I tried... I really did. I wanted to love Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back as much as I love every other children's book, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe it's because Mary Poppins to me will always be an absolutely lovely Julie Andrews singing about how "a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down." The Mary Poppins I grew up with was a wonderfully sweet woman who was "Practically Perfect in Every Way," a woman I could aspire to be. She was the perfect mother filling in for a slightly silly woman who spends all day parading around trying to get women the right to vote (which is actually an interesting issue I'm working on developing in the paper I'm revising... more on that later).
What bugs me the most about these books is not necessarily seeing one of my childhood ideals brought off her pedestal, but rather the lack of punishment for incorrect behavior. In the books, Mary Poppins becomes the woman everyone depends on, yet she is constantly shown to be vain and sometimes downright rude to people. She uses her magic to manipulate situations and keep the children interested in what adventures might happen next rather than using it to improve family relations and help people. It bugs me that in a children's book an adult would be genuinely looked up to and respected while not behaving correctly. I guess I just expect that in a children's book, correct behaviors will be rewarded and incorrect behaviors will be punished... especially in older books since children's books have had to evolve away from strictly moral stories.
Anyways, enough about that. Now for my plea for help. I'm currently working on revising one of my senior research papers entitled "The Rise of the Modern Heroine: How The Feminine Mystique Shaped Young Adult Literature" so I can use it as a writing sample for applying to graduate programs. I'm wanting to bolster my paper with more samples of books that show strong and weak female characters (they don't even have to be main characters... they just need to be talked about enough that I can get a good sense of what the girl is like). I'm trying to focus mainly on American literature since 1900.
If you have any ideas for books that show really strong female characters or really weak female characters let me know! I could use all the help I could get!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Love This!
Unfortunately, my major gift receiving opportunities (my birthday and graduation) have just passed. Otherwise, I would have thrown out my list and just asked people for these books. Random House is reissuing their Looking Glass Library series... and I want to own every single book! Here's the article from the School Library Journal website where they talk about the series.
Why you may ask do I want to own the books? Well for starters, they're all hardbound, library quality books. Which means they are meant to stand up to lots of loving. Plus, I believe that children care less about when a book was actually published as long as the cover looks cool and it's written in accessible language. If these books are still around and being read today, then they're worth investing in. On top of all that, I'm a sucker for a coordinating set of books (that's a topic for another day though).
I also love the fact that a modern author who kids are already familiar with introduces each book. The authors have really tried to write appealing introductions meant to sound like a recommendation from a trusted friend (according to School Library Journal).
Overall, if you like older books and want to have a well-trusted set of books in your home, this set may be for you. Since it was published before, and Random House is just republishing the series so they can update the covers and provide new introductions to each book, I'd definitely trust these books to be ones you want to own.
P.S. If you're interested in getting periodic newsletters via e-mail from School Library Journal, Library Journal, or Publisher's Weekly, go here. I subscribe to 6 or 7 different newsletters, and although I get some about webinars or panels, the majority of them are really great! They have links to interesting articles, books and authors that are selling really well, and lots of advice from librarians on encouraging reluctant readers.
Why you may ask do I want to own the books? Well for starters, they're all hardbound, library quality books. Which means they are meant to stand up to lots of loving. Plus, I believe that children care less about when a book was actually published as long as the cover looks cool and it's written in accessible language. If these books are still around and being read today, then they're worth investing in. On top of all that, I'm a sucker for a coordinating set of books (that's a topic for another day though).
I also love the fact that a modern author who kids are already familiar with introduces each book. The authors have really tried to write appealing introductions meant to sound like a recommendation from a trusted friend (according to School Library Journal).
Overall, if you like older books and want to have a well-trusted set of books in your home, this set may be for you. Since it was published before, and Random House is just republishing the series so they can update the covers and provide new introductions to each book, I'd definitely trust these books to be ones you want to own.
P.S. If you're interested in getting periodic newsletters via e-mail from School Library Journal, Library Journal, or Publisher's Weekly, go here. I subscribe to 6 or 7 different newsletters, and although I get some about webinars or panels, the majority of them are really great! They have links to interesting articles, books and authors that are selling really well, and lots of advice from librarians on encouraging reluctant readers.
Stalky & Co by Rudyard Kipling
This book has single-handedly been the reason I haven't been reading books a lot lately. It's not that this is a bad book... it's just that Rudyard Kipling is just really, really hard for me to get through for some reason. I think it's because he moves so slowly compared to modern authors.
That being said, once I got into the book I liked it. It wasn't the greatest book ever, but there's definitely a reason people are still reading Kipling. I think the best part about the book is that it's very episodic. So I could read a chapter, go read another book, and then come back to this book without feeling completely lost. As a result, this book would be a good book to keep in your car or purse for long lines, waiting to pick someone up, or the doctor's office waiting room. Actually, any of Kipling's works would be good books for that.
Next up... Mary Poppins Comes Back. I really really had some problems with Mary Poppins, but I'm giving the sequel a chance in hopes that my major issues with the book will be resolved.
After that, I'll be reading a couple of the big time management books that everyone talks about. I've started researching the planner possibilities for next year (next year starting in July or August), but before I can commit to anything I need to figure out what my time management style is and I figure reading a couple productivity books will help. Plus, I need a break from Kipling and children's lit.
That being said, once I got into the book I liked it. It wasn't the greatest book ever, but there's definitely a reason people are still reading Kipling. I think the best part about the book is that it's very episodic. So I could read a chapter, go read another book, and then come back to this book without feeling completely lost. As a result, this book would be a good book to keep in your car or purse for long lines, waiting to pick someone up, or the doctor's office waiting room. Actually, any of Kipling's works would be good books for that.
Next up... Mary Poppins Comes Back. I really really had some problems with Mary Poppins, but I'm giving the sequel a chance in hopes that my major issues with the book will be resolved.
After that, I'll be reading a couple of the big time management books that everyone talks about. I've started researching the planner possibilities for next year (next year starting in July or August), but before I can commit to anything I need to figure out what my time management style is and I figure reading a couple productivity books will help. Plus, I need a break from Kipling and children's lit.
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