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where children read for pleasure. This inspiring book contains
children's responses in multiple literacies to
fantasy books, providing practical examples that clarify the
meaning and power of reader response. In the
forward, Laurence Yep asserts that fantasy teaches basic
survival skills, how to adapt to uncomfortable
situations, and how to fit into this world. "Fantasy is the
royal road into childhood" (p. viii). Mikkelsen asserts that
fantasy literature naturally elicits long and rich responses. In
other words, if we want to learn more about
children and books, fantasy opens up the door. Using The Snowman
by Raymond Briggs (1978) as an
example, Mikkelsen demonstrates how gender, personality, age,
experiential background, and prior contact with
a book impact children's responses. No one adult, textbook
manual, or test can predict what a child should or
will produce as a response. As children listen to Alexander and
the Wind-up Mouse (Lionni, 1989), they predict,
wonder, and respond to the book from cover to cover. When the
story is over, Mikelsen invites them to tell their
own Alexander stories by drawing, writing, or creating a drama,
resulting in deep thinking and creative response
in ways no adult could have predicted. Clearly teachers who rely
upon textbooks to share literature sacrifice
generative literary, narrative, critical, personal/empathetic,
and sociocultural literacies for a fragmented print
literacy. Powerful Magic is indeed a powerful book. Each chapter
adds to the web of diverse and deep
experiences fantasy books provide that turn children (and all
ages) into active readers with a diverse repertoire
of thoughtful responses. "Difference produces the prisms of
response we need to learn more about literature
and child worlds" (p. 182). (LLL)
Subject: Book reviews; Nonfiction; Science fiction &
fantasy; Literacy; Children & youth; Reader
response;Reading
People: Mikkelsen, Nina, Yep, Laurence
Publication title: Language Arts
Volume: 83
Issue: 6Pages: 544-545
Number of pages: 2
Publication year: 2006
Publication date: Jul 2006
Year: 2006
Section: Reading Corner for Educators
Publisher: National Council of Teachers of English Conference on
College Composition and CommunicationPlace of publication:
Urbana
Country of publication: United States
Publication subject: Education--Teaching Methods And Curriculum,
Children And Youth - About, Linguistics
ISSN: 03609170
CODEN: LAARD7
Source type: Scholarly Journals
Language of publication: EnglishDocument type: Book
Review-Favorable
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