We occasionally remember ancestors from other shores. We occasionally connect with the Native Americans’ much deeper and more historical sense of our land. But we are stamped with an imprint of innovative adventure in a world that full of promise and surprise.
Our American authors cannot help but embed some of our American sense of self in their writing. We look to the remarkable writers of the American South if we want American stories with a strong sense of place — they have an older sensibility. But many of our writers, especially those for young readers, write with fresh eyes and the air of discovery that is so very American.Which is why it is especially interesting to read authors from England and the rest of Europe! Here, we find authors that plum the depths of history, taking in the past, the dust and light, smell and sound of a world long-gone, with an ease and grace as if these are the natural assets of their universe. And the past, with the intricate, confusing, conflicting tapestry of ideas and ideals seems very present and available in some of the stories coming from European writers.It’s a glorious world for readers, who can debate whether there exists and “old world” view (weltanschauung) and an American perspective, whether universal themes are truly universal, whether ethnocentrism can be an asset, whether it exists at all. But mostly, it’s a glorious world for readers who can read writers from other places, from the “old world” where centuries of stories filter through the ages and land on the pages of their books.TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD, by J. K. Rowling (Scholastic Inc., 2008). This latest offering from famed Harry Potter creator, J. K. Rowling, was released in December 2008. It’s a slim volume with just 5 stories, fairy tales for wizarding children. We heard them mentioned by Ron Weasley in “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows” when Ron incredulously knew stories that the well-read Hermione Granger did not. Those stories are now told here: “The Hopping Pot,” “Fountain of Fair Fortune,” “Babbity Rabbity and the Cackling Stump,” “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” and of course, “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” This last was central to The Deathly Hallows, so Potter fans will already know it, but now we can read the other stories and again participate in the world of Harry Potter.True to her style, J. K. Rowling creates an entire alternate universe that seems as real on the page as our own. These stories have the hallmarks of fairy tales, but with a wizarding edge. None is particularly novel, but each will entertain children of all ages. Each relies on the imaginary universe of the wizarding world, with its history and standards of behavior, its past and its present. The stories of maidens and knights, castles and kings, evoke the medieval past of Europe. This is the rich tapestry of millennia, not just a few centuries, where even the plagues and problems of the period connect to older myths and beliefs. J. K. Rowling taps the roots of traditional Old World folklore like a master, bringing forth new stories that seem as if they have always been there, been told in a hidden world of witches and wizards, warlocks and hags.More interesting to Harry Potter fans than even these entertaining stories are the notes that were “written” by Albus Dumbledore, the famed Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizarding, friend of Harry Potter, and sometime nemesis of Lord Voldemort. We learn, for example, what is the difference between a warlock and a wizard. We get a glimpse of Lucius Malfoy’s ancestor, Brutus Malfoy, at work, and discover another instance of the conflict between Lucius and Albus that peppers the pages of the Harry Potter chronicle. Although the book is small, and quickly and easily read, it could provide suitable and happy bedtime reading for muggle children who still enjoy listening to their parents as they drift toward slumber. It will be snapped up by Potter fans and, I suspect, the stories will be passed on to children much as the stories of the Brothers Grimm. Proceeds from the sale of the book are contributed to Children’s High Level Group, a non-profit organization helping to deinstitutionalize the millions of children suffering across Europe from some faulty policies of the past. What’s not to love in this new book? (Ages 6-12).THE ROAD OF THE DEAD, by Kevin Brooks (Scholastic Inc., 2007). This is a compelling book, one that sucks in the reader with the very finest of writing. The opening pages introduce us to Ruben and Cole Ford, teenaged brothers to the beautiful Rachel, who is brutally murdered. The need to find her murderer so that the police will release her body for burial motivates the brooding Cole to travel to the place where it all happened. His younger brother, Ruben, the point-of-view main character, goes along to keep Cole out of trouble.Brooks is a remarkable author. He convinces us that these two teens, half-Gypsy, are free to roam the country, without too much intervention from authorities. We have no trouble accepting that Ruben has an unusual gift, the ability to share the senses of different people, an ability not within his control, but one he accepts. And we completely immerse ourselves in the strange world, where the heath and the nearly over-grow 14th century Road of the Dead provide a dark presence in the story. This is a story with suspense at its heart. Fear tingles, not only in Ruben’s spine but in the reader’s. Brooks makes us care and makes us take up the cause of Ruben and Cole, two unlikely heroes, with the sheer power or his writing.The story is compelling, but for me, also a bit unsatisfying. This isn’t traditional mystery, where the goal is to find out who committed the murder and why. It isn’t really “young adult” where a teen has a coming-of-age experience and changes, matures, transforms in some important aspect. It isn’t justice achieved or happily ever after. It ends at a point where, I suspect, it must because any further extension would push the bounds of believability too far.But the writing, the living presence of the past, the strong sense of place make this a book not to be missed. (Ages 14+).
