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Commonalities in the ‘classics’ of children’s literature

a development of the ‘Interim Speculations’ page

o 1 Paradox

• Appeals to both children and adults
• Therefore multi-layered
• Different layers/aspects appealing to children and adults
• Those layers must intertwine
• Does the presence of the element(s) that appeal to adults ensure that the book is remembered, and the enjoyment renewed, as an adult, thus perpetuating the popularity (classic status) of the book?
• Or is it that children sense, even if they do not identify or understand the adult layer(s), and this reinforces the impact of the child layer(s)?
• Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, and Harry Potter have these characteristics. We suggested that in Wind in the Willows the adult and child layers do not intertwine, but are markedly separated, and that this presented problems to both adults and children. The Lord of the Rings is a special case, as the book was intended for adults, but has also become a children’s classic.
• 2 Characteristic
• Age specific in its target readership
• We have noted that although the books so far have been aimed at a specific age range (e.g. the age of the child to whom the stories were first told, or for whom were first written down), the actual age range can spread either side of that.
• We have suggested that the author needs to be accurate in understanding and portraying the thoughts and interests of that age range
• We half-suggested that the adult reader has to recognize/remember being at that age, which implies that it has to be an accurate/vivid recreation of being at that age.
• 3 Characteristic
• A strong story line
• This must appeal to children, but it would also seem that the story-line should elicit a response in adults (e.g. not be so child-ish as to put adults off)
• We have seen through-narrative, a connected episodic structure, and a collection of individual stories sharing characters (Winnie-the-Pooh). Wind in the Willows seems to combine elements of both.
• 4 Characteristic
• Strongly drawn characters
• Their characterization would seem to appeal to both children and adults
• Elements of realism – i.e. both children and adults have to believe in the characters, their behaviour, and their response to others and to situations, and/or accept them enough to take unusual characteristics for granted
• 5 Characteristic (where applicable)
• In-depth fantasy
• Where there is a strong element of fantasy, this has to be well enough created to appeal to both children and adults
• (Not easy to do to appeal to children, as it is very dependent on 2 above)
• In some of the books we have looked at, this has been extended into the creation of an alternative world.
• 6 Paradox
• Element of good moral or ethical behaviour
• but this contrasts with subversive elements
• 7 Characteristic
• Rites-of-passage
• We have a commonality of the development of the child character (or character substitute), representing a moment in their lives when they have to take the next step (known as ‘rites-of-passage’, some of which may be minor [saying ‘no’ e.g. ’I no longer believe the little deceptions you used when I was younger’ to the mother, for example], and some of which may be major [Jim Hawkins turning from a boy into a young adult])
• We have noted that adults also have to regularly face such rites-of-passage, and carry the experience/memory of those childhood rites-of-passage utilized in these books. This would suggest that:
• The rite-of-passage should be effective enough to elicit, if unconsciously, those memories in adults
• the child responds because they, in a safe form, reflect the challenges they are facing
• it is possible that by vicariously re-living the childhood that adult gets a similar message for the adult challenges
• 8 Characteristic
• There would seem to be the necessity for a place of safety, or its equivalent, from which the story starts and to which the story returns.
• This place of safety is regularly the home. We have noted inverses (home is not safe or pleasant in Harry Potter), and substitutes (the asteroid in The Little Prince, the Shire in The Fellowship of the Ring).
• 9 Characteristic
• We have noted that the focus has to be on the child-character (or character substitute)
• 10 Characteristic

o We have noted that the child often seems to have elements of the loner

o This may be simply a function of the focus, above

• 11 Characteristic

o We have noted journey structures

o We have noted that the start of that journey often seems to include a descent and that this is also a characteristic of fairy and folk tales (e.g. into a hole or well, underground or under water)

o Regularly there is a barrier of some kind dividing the outer world/inner psychological journey, or real world/fantasy, such as a wood, a wall, a door (key needed), a body of water.

Other observations:

o One can get a strong sense of the cultural background against which these books were written.

o These can include a strong social/political message (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

o In some cases there seems to be a nostalgia for a lost (or supposed lost) more golden age.

o We have noted the regular presence of transformations of one kind or another

o We have noted the purpose and the effect of the use of animals as humans (anthropomorphic) and noted that this seems to be particularly effective in Wind in the Willows, where the dividing line between animals-as-humans and actual human characters is non-existent. In Winnie-the-Pooh the animals-as-humans are clearly age-related, representing the toy animals of the child.

o We asked whether the settings have to be non-cultural specific enough that they will appeal to a readership in a later culture/time period, particularly looking at Harry Potter.

o We have mentioned psychological interpretations, particularly Jungian, and noted the symbolism in some of the works, particularly those with a strong fantasy element

o We have noted the importance of illustrations, and their relationship to the age of the target readership (for example, their increased importance in Winnie-the-Pooh)

o Following on from this, we have discussed extensively, especially through The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the relationship between the film of a book and the book itself, and the different parameters and demands of the film medium, particularly the visual.

o We have also noted the importance of song, and especially of songs with strong rhythmic and rhyming schemes.