In The Percy Jackson Problem in The New Yorker, Rebecca Mead discusses the old "so-long-as-the-kiddies-are-reading-they-will-move-on-and-up" strategy vs. the old "you-can't-start-'em-on-Shakespeare-too-young" theory. According to Mead, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books fall into the first category. Ouch.
Mead finishes her essay speculating about what will happen if reading books like Percy Jackson doesn't lead to young minds moving onward and upward to eagerly sucking up the Assigned Book List. "What if instead of urging them on to more challenging adventures on
other, potentially perilous literary shores, it makes young readers
hungry only for more of the palatable same?"
I have no problem with palatable. We live in a free country, kids! Go rogue with your reading!
Okay. She writes for the New Yorker. I don't think they really grasp the middle grade mind, do you? But hey, if students think they are doing something vaguely naughty, maybe they will read MORE Riordan. Adults. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. The New Yorker. Middle graders. How can I put these two unrelated concepts together into a story idea?
ReplyDelete