Teachers may also hear children expressing some of these fears and uncertainties about unknown, or partially understood things in their world. For the very young this can seem irrational and unjustified from the adult's viewpoint. But the darkness of a room, the strangeness of a new location, sounds in the night, the uncertainty of a parent's absence, and the stress of new teachers and friends, can all lead to unexpected responses from children. In some cases there are deeper fears not even expressed, and at times only partially identified by the child. While many children will express freely their feelings about such fears, some do not. Books can offer a means to expose some of these fears and allow parents and teachers to discuss them openly. In this post I will review some of the books that address the conquering of fears. I will do this by also considering some of the sub-themes that are evident in books of this type for children
1. Conquering unknown fears
For the very young child books like Jez Alborough's book 'Where's My Teddy' is a lovely example. Eddy cannot find his teddy (whose name is Freddy) and heads off alone to the forest to find him. He becomes lost in the forest that is "dark and horrible in there". "Help!" said Eddy. "I'm scared already! I want my bed! I want my Eddy!" And then a surprise. Something that is potentially dangerous to Eddy (a big bear) has some fears of his own. They face their fears together before retreating to the security of their own familiar surroundings.
Anthony Browne's picture book 'The Tunnel'
(1989) is a little more complex and tells the story of a brother and
sister. The sister is the 'inside type' who loves reading alone and
'dreaming'. Her older brother loves the rough and tumble of the
outdoors. He teases and scares her for fun, but one day after he coaxes
her into a tunnel she faces some new fears that she conquers with the
help of her brother and in the process their relationship is
strengthened.
Maurice Sendak’s Caldecott Honour book 'Outside Over There',
is a strangely haunting story that at one level tells the story of a
baby that is kidnapped by goblins from the care of her sister (Ida),
while her father is at sea and her mother is in the Arbor. But at a
deeper level Sendak addresses the psychological struggles of a child
coping with the unwanted responsibility of looking after her baby sister
and her failure to do it well. Some suggest that the story could also
show one child's dreadful fantasy of what it might be like to be an
orphan herself - to be left alone. There are parallels here with
Sendak’s own life, as he is on the record saying that he identified with the baby. Some will
ask, as always, is this a children’s book? Yes, but it has depth that
would keep university English majors busy for weeks. Is the fear
conquered in the story? I think so, as Ida rests in the knowledge that
her father "loves her always".
A
simpler and more straightforward fear is of the monster that lurks in
the shadows of one's room at night. Probably every child faces this fear
of the shape or shadow that in the dark seems so threatening, but with
first light is strangely familiar. A classic example of this is Mercer
Mayer's well-known book There's a Nightmare in my Closet.
This is the story of a little boy who has fears for a 'nightmare' that
lives in his closet. He shuts the door each night as he goes to sleep.
One night he decides to conquer it by staying up and shooting it with
his popgun. But when he meets his 'nightmare' he realises that the
imaginary monster that is the nightmare is also frightened of the
unknown.The video clip below is a reading of the book by Billy Crystal.
2. Conquering known fears
a) Death
But here I want to draw a distinction between coping with death and actually 'conquering' it. Most of the above books deal with the experience of death and the message that death is an inevitable end to life. As well, they suggest that for those who are left to grieve, ultimately life goes on when we lose loved ones. For those who have a faith that sees life beyond death, this will lead to a different treatment. For example, the Christian will teach their child about God's promise of eternal life for those who place their faith in God's son Jesus. When most writers deal with the subject they rarely seek any type of metaphysical solutions to the problem of death. But a few try something a little more ambitious.
Maurice Sendak does this in his mysterious picture book 'Dear Mili'
which is based on a story by Wilhelm Grimm. This complex fairy tale (a
challenge for adults let alone children) was rediscovered in 1983, and is
designed to teach that life can be unpredictable and can have a
darker side. It tells of a young widowed mother, who fears for her
daughter when invaders come. She sends the child to hide in the forest
for three days where the girl becomes lost, prays to God and eventually
meets St Joseph who appears as a kind old hermit.Three days later (thirty years earth time in the book), St Joseph sends the girl back to her mother, who longs to see her once more before she dies. Like many of Sendak’s works, this picture book can be viewed from multiple perspectives. There is a surface-level narrative that most children will follow, but there are other 'layers' to unearth. There is an exploration of death and dying with references to the life beyond this earth. Some literary critics also point to the echoes of the myth of Persephone and Demeter, while others point to the underlying interpretation of Sendak’s illustrations as a pointer to a message about the Jewish holocaust.
A simpler example of how a child copes and then learns from his experience of death is 'Harry & Hopper' written by Margaret Wild (illustrated by Freye Blackwood). Harry's dog Hopper is killed and he struggles to accept the loss. "Would
you like to come and say goodbye to Hopper before I bury him?" asks his
father. "No," said Harry, and he turned the TV up louder.
Harry tries to hide from the truth of Hopper's death and doesn't tell
his friends about him being killed. But Hopper comes back to visit
Harry in his dreams and he has a chance to say goodbye. Now he is able
to acknowledge that Hopper is gone and in Blackwood's last drawing Harry
visits the grave. Here at least there is some resolution for Harry in
dealing with his pet's death.b) Danger
Many
books deal with how individuals cope with real dangers in their daily
life. Each of these generally conclude with the main character coming
to a new understanding of themselves and their world, that will help to
equip them to deal with future problems.'The Biggest Bear', by Lynd Ward (1952) is a beautiful book, with detailed pencil drawings throughout. It tells the story of a small boy named Johnny who lives on a farm close to the woods and who decides that he must deal with a great bear who had once threatened his grandfather. But in a real twist, instead of shooting the great bear, he ends up befriending it.
c) The threat of other children
There are a number of children's books that deal with the threat of other children, usually with a focus on bullying. Some of these stories deal with animal characters and some with children.
Barbara Shook Hazen's book 'The New Dog'
(1995) tells the story of Tootsie, a small white dog whom Miss
Pettibone pampers. But Miss Pettibone sends Tootsie off to Danny's Dog
walking Group where he learns that life can be tough and other dogs
cruel. Tootsie is the new dog trying to break into a group of canine
friends who enjoy picking on him. And of course, he has to prove
himself.In similar vein, Al Perkins 'The Digging-est Dog' tells the story of Duke who is rescued by Tommy Brown from the pet store to live on his farm. Duke is introduced to the local dogs and is well received until it becomes obvious that he cannot dig. In trying to prove himself to his mates Duke overshoots the mark and causes problems for his master. But ultimately there is a resolution.
3. Coping with the challenges of Isolation
Another
common fear that children and adults face is the fear of being isolated
and alone. One of the best examples that I know of is Jan Ormerod's
wonderful picture book 'Lizzie Nonsense'
(2004), which was rightfully awarded a Children's Book Council of
Australia honour book in 2005. Lizzie lives with her mother, father and
baby sister in almost total isolation deep in the Australian bush of the
late 19th century. When Lizzie's father heads off for days at a time to
cut timber, they are left alone and wait expectantly for his return.
Lizzie copes by living in her own fantasyland that her mother sees as
"Lizzie nonsense". Her mother protects herself and her family from the
perils of the Australian bush as they await the first sign of dust in
the distance, telltale sign of their father and husband's return. The
books strength is the way it portrays the separate experiences of
isolation by all family members and how they cope in their different
ways.4. Coping with the loss of something special
All
children at some time will have to deal with the loss of something
special. One of my favourite examples of a book that addresses this
sub-theme is Shirley Hughes' wonderful story 'Dogger'
(1977). This is a favourite with my grandchildren. Dave loses his precious soft brown dog that he calls 'Dogger'. He searches everywhere
without success and has to go to bed without him. The whole family
joins in the crisis as they seek to find Dogger for whom there is no
acceptable substitute. The next day Dave discovers Dogger at the Summer
Fair on a stall for sale, but he doesn't have the 5p needed to purchase
him and another little girl buys him first. Eventually the problem is
solved with Dave's sister Bella unselfishly saving the day by swapping a
brand new teddy that she has won to get Dogger back.Summing Up
I've just scratched the surface with this big thematic area. As can be seen from the above examples, many books offer children the opportunity (or perhaps invitation) to explore their fears. Parents and teachers have a key role to introduce children to such books at appropriate times and support them as they experience the stories and learn from them.
Related links
All previous posts on Key Themes in Children's Literature (here)
Note: This is a revised version of a post I shared on the 27th June 2009.
