tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post4009231971263581493..comments2023-08-02T03:39:56.942-07:00Comments on Alice in Baker Street: The Invisibility of Religion in Children's & YA FictionJess Ferrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06220022324362170276noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-34804118562755564202021-07-07T14:59:27.336-07:002021-07-07T14:59:27.336-07:00Beast, by Donna Jo Napoli--main character is highl...Beast, by Donna Jo Napoli--main character is highly motivated by and dedicated to his faith.<br /><br />Life of Pi--main character spends a good amount of the book examining the role of religion in his life<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-80753160064230535942013-10-16T15:36:14.470-07:002013-10-16T15:36:14.470-07:00I suspect that a great deal of the reason children...I suspect that a great deal of the reason children's literature tends to avoid religion is a reaction against a single religion being pushed above others. Christian, Buddhist, pagan, children grow up in them all and if there are books about Christian children and none about Buddhist or Jewish children, will children from those other religions feel excluded from mainstream culture? <br /><br />Yet, if there were really good books about children from all the religions, think how freeing that might be.Jinjer Stantonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06208340095815857912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-29953312975692402922013-09-26T10:39:38.787-07:002013-09-26T10:39:38.787-07:00My parents always guided me toward the classics an...My parents always guided me toward the classics and fiction published before 1900. There I found that faith was part of the fabric of life for the characters and not an element of the story that had to be incorporated or forced into the plot to make a point.Wimsey Productionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12943373816843579849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-21796208590026801972013-07-02T18:29:58.429-07:002013-07-02T18:29:58.429-07:00Oh gosh you bring up a great point. It's extre...Oh gosh you bring up a great point. It's extremely rare to find religion as a topic in these books. It's sad really, because even if the main character isn't religious, there's bound to be someone or some part of them that thinkings about religion. To me that would certainly make the story more realistic. I agree with Alexandra, I think it's become somewhat of a taboo subject maybe people are just afraid of what to say or what others will say. Sad thing, but I also wouldn't want it to be something that's forced, just something natural like Amy says. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01395008376786680669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-79659515885886004142013-06-28T16:58:54.744-07:002013-06-28T16:58:54.744-07:00I definitely agree with you, this is a very intere...I definitely agree with you, this is a very interesting topic. I would love it if you could explore it further on your blog! I also wanted to add a couple of exceptions I thought of right off the top of my head: <br /><br />Are you There God - It's me Margaret - Judy Blume <br /><br />Leaving Fishers - Margaret Peterson Haddix ( This is about a girl who gets mixed up in a cult, but religion and the misuse of religion is definitely the main theme). Susanna https://www.blogger.com/profile/00066037966026823577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-72977090368871369982013-06-17T14:22:12.932-07:002013-06-17T14:22:12.932-07:00I haven't read anything by Regina Doman, but n...I haven't read anything by Regina Doman, but now I'm going to put her on my list!<br /><br />Thanks for coming by my blog, too!Amy https://www.blogger.com/profile/13204075881543478509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-27719096954891895142013-06-16T12:10:40.483-07:002013-06-16T12:10:40.483-07:00Hi Amy! Thanks so much for stopping by! It is qui...Hi Amy! Thanks so much for stopping by! It is quite a quandary isn't it?? It seems on either end we're not getting it right, it's either forcibly removed or forcibly implanted, instead of being natural. <br /><br />Have you read any of Regina Doman's YA fairy tale novels? I've read the first one and really enjoyed it and feel like maybe those are the closest I've gotten to having the religious elements feel natural and at ease, its believable and just part of the character's life. Doman gives us characters who value the role religion plays in their life, while steering clear of proselytizing or being didactic in her tone, that's pretty much nonexistent in the story. If you have read any of Regina's works I'd be interested to hear what you think...I haven't talked to many about them yet.<br /><br />Thanks again for stopping by!Jess Ferrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06220022324362170276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-56096489370487972082013-06-16T12:02:16.966-07:002013-06-16T12:02:16.966-07:00Hi Alexandra!! Thanks so much for your reply and f...Hi Alexandra!! Thanks so much for your reply and for reading the post! I'm really interested in this dilemma, so I'm still continuing to mull over it, but I think you are spot on, especially with the fact that there is that inherent unknowable element to religion, but still I wish more authors would give it a shot. <br /><br />I actually just finished reading K.L Going's The Garden of Eve, it's a middle grade novel which deals with loss, death and life but intermingles fairy tale elements with contemporary fiction. She did a nice job, apparently Going was inspired when a family member asked her to write about an apple tree and the she started thinking about the importance of apples in both literature and religion. There's a fair amount of allusions to both fairy tales and the bible, specifically the creation story.<br /><br />I read a positive review of it afterwards, and she said that she had actually read some other reviews that were not so positive because they thought Going's text was too overtly religious, and I was shocked because she is now way trying to be didactic or convert people to religion, she just did a great job melding things. But who knows... Thanks again for your thoughts!Jess Ferrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06220022324362170276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-12842283964794806972013-06-13T13:07:04.821-07:002013-06-13T13:07:04.821-07:00This is a fascinating topic! I agree that the excl...This is a fascinating topic! I agree that the exclusion of religion in so many contemporary novels feels blatant--almost like it was there, near the surface, and the author purposely decided to squash it out. Perhaps I'm being overly dramatic, but that's what it seems like to me.<br /><br />On the subject of Christian fiction, I tend to dislike it for the same reason I stated above--it also feels blatant and forced instead of natural and unassuming. I wish we could just approach religion in a calm, natural manner...not forcing it out and not forcing it in.Amy https://www.blogger.com/profile/13204075881543478509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-37586190953426425262013-05-20T04:29:12.075-07:002013-05-20T04:29:12.075-07:00Thanks for sending me the link to this, Jess - I c...Thanks for sending me the link to this, Jess - I completely agree with you. I feel like authors get scared of coming across as being 'preachy', but like you point out, it so doesn't have to be, and that is frustrating!<br /><br />It's interesting, the way that so many subjects are becoming de-taboo, but religion remains one that we're still not entirely comfortable about. I wonder why. Maybe because faith can't be explained in the same way that other 'issues' can - not that I'm saying faith's an isssue, but you know how I mean? Like mental health and culture-clash etc, we can explain the where-what-when-why of them, but there's always going to be an unknown, even unknowable element in any depiction/discussion of faith and religion. Eh, I don't know.<br /><br />I can't think of many books that deal with religion (other than "Once was Lost" obviously) - I think in Miranda Kenneally's books (Catching Jordan, Stealing Parker, Things I Can't Forget...) some of her characters have a church background/church involvement but I haven't read them myself, so I don't know exactly, or how well she handles it. Ditto for The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8577968181719652880.post-27256910250121745602013-05-17T13:59:39.943-07:002013-05-17T13:59:39.943-07:00check check Jessnoreply@blogger.com