Fantasy and the Real World in British Children's Literature

The Power of Story

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Fantasy and the Real World in British Children's Literature by Caroline Webb, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Caroline Webb ISBN: 9781317935742
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: September 15, 2014
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Caroline Webb
ISBN: 9781317935742
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: September 15, 2014
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

This study examines the children’s books of three extraordinary British writers—J.K. Rowling, Diana Wynne Jones, and Terry Pratchett—and investigates their sophisticated use of narrative strategies not only to engage children in reading, but to educate them into becoming mature readers and indeed individuals. The book demonstrates how in quite different ways these writers establish reader expectations by drawing on conventions in existing genres only to subvert those expectations. Their strategies lead young readers to evaluate for themselves both the power of story to shape our understanding of the world and to develop a sense of identity and agency. Rowling, Jones, and Pratchett provide their readers with fantasies that are pleasurable and imaginative, but far from encouraging escape from reality, they convey important lessons about the complexities and challenges of the real world—and how these may be faced and solved. All three writers deploy the tropes and imaginative possibilities of fantasy to disturb, challenge, and enlarge the world of their readers.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This study examines the children’s books of three extraordinary British writers—J.K. Rowling, Diana Wynne Jones, and Terry Pratchett—and investigates their sophisticated use of narrative strategies not only to engage children in reading, but to educate them into becoming mature readers and indeed individuals. The book demonstrates how in quite different ways these writers establish reader expectations by drawing on conventions in existing genres only to subvert those expectations. Their strategies lead young readers to evaluate for themselves both the power of story to shape our understanding of the world and to develop a sense of identity and agency. Rowling, Jones, and Pratchett provide their readers with fantasies that are pleasurable and imaginative, but far from encouraging escape from reality, they convey important lessons about the complexities and challenges of the real world—and how these may be faced and solved. All three writers deploy the tropes and imaginative possibilities of fantasy to disturb, challenge, and enlarge the world of their readers.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Sustainable Banking by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book Ethical Choices in Contemporary Medicine by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book The Media, Cultural Control and Government in Singapore by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book Educational Leadership, Organizational Learning, and the Ideas of Karl Weick by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book Marx's Critical/Dialectical Procedure (RLE Marxism) by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book Methodology, Microeconomics and Keynes by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book Beginning Analysis by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book Liberation Practices by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book Racializing Jesus by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book Industrial Product Innovation by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book Key Cases in Psychotherapy (Psychology Revivals) by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book Activity Anorexia by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book How to Design a Vocational Curriculum by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book The Nineteenth-Century Novel: Identities by Caroline Webb
Cover of the book The Oppositional Imagination (RLE Feminist Theory) by Caroline Webb
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy