Posted by Jon_Tucker on June 28, 2014 at 16:32:59 user Jon_Tucker.
In Reply to: Re: Children's books should not have 'patronising' happy endings posted by Andy on June 25, 2014 at 01:54:40:
As an antipodean author, I've noted that UK childrens' books are currently trending towards the bleak. Even in Australia the larger publishers are now targeting first-person narrative linear plots with a dark edge. Personally I have a concern at the long-term outcomes of feeding impressionable children a reading diet based on themes of social dislocation, corruption and ongoing semi-resolved injustices. Brook's harshness towards plots with genuinely satisfying resolutions is - in my view - a condescending attitude in itself, based on his inability to accept that younger readers crave to identify with characters who achieve tangible success. Ransome's lasting magic was based on this reality. Brook's attitude makes me even more determined to swim against the current literary trends.