Just some thoughts to keep in mind during any reader’s advisory we may give to our young patrons. Afterall – who knows what experiences our young readers bring with them into the library? What might be fairly innocuous to us could be traumatic for them. I guess the lesson is to realize these different perspectives exist. This whole exercise could be a good insight into reader’s perceptions and the big part they play in the critiquing of any literature. Recognizing our own biases makes our reading experiences richer- but only if we acknowledge them. To name only one- the memories experiences of Aila in Clan of the Cave Bear were very similar to the Giver’s memories as was the method of sharing. Speaking of bringing outside experiences, I enjoyed the Giver but could not escape the similarities of other pieces of literature that struck me as marring the originality of the work. After several miscarriages he and his wife are now the proud parents of some ‘chosen’ children. I do not believe that the work is meant to be taken so literally – ie driving across town and sneaking into a grown man’s bedroom- it is a metaphorical statement of a love that cannot be excluded by physical boundaries.Remember, Robert Munsch wrote this book for his still- born child. Such an open display of affection, in Love You Forever, is not everyone’s “cup of tea.” Also, sometimes personal experiences can be intrusive in our reading interpretations.
I am an overly affectionate individual (I “hugga-lot”). Our background, personality and other reading experiences are always part of our reading experience. What one gets out of books can be directly related to what we bring to them as readers. My only comment is as follows: let us not forget that although we often think of reading in static terms – (the art form is has been described as linear)- it is in fact a dynamic medium. Dian Maureen Borek: Hi!I would like to go on record as one of those sentimental types that love Love You Forever.These email exchanges on the listserv occured in March & April of 1995.Īll rights reserved for individual contributors. The discussion thread was archived by me with permission of online publication from all participants at the time for my original Fairrosa Cyber Library site which is slowly migrating to here. Which reminded me that we had a heated discussion on Child_lit years ago on another Love or Hate book: LOVE YOU FOREVER by Robert Munsch. A recent NYT article about THE GIVING TREE sparked much online discussion in the children’s literature world.
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