This study considers a range of the techniques of narrative used in modernudliterature for children. The central focus is on those aspects ofudnarrative which present difficulty for the young reader. Theseudinclude point of view, narrative structure, irony and the sense of ending,udaspects which may, singly or in combination, be ignored by the teacher.udIn order to give a clear basis for the study of these aspects the fictionudof Jane Gardam has been selected as a representative of current approachesudto narrative in literature for the young. Her work is used asudillustrative of both the range and difficulties of narrative in currentudchildren's literature. The analysis leads to a discussion of some of theudways in which a teacher can mediate a book with a child in_order to helpudhim become a more sensitive and discerning reader, one who can both add touda reading repertoire and select from it wisely, so that he is neither audvictim of the story nor a destructive critic unappreciative of theudstoryteller's art or the issues embedded in a narrative; a reader withudaesthetic appreciation and critical discrimination in a balance thatudallows him conscious freedom; a reader who is able to understand moreudfully how he makes sense of both fiction and life.
展开▼
