EDU31ACL – Australian Childrens LiteratureAdventure.pptVIP

EDU31ACL – Australian Children’s LiteratureAdventure Stories Lecture 1Defining Adventure in Children’s Literature Lecture slides available: .au/childlit/courses.htm See also: Reviews Library Guide to subject resources Authors and illustrators Recommended reading: Dennis Butts, (2004) Shaping Boyhood, in The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, ed. Peter Hunt, vol. 1. 340-351 Diane Chapman, (2001) Adventure Stories, in The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, ed. Bernice Cullinan, 9-11 Adventure Stories (1993) The Oxford Companion to Australian Children’s Literature, ed. Pam McIntyre, 12-15 Definition A mixture of the extraordinary and the probable if the events in a story are too mundane, they fail to excite, but a sequence of completely extraordinary events fails to be credible (Butts) The adventure must be within the reach of the reader - it should be possible to believe it could happen to you. Definition Demonstrates many of the key elements in the development of Children’s Literature over time: Social realism, relevance and “appropriateness” for children Interaction with many sub-genres Gender Post-colonialism Recognition of children as a distinct audience The Extraordinary and the Probable - Story Directed by narrative and plot - a series of events building to a resolution The protagonists find themselves engaged in a series of dangerous, suspenseful situations, structured so that the reader is desperate to find out what is to happen next. “the events have to seem to arise naturally from the context of the story to retain the young reader’s confidence” (Butts) The Extraordinary and the Probable - Story Several typical story patterns: The Journey The Robinsonnade The Problem or mystery The situation in which danger unexpectedly appears The setting is often unfamiliar, or even exotic Types of Adventure Journey – Serraillier The Silver Sword (1956), Phipson The Boundary Riders (1962), Voight Homecoming (198