A Home in Books

Mitali's Fire Escape has a link to an article Mitali has in School Library Journal's Curriculum Connections spring 2007 issue. It is titled No Place Like Home: Books Can Create a Strong Sense of Place. She discusses her own frequent moves during childhood and tells about the literature that meant the most to her growing up. She is particularly addressing the way children who have changed environments several times are drawn to books that are written with a strong sense of place. She says,

"Displaced youngsters want to know what it feels like to have roots. Surprisingly, a few classic books from your parents’ childhood might be one way to satisfy this desire. The best writers from the past were masters when it came to creating a sense of place. If you serve immigrant, internationally adopted, or bicultural young people, you may already have noticed their affinity for traditional, old-fashioned tales."

She discusses several books, old and new, that are written with a wonderfully sensual grounding in their character's world. A Drowned Maiden's Hair is one book she mentions. She quotes a passage from the book where Maud is viewing the ocean by herself for the first time and is delighted and awed by the beauty and power. Mitali says, "Schlitz uses the ocean’s waves to mirror love’s magnificence and potential to destroy." Farmer Boy and Higher Power of Lucky are also mentioned. It's a great article - go check it out!