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Reading for Children

I found the following blog written by Childtasticbooks, and thought it made interesting reading. I’ve read approximately 50% of the books on the list, mostly the older books. At Moulton, we have a beautiful library, which is available to hire for reading groups, adult and children, and for more informal meetings. The library is well stocked, and as you would expect, has lots comfy chairs for settling down with a good book! Contact me for further details. The most influential / important books in British Children’s Literature since 1960 Posted by CHILDTASTICBOOKS

OK, it’s a strange title but it’s the first topic of my new MA module on British Children’s Literature, 1960 to the present day, and it’s a very vague and hazy area.

We’re spending the next few months looking at various books and authors that have defined and influenced British Children’s Literature since the 1960s and the books chosen form part of a literary canon. The problem is, how do you define a literary canon? I would have a stab at it by saying it comprises books that have been influential and have enjoyed enduring popularity over a period of time, as this indicates that their message never dates or grows stale.

However, books and authors that I choose might not show up on someone else’s list. In fact, our first exercise this week was to say whether or not we agreed with the texts chosen as part of this module, which are:

  • The Lantern Bearersby Rosemary Sutcliff (1959)
  • The Borrowers Aloftby Mary Norton (1961)
  • A Stranger at Green Knoweby Lucy Boston (1961)
  • A Dog So Smallby Philippa Pearce (1962)
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)
  • Elidor (1965), The Owl Service (1967) and The Stone Book Quartet(1976-8)**by Alan Garner
  • Smith by Leon Garfield (1967)
  • Carrie’s Warby Nina Bawden (1973)
  • The Trouble With Donovan Croftby Bernard Ashley (1974)
  • Going Back by Penelope Lively (1975)
  • The Machine Gunners (1975), The Scarecrows(1981), Blitzcat(1989), The Kingdom by the Sea (1990), and Gulf(1992), all by Robert Westall
  • The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tilerby Gene Kemp (1977)
  • The BFGby Roald Dahl (1982)
  • The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4by Sue Townsend (1982)
  • A Parcel of Patterns by Jill Paton Walsh (1983)
  • The Sheep-Pigby Dick King-Smith (1983)
  • Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne-Jones (1985)
  • Bill’s New Frock by Anne Fine (1989)
  • The Story of Tracy Beakerby Jacqueline Wilson (1991)
  • Dear Nobodyby Berlie Doherty (1991)
  • Northern Lightsby Philip Pullman (1995)
  • Junk(1996) and Doing It(2003) by Melvin Burgess
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling (1997)
  • Postcards from No Man’s Land by Adrian Chambers (1997)
  • The Lion-Tamer’s Daughterby Peter Dickinson (1999)
  • Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond (1999)
  • The Stones are Hatching by Geraldine McCaughrean (1999)
  • Plus Enid Blyton’s Five on a Treasure Island(1942 but reprinted often since 1960s).

It’s a lot of reading!