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I first learned about this book in 2002, most likely from the recommendation of two good friends, Wang Lin and Zhang Jiahua, who were doing their PhDs in Beijing at the time. I started looking for it ever since.
This book was previously often referred to as “The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature” because it was translated and published by Taiwan’s Tianwei Publishing Company, with the translator being Liu Fengxin. However, firstly, it was inconvenient to buy the Taiwanese version at the time, and secondly, given my stubborn reading habits, I wanted to read the original version. This desire was truly strong, as I was desperate to delve deeper into children’s literature, but the available resources felt inadequate. I don’t mean to favor one over the other; it’s simply that everyone’s knowledge base and way of thinking (perhaps loosely understood as what Nordmann called “knowledge sets”) can lead to vastly different paths and preferences for seeking knowledge.
In short, I have been looking for the English version of this book since 2002: The Pleasures of
Children’s
Literature. It took a lot of effort to finally get my hands on it in late 2003. Back then, I hadn’t dared to buy directly from Amazon, but I could already search for it. It was $45 back then—not cheap, was it? But if you search now, it’s up to $66.24! So if you really want it, you better act fast. :)
That year I asked a friend in the United States to buy it and then ship it here. At the same time, I was also looking for Tillis’s “Reading Manual” and another book, as well as all the reading theory books that Chambers could find, and an original edition of “The Light in the Attic”. In fact, there are not many books in total, but the friend I asked did not know much about this kind of books. He searched everywhere, bought some books twice, and even bought a wrong edition of “Reading Manual” (suspected to be pirated). After all the books were sent over, I calculated that it was far over budget, and the shipping fee was half of the book price! So the total cost is…
Pleasures of Children’s
Literature cost at least $67. It wasn’t easy to come by! But in hindsight, thanks to all that trouble, it was a good thing I didn’t buy it until 2003, because that year, the third edition of the book came out. It was a new edition co-authored by Professor Nordman and his colleague, Ms. Reimer. The recently published book, The Joy of Children’s Literature (translated by Chen Zhongmei), by the Children’s Publishing House, is based on this edition.
Read The Pleasures of Children’s
Reading Literature was a long process for me. I still don’t know if I’ve read every corner of it, but I can be sure that I haven’t fully understood it yet. My habit of reading books like this is to read when I have questions or interests, so I’ll read some chapters over and over again, and skip others if I’m not particularly interested. If the book talks about a topic that I’m particularly interested in, I’ll find a related book to read. For example, I happened to be interested in the part about picture books in this book, so I found Nordmann’s Words
About Pictures: The Narrative Art of Children’s Picture
Books. After reading that one, I was involuntarily drawn to the next, so I had to put Fun aside for the time being. So, reading this book was a very long process. Interestingly, for at least three years, no matter where my reading led me, I would always find myself back at this book, starting a new journey from there. It was a very good starting point and hub for me. Fortunately, the English version of this book has an excellent table of contents and a very detailed index, making it very easy to find my way back and forth. For several years, I kept this book close by, never borrowing it, as if I would lose my way without it.
Why is this book so important to me? I sometimes think about this.Help children fall in love with readingI mentioned Nordmann in the first chapter of “The Joy of Fun,” discussing how he begins his book with a personal account, particularly of his childhood. This is something I particularly admire! I’ve yet to read another theoretical book where the author begins with such a “personal confession”—what’s the purpose of this self-analysis? Before readers engage with his ideas, the author attempts to understand himself, naturally stimulating them to reflect and analyze themselves. The author’s message is this: every idea or viewpoint has a source and a medium. The ideas conveyed in this book come from the author himself or his own compilation, so you need to understand the author and, as much as possible, the various factors that influenced him. Readers, when choosing whether to accept or ultimately form their own ideas or views, should also consider similar considerations. I think this is a very courageous and wise approach. It’s simply a simple fact, but many seemingly authoritative “experts” often do the opposite. They strive to create a posture before speaking that intimidates readers from even considering their ideas or statements, as if those ideas or statements are absolute truths that apply universally. However, there are indeed many readers who would rather listen to such statements because it seems safe to rely on such “experts”.
I understand what Mr. Nordman and Ms. Reimer meant: Dear readers, welcome to this garden of thought. Please first understand the situation of the owner of this garden, and also reflect on yourselves. Then come and look, talk, and think. Don’t be too trusting of the owner here, just as you shouldn’t be too trusting of yourself. Everything is doubtable.
Entering with this mentality is what Nordman is most looking forward to.
It just so happens that I always enter every garden with this mentality:)
The theoretical garden of children’s literature, created by Mr. Nordmann and his assistant, Ms. Reimer, is brimming with speculative thought. Initial readers might feel as if they’re holding a kaleidoscope. Imagine reaching for a telescope or microscope, only to find a kaleidoscope in your hands. What’s that like? At first glance, you’re amazed by the beautiful patterns! So this is what children’s literature is all about! But a slight rotation of the kaleidoscope, a reorientation, or a different light source reveals yet another image! As you continue to observe, you can’t help but wonder: What exactly is children’s literature like? Which image is truly authentic?
Therefore, if you just plan to casually stroll in the garden to enjoy the scenery and pick a few flowers or young branches to decorate your home, then such a garden is not very suitable.
Let me give you an example. The place I visit most often in this garden is Chapter 5, “Common Assumptions about Childhood”.
Assumptions about
At the entrance to this garden within a garden, the owner invites us to take a short test: Please write down “Children’s books are ____________” and “Children are, or should be, ___________.” Experienced visitors will immediately recognize that this is, to some extent, a trap—a fun one, sure to tempt you into it. So, I urge you to “go for it, knowing there’s a tiger in the mountain.” Once you’ve finished writing and enter the garden, you’ll find that whatever you’ve written, the thoughts, ideas, or, more bluntly, ideologies it reflects, are already mirrored within this garden. Those concepts and ideas about children’s books and children that you consider common sense, unquestionable, or at least safe to say “everyone thinks and says this,” are simply flowers that bloomed in a specific time, environment, and soil.
To be more specific, for example, we often naturally say that children should have books appropriate to their developmental stages, as children’s cognitive and intellectual abilities mature with age. Is this generally how we view it now? However, in this garden, we see that this concept developed only recently; before that, “we” didn’t hold this view. Furthermore, this statement actually conceals an assumption: that the development of children’s cognitive and intellectual abilities has a certain maturity standard, and this standard is almost certainly that of adults. This assumption itself is highly questionable! The practical consequence of this questioning is the questioning of the necessity of childhood reading and censorship. If this hidden assumption is true, then in other words, if minors do not possess the same “sophisticated” intellectual abilities as adults, then adults have not only the responsibility but also the right to “regulate” their thinking. When we push this hypothesis to this extreme, you’ll undoubtedly feel a pang of disapproval. Any adult who has interacted with children without prejudice, anyone who hasn’t completely forgotten their own childhood, will subtly perceive that children possess remarkable intellectual abilities and judgment in certain areas, sometimes even far more discerning and insightful than adults. Is the relationship between children and adults truly as hypothesized? On this question, Nordmann clearly expressed reservations about the view of child development that has been generalized from Piaget’s ideas. He preferred the critical perspective of child philosophy researcher Matthews.
So when we turn to this garden within a garden, generally speaking, readers need to sort out the development of their views on children, and have to ask themselves: where do my own views on children and children’s books come from? If we want to understand more, we have to continue to delve into Piaget and his subsequent developments, as well as Matthews’s thinking or more directly criticism of this. Matthews published The
Philosophy of
Childhood (The Philosophy of Childhood) devotes a chapter to this topic. So why did Nordman himself lean towards what Matthews considers a more radical view? We can look back at Nordman’s background. Perhaps it was the feeling of being an “outsider” brought about by his Canadian Jewish family that influenced his childhood, leading him to pay special attention to the rights of “vulnerable groups,” naturally including the rights of children, who are more vulnerable than adults.
I’ll stop here for now. The garden run by Nordmann and Reimer is enormous. While it can’t be said to encompass everything, it certainly has everything within our reach. I’m delighted to invite you all to join me as both a visitor and a guide. This is partly a personal endeavor, because even though I’ve been here for a while, I still find myself perplexed and sometimes quite alone. I can’t find anyone to share my many doubts with.
Previously, there were only English and Traditional Chinese versions, and the tickets were too expensive. Now there is finally a simplified Chinese version, priced at 59 RMB, which is quite cheap as a ticket. Three other books (Understanding Children’s Literature,Fairy tale as myth/Myth as fairy tale》《You Are Only Young Twice — Children’s Literature and Film》), which is included in the “Hyacinth Children’s Literature Theory Translation Series”. I know that the entire translation series is edited by Mr. Fang Weiping and Mr. Zhang Jiahua as deputy editor-in-chief. It goes without saying that they are well-educated, and the books they selected must be very important. For a general understanding of these four books, please refer to Fang Weiping’s “General Introduction: Western Academic Resources and the Construction of Contemporary Chinese Child TheoryDon’t underestimate these four books; they are the first systematic translation and introduction of foreign children’s literature research results into the field of contemporary Chinese children’s literature theory since 1949. I hope this is a good start.
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Honestly, I’m not yet qualified to judge the translation of “The Joy of Children’s Literature.” Nordman’s book is difficult to understand, not because of the literal meaning, but because of the “knowledge base” behind the text. The breadth of its scope is unimaginable, far exceeding the knowledge of the average Chinese researcher. I believe we can’t expect a fully comprehensive translation that clarifies all relevant knowledge points. The translator, Chen Zhongmei, is a junior of Mr. Zhang Jiahua. She holds a Master’s degree in Children’s Literature and is fluent in English. As far as I know, with his strong recommendation and encouragement, she spent over a year meticulously completing the translation. Translating this book was a massive (I’d even say terrifying) undertaking, requiring immense perseverance. Before and after the book’s publication, I read through some of the chapters that particularly interested me, and I found the writing to be quite fluent. As for a more in-depth assessment, I’m not yet qualified to do so. I hope more like-minded individuals will share their insights.
However, this book mentions many children’s literature writers and works. The translation of some places does not conform to the conventional translation or the translated names that have been introduced, which makes reading a little confusing.
The Wild Things
Are, usually translated as “Where the Wild Things Are” or “Wild Beast Country,” is translated as “Wild Things” in the book. I originally wanted to help sort out this type of translation, but due to time constraints, I was unable to do so, which is somewhat regrettable. If you encounter such a place, readers may need to search online for the English name.
There is another point I cannot help but say. This book, including the entire translation series, still has no index of book titles, names or keywords, which is very regrettable. This greatly reduces the ease of use of theoretical books. For editors, creating an index is indeed time-consuming and labor-intensive, but it is worth doing. If the translated work is really difficult, you can add the original page number of the original book next to the translation, and then directly translate the English index and re-sort it by Chinese pinyin. Of course, when you hear this “criticism” from me, you might as well know that I am a person who has a quirk about indexes. It is almost impossible to read theoretical books without indexes. By the way, let me tell you that the recently reprinted “Five People Talking about Chinese Children’s LiteratureThe index at the end of “The Book of Changes” was made by me personally for the publisher at my insistence. It took me a week to do it, and I didn’t even get paid. But I think it was worth it :)
Beijing, April 23, 2009
English
