tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377421722520990399.post406533434865287491..comments2023-10-28T08:13:19.817-07:00Comments on The Solitary Bee: Literary Soap-BoxPhilip Reevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018599033534369153noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377421722520990399.post-41825117127957512472010-08-15T14:49:20.955-07:002010-08-15T14:49:20.955-07:00All good points. I also suspect that children acc...All good points. I also suspect that children accept all the quaint, old fashioned elements without batting an eyelid anyway. When I was a boy my dad read Arthur Ransome's 'Swallows and Amazons' books to me; they're set in the 'twenties or 'thirties, but I don't remember being particularly aware of that, apart from the odd steam train; I accepted it all just as easily as I'd have accepted a fantasy. Nowadays I read them to my son, who seems to slip into Ransome's world just as unquestioningly. Adults who worry about 'what the kids want' are not always the best judges of children's tastes, and I think there's a danger that despite the vast amounts of children's fiction being published, young readers are being exposed to quite a narrow set of attitudes and literary experiences.<br /><br />On the other hand authors of the Blyton/Ransome era sometimes use language (racial epithets, for instance) which may have seemed perfectly innocent and unremarkable in their day, but are now deeply offensive. Does it harm the text or patronise the reader to change those? <br /><br />And Hi, Zarazia, Clare Belle and all newcomers to the Bee!Philip Reevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03018599033534369153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377421722520990399.post-36702481319010036522010-08-13T19:56:10.299-07:002010-08-13T19:56:10.299-07:00While Enid Blyton has never really stood out in my...While Enid Blyton has never really stood out in my mind as one of my favourite authors, I still feel uncomfortable about Hodder's decision. The idea strikes me as both patronizing and damaging; they're effectively advocating the restriction of children's vocabularies. It reminds me, to some degree, of the education system depicted in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.<br /><br />I understand that these people are trying to encourage children to read, but it seems that they've become so fixated on that task that they've forgotten about the reason for this. Presumably, children are being encouraged to read fiction so that they can experience that wonderful sensation of diving into a another world that comes with reading a good book. Therefore, the more books reflect people's everyday lives, right down to the mundane language, the less point there is in reading them in the first place.<br /><br />The situations depicted in Blyton's books aren't going to be everyday activities for children today, so there is already going to be that sense of distance that the publishers seem to be trying so desperately to eradicate. The language of the books adds to that sense of a different time (and, in some respects, a different world), so it seems strange to try to take that away. That's the primary appeal of 'classic books' like these; when children want to read modern adventure tales, they read modern adventure tales. Those terrible covers are not going to trick any child into thinking that the books are modern, especially when said child's grandmother hands him/her the book, saying "I used to love this when I was a little girl!".<br /><br />Sorry if any of that was utterly incoherent; I should really be asleep. Also, I'm new to this site, so, um, hi!Zaraziahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17377104090612788456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377421722520990399.post-71056220492684104972010-08-09T16:45:29.581-07:002010-08-09T16:45:29.581-07:00I recently posted about this very topic and I hope...I recently posted about this very topic and I hope you don't mind sharing your soap box. <br /><br />I personally loved Enid Blyton growing up and I think, like all classic novels, the charm lies not in the story so much as in the way that it is written. The thought of any of the classic childrens novels being changed is not a pleasant one as far as I'm concerned.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377421722520990399.post-70957953294860898412010-08-08T05:53:20.208-07:002010-08-08T05:53:20.208-07:00I can remember having the Secret Seven read to me ...I can remember having the Secret Seven read to me as a kid, and although I enjoyed them then, there were other boooks I was much more into. The last EB I read was a famous five book when I was 10, and I felt it was a bit babyish even then. <br /><br />That said, I agree that bringing the language up to date is patronising to the current generation of readers. <br /><br />I recently re-read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and the language was part of the charm for me. (EG 'Sharp's the word!' as they try to avoid the housekeeper eary on in the book.) <br /><br />Thing is, both these sets of books are of their time, and they have other, more serious issues that may be worthy of discussion.<br /><br />I can understand why modern publishers would want to revise these books and others to bring them in line with modern sensibilities though, even if I automatically flinch at the idea.The Conservation Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16240112693043021018noreply@blogger.com