Excellent article in Newsweek about the crossover of young adult and children’s literature into adult mainstream reading and why*:
…Or maybe grown-ups like children’s entertainment simply because it’s better than their own. Since writers can’t fall back on sex, romance or profanity, the storytelling has to be dramatic and clear. Critic Francis Spufford, who reread all his childhood favorites while writing his memoir, “The Child That Books Built,” believes that kids’ books fill a need for compelling stories currently missing in adult fiction. He blames modernism for encouraging experimentation at the expense of a sound narrative. “What’s happening now is a return to the story in its strongest sense, to the primal excitement of wanting to know what happens next,” he says. Furthermore, children’s stories are more sophisticated and nuanced than they used to be, addressing adult themes like darkness, loss, sorrow and moral ambiguity.
And why didn’t anyone tell me that His Dark Materials has been made into a stage play?! And why oh why can’t I afford to hop over to London to see it!?
*thanks to sternel for posting this in