Friday, December 4, 2009
When You Reach me
I found When You Reach Me to be somewhat confusing and I wonder if kids will be able to figure it out. I don't think that a book has to be completely understandable to be enjoyable but how much do readers need to understand in order to achieve enjoyment? How and when does this change as we get older? I think there are many more vague books published for adults than children and I realize that younger kids need a certain amount of clarity in their stories, but when can we begin to think in ways that allow us to enjoy books with loose ends, unclear plot lines or non-linear stories? I know many people who have never been able to enjoy those kinds of stories, and that is a literary preference that they've developed, but what books do kids read that could lead them in that direction? I believe there is little to no material available that treads the line into vague or non-linear that is appropriate for adolescents. If they aren't reading it as they develop their literary preferences, then when do they discover that kind of material? Maybe college or even high school, but it might be worth considering that tweens are capable of internalizing a lot more than society gives them credit. It wasn't my favorite book, but I think When You Reach Me serves a valuable function for kids just beginning to discover the vast diversity in literature and literary styles. I wonder what it could lead to in more sophisticated books.
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Ricca,
ReplyDeleteYou raise a good point, but keep in mind that tweens, in terms of mental and physical development, are all over the map, and while some of them will find WHEN YOU REACH ME confusing, others will dig right in and probably even predict the ending! It is definitely a more subtle and less mainstream mystery than SCAT for example, but I think it will still find a tween readership, as evidenced by the kids in Charlie's school who seem to love it. It may also work better as a read aloud, so an entire class can work on the mystery together along with their teacher. While it was more linear, THE SCHWA also played with some big ideas in a similar way as WHEN YOU EACH ME. There's also an older title by Sara Nickerson called HOW TO DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY AND NEVER BE FOUND that goes back and forth in time and plays with big ideas of myth, identity, and the past while still being a completely tween book. So those titles are out there, and we should have them ready for the tweens who come to our desks looking for them:)
Thanks for your thoughtful post and see you in class on Monday.