Full Product Details
Author: Adrienne Kertzer
Publisher: Broadview Press Ltd
Imprint: Broadview Press Ltd
Dimensions:
Width: 14.00cm
, Height: 2.40cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.540kg
ISBN: 9781551113401
ISBN 10: 1551113406
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 11 December 2001
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
“Adrienne Kertzer’s My Mother’s Voice is, as its title suggests, a book inspired and informed by personal experience, but the questions it raises have never been more vital for all of us: how do we represent to children an evil that defies our powers of imagination, let alone our comprehension? How do we convey, in addition to historical facts, the enormity and inexorability of the crime while continuing to encourage hope and a sense that individual choice can make a difference? Kertzer provides no easy or definitive answers to such questions; rather, through detailed analysis of a wide range of texts, from The Diary of Anne Frank to Daniel’s Story (commissioned by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) to Stephen King’s Apt Pupil, she convincingly demonstrates just how difficult the questions are and how simplistic, disingenuous, tortuous, or counterproductive many of our efforts to enlighten and inspire the young have been. For scholars and theorists of children’s literature, her book is especially fascinating, for, in dealing with the subject of Holocaust representation, Kertzer reintroduces questions that have long challenged us: does children’s literature constitute a distinct genre and, if so, what are its distinguishing characteristics? How does literature for adults, especially literature that features a child’s voice or perspective, differ from that written expressly for children? This profound and thought-provoking book should be read by everyone who is interested in children’s literature, the history of childhood, the education of children, or representations of the Holocaust (or, for that matter, of any evil that leaves us at a loss for words).” — Elizabeth Lennox Keyser, Professor of English, Hollins University, and Editor, Children’s Literature
Adrienne Kertzer's My Mother's Voice is, as its title suggests, a book inspired and informed by personal experience, but the questions it raises have never been more vital for all of us: how do we represent to children an evil that defies our powers of imagination, let alone our comprehension? How do we convey, in addition to historical facts, the enormity and inexorability of the crime while continuing to encourage hope and a sense that individual choice can make a difference? Kertzer provides no easy or definitive answers to such questions; rather, through detailed analysis of a wide range of texts, from The Diary of Anne Frank to Daniel's Story (commissioned by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) to Stephen King's Apt Pupil, she convincingly demonstrates just how difficult the questions are and how simplistic, disingenuous, tortuous, or counterproductive many of our efforts to enlighten and inspire the young have been. For scholars and theorists of children's literature, her book is especially fascinating, for, in dealing with the subject of Holocaust representation, Kertzer reintroduces questions that have long challenged us: does children's literature constitute a distinct genre and, if so, what are its distinguishing characteristics? How does literature for adults, especially literature that features a child's voice or perspective, differ from that written expressly for children? This profound and thought-provoking book should be read by everyone who is interested in children's literature, the history of childhood, the education of children, or representations of the Holocaust (or, for that matter, of any evil that leaves us at a loss for words). -- Elizabeth Lennox Keyser, Professor of English, Hollins University, and Editor, Children's Literature
Author Information
Adrienne Kertzer is Professor and former Chair of the Department of English at The University of Calgary.
