tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3619064257976283368.post2169322615068996166..comments2024-03-08T01:54:50.222-05:00Comments on . . . Even in Australia: Motherless Children Having AdventuresEven in Australiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04477875616674358434noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3619064257976283368.post-61665534390613148912011-09-01T00:01:56.320-04:002011-09-01T00:01:56.320-04:00Oh, and The Secret Garden, too. Burnett loves her...Oh, and The Secret Garden, too. Burnett loves her motherless children.Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10668869030805539811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3619064257976283368.post-80794105121393551402011-09-01T00:00:45.462-04:002011-09-01T00:00:45.462-04:00What an excellent, thorough post! Here's our ...What an excellent, thorough post! Here's our brief middle-grade list of "Orphans having adventures" from Annie and Aunt:<br /><br />The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner<br />A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett<br />Mistress Masham's Repose, by T.H. White<br />Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren <br /><br />Yep, it's been striking to me, too.Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10668869030805539811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3619064257976283368.post-21378043917259081232011-08-29T06:04:20.352-04:002011-08-29T06:04:20.352-04:00When I read books as as kid I never really thought...When I read books as as kid I never really thought about how in almost all books the parents are absent (even when they do exist) during the main action of the story. But now, reading them as an adult, I see that this makes perfect sense. What child wants to read about the adventures of parents?? And usually reading is such an independent activity that reading about independent children, I suppose, enhances that sense of self. Right now I am reading Mary Poppins to my son. The parents are alive, but not a main part of the action (so far, we haven't finished). Mary may be an adult, but it's significant that she is not a parent. Who wants to have that kind of adventure with one's MOM?Storied Citieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07905014932745432905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3619064257976283368.post-59517694534277106842011-08-27T20:41:05.778-04:002011-08-27T20:41:05.778-04:00Thanks, Beth. I don't know the Bastables (alt...Thanks, Beth. I don't know the Bastables (although I know other Nesbit books) or Sammy Keyes at all, so I'll check those out.<br /><br />I thought of Pippi but she just seemed sui generis to me... she doesn't have ANY adult influences, right?Even in Australiahttp://eveninaustraliakidlit.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3619064257976283368.post-6749466735302735492011-08-27T20:03:02.349-04:002011-08-27T20:03:02.349-04:00Sara Crewe is motherless; she also gets stuck in a...Sara Crewe is motherless; she also gets stuck in a boarding school but her relationship to her dad is very close. I think the Bastables are motherless.<br /><br />Sammy Keyes lives with her grandmother; her absentee mother is frequently mentioned and the grandmother is a big part of most of the books, so that's a counterexample. Pippi Longstocking is motherless.Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com