Something that all the best Mid Grade or Junior Fiction does, is portray an authentic child's experience of the world, whilst still couching the more difficult aspects in terms that a child can process. This is never more true than in the case of various types of abuse that children may unfortunately be subjected too. However, many adults find such portrayals difficult to access because they are 'cartoonish' and don't deal factually with what's happening. There is also the child censorship issue as to what it is appropriate to include in a children's book.
This week the dragons take a look at why difficult topics are presented the way they are in children's fiction. Why is it that children need that different portrayal that doesn't grip most adults in the same way? Why are portrayals of abuse and bullying so often paired with fantasy elements? How is it that some books contain a subtext accessible only for people who can look with a child's perspective? And why is it important that these unpleasant realities are reflected in children's literature at all? After all, isn't reading about escapism? On the slab this week Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian, The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine, Telling the Sea by Pauline Fisk, the Harry Potter series (naturally) and many more.
Title Music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 152: The Universe in Motion - Expanding Series & Reader Opinion in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 151: Reading Like a Writer - How Critical Reading Informs the Writing Process
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 150: The Twilight Zone - When Fandoms are Attacked in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 149: 2018 - The Good, the Bad and the Utterly Bizarre
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 148: The Holly and the Ivy - The Root of the Carol
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 147: Trading Capes - When Villains become Heroes
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 146: The Hollywood Treatment - What the Movies Changed
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 145: Away with the Faeries - Girls versus Supernatural Queens
Dissecting Dragon: Episode 144: Private Eyes and Underworlds - Crime Meets Urban Fantasy
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 143: Making Sh!t Happen - Avoiding the Number One Writing Fail
Dissecting Dragons Episode 142: Battlefield Earth - Intergalactic Invasions in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 141: Spirits of the Deep and Dark - A Dissecting Dragons Hallowe'en Special
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 140: Parody, Farce and Exaggeration - Satire in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 139: That is Illogical - Murderous, Wacky and Wise-cracking AI in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 138: Streetwalkers, Courtesans and Companions - The World's Oldest Profession in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 137: This Year's God - The Human Need for Archetypes
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 136: Remus Werewolf McWerewolf Lupin - The Importance of Character Names in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Ep 135: Grimalkin, Mogget and Mr Kindly - Cats in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 134: Love Ladies Lost! Revisiting Arthurian Legend
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 133: Every Hero Needs a Sam - The Unlikely Best Friend in Speculative Fiction
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