Klarinet Archive - Posting 000063.txt from 2004/04

From: "Rupert Kahn" <Rupert.Kahn@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Children's writing about Music [was Potter ]
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2004 19:09:10 -0400

Audrey asked "What age level would these books be suitable for, in your
opinion?"

Audrey
I wouldn't like to generalise too much. My 13 year old devoured the trilogy
reading the second two books in a two or three days, I read them to my 11
year old who finished the last book by himself because he wasn't prepared to
wait for me to read it a little bit at a time when the end was in sight.

What you will think is suitable will depend on how you feel children are
able to cope with issues like racism, parental loss and bereavement. I
would also say that though the context is historical the theme of
intercommunal violence will resonate powerfully with readers as a
contemporary issue. People behave badly and do terrible things in these
books, even characters who the readers may identify with. This is why I
said these books are tough. Gavin's skill is that when you read about
characters doing the wrong thing you ache for them to be better even as you
know they won't. In all the heartbreak there is real adventure in the
trilogy as the children cross India and stow away to England to find their
father after their world is torn apart and they are separated from their
mother. Then they struggle to make a life for themselves in London in
difficult circumstances, which they leave behind to return to India...

There are also things that I think probably went over my eleven year olds
head. For example there is a marriage in the trilogy following which there
is a fairly subtle reference to the bride being confirmed as having been a
virgin. Older readers will get this, younger ones will probably not notice.

Often good children's writing is much better than a lot of adult writing
which relies on genre conventions or explicitness to satisfy readers. One
answer to your question would be that you are never too old to read these
books so I would suggest you read them for your self and see if you want to
share them with the children in your life.

You can also find reviews and comments on Amazon. Gavin is fairly well
supported by British bookshops and there are more reviews and choices on the
UK Amazon site: http://tinyurl.com/2voyn

She has also written books for younger children but I haven't read these.

By the way the titles of the trilogy books are:
The Wheel of Surya
The Eye of the Horse
The Track of the Wind

Rupert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Audrey Travis" <vsofan@-----.ca>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: 04 April 2004 22:51
Subject: Re: [kl] Children's writing about Music [was Potter ]

Rupert Kahn wrote:

>
> To keep this vaguely relevent to this list I thought I'd reccomend Jamila
> Gavin to anyone who wants to know how good childrens writing can get. She
> doesn't do much for single reeds, but music is very important to her
books.
> "The Coram Boy" features a character who is Handel's assistant and a major
> event in the book is a performance of the Messiah. The three books of
the
> "Surya" trilogy are epic. It starts with the communal violence of the
> birth of India and Pakistan and the central characters are a boy and girl
> who cross continents and oceans to reunite their divided family. Music
is
> an essential part of the lives of many of the characters. For example a
> music festival in London is a key event in the second book.
>
> These are tough, moving, beutifully written books. I can't recommend
> them highly enough.

Rupert

What age level would these books be suitable for, in your opinion?

Thanks

Audrey

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