Recent Reading

Gloria Rolton <grolton DeleteThis @picknowl.com.au> wrote in article
<a76eefa3.0406070622.68fd8994 DeleteThis @posting.google.com>...
 > Has anyone read "The curious incident of
 > the dog in the night-time"?
 > This won the Whitbread Award and in the British Book
 > Awards won both the Children's and the Literary Fiction
 > Award.
 > I've just finished it and while I enjoyed it I do
 > not know how I'd go introducing it to the kids I
 > used to teach.
 > Gloria

That was approximately my reaction too - I enjoyed it / thought it was
powerful, but feel that it's not really for teens - that most don't have
background, e.g. of being a parent.

Jane<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 07:20:06 GMT, "Clark McIvor"
<clarkmci-nospam.DeleteThis@gil.com.au> wrote:
 >Gloria Rolton <grolton.DeleteThis@picknowl.com.au> wrote in article
 ><a76eefa3.0406070622.68fd8994.DeleteThis@posting.google.com>...
  >> Has anyone read "The curious incident of
  >> the dog in the night-time"?
  >> This won the Whitbread Award and in the British Book
  >> Awards won both the Children's and the Literary Fiction
  >> Award.
  >> I've just finished it and while I enjoyed it I do
  >> not know how I'd go introducing it to the kids I
  >> used to teach.
 >That was approximately my reaction too - I enjoyed it / thought it was
 >powerful, but feel that it's not really for teens - that most don't have
 >background, e.g. of being a parent.

I haven't the background of being a parent. Does this mean I wasn't
to enjoy the book (which, for the record I quite did)?

Should they not have taught us _The Stone Angel_ in high school
because we hadn't lived through the Depression and weren't old with
kids who hated us?

I'm boggled by the idea that one has to have experienced something
before being able to appreciate a book about that thing. Yes, they
may not get all that could be gleaned from the book, but that doesn't
mean it wouldn't be worthwhile.

SW<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Gloria Rolton wrote:

 > Stephen Kane wrote of his latest reading and has left me anxiour to search out
 > several titles. Has anyone read "The curious incident of the dog in the
 > night-time"? This won the Whitbread Award and in the British Book Awards won
 > both the Children's and the Literary Fiction Award. I've just finished it and
 > while I enjoyed it I do not know how I'd go introducing it to the kids I used
 > to teach.

Anyone know whether YA readers have enjoyed it?

Stephen.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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"Stephen Kane" <none.RemoveThis@none.com> wrote in message
news:BCF24297.123B5%none@none.com...
 >
 > Gloria Rolton wrote:
 >
  > > Stephen Kane wrote of his latest reading and has left me anxiour to
search out
  > > several titles. Has anyone read "The curious incident of the dog in the
  > > night-time"? This won the Whitbread Award and in the British Book Awards
won
  > > both the Children's and the Literary Fiction Award. I've just finished
it and
  > > while I enjoyed it I do not know how I'd go introducing it to the kids I
used
  > > to teach.
 >
 > Anyone know whether YA readers have enjoyed it?
 >
 > Stephen.

My 3 sons and I have listened to the unabridged audio version. All of us
enjoyed it very much.

Doug<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Doug Mitchell wrote:

 > Stephen Kane wrote:

  >> Gloria Rolton wrote:

   >>> Has anyone read "The curious incident of the dog in the night-time"? This
   >>> won the Whitbread Award and in the British Book Awards won both the
   >>> Children's and the Literary Fiction Award. I've just finished it and while I
   >>> enjoyed it I do not know how I'd go introducing it to the kids I used to
   >>> teach.

  >> Anyone know whether YA readers have enjoyed it?

 > My 3 sons and I have listened to the unabridged audio version. All of us
 > enjoyed it very much.

I'm not sure what exactly had Gloria wondering how to introduce it to kids.

Stephen.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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"Stephen Kane" <none.RemoveThis@none.com> wrote in message
news:BCF24297.123B5%none@none.com...
 >
 > Gloria Rolton wrote:
 >
  > > Stephen Kane wrote of his latest reading and has left me anxiour to
search out
  > > several titles. Has anyone read "The curious incident of the dog in the
  > > night-time"? This won the Whitbread Award and in the British Book Awards
won
  > > both the Children's and the Literary Fiction Award. I've just finished
it and
  > > while I enjoyed it I do not know how I'd go introducing it to the kids I
used
  > > to teach.
 >
 > Anyone know whether YA readers have enjoyed it?

I'm an adult who still reads mostly YA stuff, and I enjoyed it.
I do work with autistic kids, though, so maybe my education/experience
factors into how much I enjoyed it.

Tina<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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A very precocious 14 year old reader I know gave up on it. This is almost
unprecedented for this girl. However a colleague's children - 13 and 16
loved it. I think I would have loved it as a teenager, but I feel I enjoyed
it (and would have enjoyed it then) as an Adult I think anyone with
knowledge of autism would appreciate it, and perhaps the reason why the
young reader I know did not enjoy it was because she had never met anyone
like Christopher. Autism and Asperger's are never actually mentioned and I
think without a "factual" structure, explaining to some extent what these
conditions are, she felt lost in the narrative, and confused by his
behaviour. I do think it was a brilliant portrayal, but I think most child,
and many YA readers would not be able to accept the relative impossibility
of identifying with the main character - in that I cannot imagine not
understanding metaphors, nor am I any good at maths!


  > > Gloria Rolton wrote:
  > >
   > > > Stephen Kane wrote of his latest reading and has left me anxiour to
 > search out
   > > > several titles. Has anyone read "The curious incident of the dog in
the
   > > > night-time"? This won the Whitbread Award and in the British Book
Awards
 > won
   > > > both the Children's and the Literary Fiction Award. I've just finished
 > it and
   > > > while I enjoyed it I do not know how I'd go introducing it to the kids
I
 > used
   > > > to teach.
  > >
  > > Anyone know whether YA readers have enjoyed it?
 >
 > I'm an adult who still reads mostly YA stuff, and I enjoyed it.
 > I do work with autistic kids, though, so maybe my education/experience
 > factors into how much I enjoyed it.
 >
 > Tina
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Gillian Travis wrote:

 > Tink wrote:

  >> Stephen Kane wrote:

   >>> Gloria Rolton wrote:

   >>>> Stephen Kane wrote of his latest reading and has left me anxiour to search
   >>>> out several titles. Has anyone read "The curious incident of the dog in the
   >>>> night-time"? This won the Whitbread Award and in the British Book Awards
   >>>> won both the Children's and the Literary Fiction Award. I've just finished
   >>>> it and while I enjoyed it I do not know how I'd go introducing it to the
   >>>> kids I used to teach.

   >>> Anyone know whether YA readers have enjoyed it?

  >> I'm an adult who still reads mostly YA stuff, and I enjoyed it. I do work
  >> with autistic kids, though, so maybe my education/experience factors into how
  >> much I enjoyed it.

 > A very precocious 14 year old reader I know gave up on it. This is almost
 > unprecedented for this girl. However a colleague's children - 13 and 16 loved
 > it. I think I would have loved it as a teenager, but I feel I enjoyed it (and
 > would have enjoyed it then) as an Adult I think anyone with knowledge of
 > autism would appreciate it, and perhaps the reason why the young reader I know
 > did not enjoy it was because she had never met anyone like Christopher.
 > Autism and Asperger's are never actually mentioned and I think without a
 > "factual" structure, explaining to some extent what these conditions are, she
 > felt lost in the narrative, and confused by his behaviour. I do think it was
 > a brilliant portrayal, but I think most child, and many YA readers would not
 > be able to accept the relative impossibility of identifying with the main
 > character - in that I cannot imagine not understanding metaphors, nor am I any
 > good at maths!

I tend to agree.

Stephen.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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