Posted by T. E. Jancek on 01/06/00 from madrid-tty10.slic.com:
In Reply to: Re: Appealing to a new generation? Really? posted by Dave Thewlis on January 05, 19100 at 17:33:09:
Dave Thewlis is right to be skeptical of the validity of the Schoolsnet survey results -- or any survey results, come to that. Alice's Restaurant isn't the only place where you can get anything you want, after all. Just ask Sara Harding.This said, the Schoolsnet survey appears to a cut above the typical 'best of everything' effort. It is, their press release notes, based on a record of books borrowed in 100 (UK) secondary school libraries for a full year, 'compiled by school library software management specialists Micro Librarian Systems, of Stockport.' Of course, the survey design could be flawed, or it could have some inbuilt bias -- but to what end? Schoolsnet doesn't seem to have any axe to grind here.
So, back to my original question: who's reading Ransome's children's books? Not the kids in northern New York, I'm afraid. The few remaining library copies gather dust, while the Harry Potter titles fly off the shelves.
Will the pendulum swing back, as suggested? I really haven't a clue, of course -- my crystal ball is in the shop -- but I've a strong hunch that, barring the emergence of a 'traditional family values' theocracy in the states, we've just about seen the last Swallow of this or any other season. Then again, maybe the Honourable Member from Arkansas will hit on using Ransome to keynote his next 'Just Say No to Sex' school campaign. Who can tell?
You gotta love America. Anything is possible.
T. E. Jancek