 7:04:56 am)
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Changeling
Does anyone know who wrote a book called The Changeling (there are 100s of books with that title; I'm not talking about Joy Williams' excellent novel...) -- perhaps in the late 1960s?
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Heidi
Anne Heiner
ezOP
(11/27/00 10:14:54 pm)
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Re: Changeling
Kate:
What was the book about? Do you remember the plot at all?
Heidi
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Heidi
Anne Heiner
ezOP
(11/27/00 10:25:35 pm)
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And one of my recommendations
A jewel of a book that first comes to mind--especially since I am reading some of her other work again--is "Make Lemonade" by Virginia Euwer Wolff. The book is beautifully written about a poverty stricken teenage mother of two and another girl who watches the two children while trying to find her own way out of poverty through her education. No race is given in the book, but it is always interesting to see what readers perceive while reading the book--if they see a race in the characters, for example.
Wolff is wonderful writer. I can also recommend "Bat 6" and "Mozart Season" which are totally different books. "Bat 6" is about two young softball teams and the problems that still exist in their small community in 1949 a few years after WWII has ended. "Mozart Season" is about a young violinist preparing for a competition one summer. Lovely.
Another author to consider is E. L. Konigsburg. When she is good, she is one of the best. Examples are "The View from Saturday" and "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" about runaways living in a museum--sort of related to another topic on this board about art and fiction.
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Catja
Unregistered User
(11/29/00 10:27:51 pm)
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more books
Heidi, _The View From Saturday_ is one of my favorites!
Also, Betsy Byars has an amusing mystery series starring detective Herculeah Jones, including _Dead Letter_, _The Dark Stairs_, and _Tarot Says Beware_. Herculeah is as tough as her name implies, and her best friend is a sweet and sensitive boy named Meat (!).
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