Secrets, Lies and Children’s Fiction

244 Pages·2013·2.959 MB·English

by  Kerry Mallan (auth.)

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Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature
Series Editors: Kerry Mallan and Clare Bradford
Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature is an innovative series concerned
with the best contemporary scholarship and criticism on children’s and young
adult literature, film, and media texts. The series addresses new and develop-
ing areas of children’s literature research as well as bringing contemporary
perspectives to historical texts. The series has a distinctive take on scholarship,
delivering quality works of criticism written in an accessible style for a range
of readers, both academic and professional. The series is invaluable for under-
graduate students in children’s literature as well as advanced students and
established scholars.
Published titles include:
Cherie Allan
PLAYING WITH PICTUREBOOKS
Postmodernism and the Postmodernesque
Clare Bradford, Kerry Mallan, John Stephens & Robyn McCallum
NEW WORLD ORDERS IN CONTEMPORARY CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
Utopian Transformations
Alice Curry
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS IN YOUNG ADULT FICTION
A Poetics of Earth
Margaret Mackey
NARRATIVE PLEASURES IN YOUNG ADULT NOVELS, FILMS AND VIDEO
GAMES
Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature
Kerry Mallan
SECRETS, LIES AND CHILDREN’S FICTION
Andrew O’Malley
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE, POPULAR CULTURE, AND ROBINSON CRUSOE
Christopher Parkes
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AND CAPITALISM
Fictions of Social Mobility in Britain, 1850–1914
Michelle Smith
EMPIRE IN BRITISH GIRLS’ LITERATURE AND CULTURE
Imperial Girls, 1880–1915
Forthcoming titles:
Elizabeth Bullen
CLASS IN CONTEMPORARY CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
Pamela Knights
READING BALLET AND PERFORMANCE NARRATIVES FOR CHILDREN
Susan Napier
MIYAZAKI HAYO AND THE USES OF ENCHANTMENT
Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature
Series Standing Order ISBN 978–0–230–22786–6 (hardback)
978–0–230–22787–3 (paperback)
(outside North America only)
You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order.
Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with
your name and address, the title of the series and one of the ISBNs quoted above.
Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS, England
Secrets, Lies and
Children’s Fiction
Kerry Mallan
Palgrave
macmillan
© Kerry Mallan 2013
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-137-27465-6
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2013 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-44578-3 ISBN 978-1-137-27466-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137274663
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
For Sue
Contents
List of Illustrations viii
Series Preface ix
Acknowledgements x
Introduction: The Burden of Truth 1
Part I Truth, Lies and Survival
1 Unveiling the Truth 15
2 Lies of Necessity 42
3 The Scapegoat 65
Part II Secrets and Secrecy
4 Secrets of State 93
5 Secret Societies 118
6 Our Secret Selves 140
Part III Tangled Webs
7 Mendacious Animals 167
8 Artful Deception 185
Conclusion 212
Notes 215
Bibliography 225
Index 235
vii
List of Illustrations
1.1 Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (2003) by Marjane Satrapi 19
1.2 Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (2004) by Marjane Satrapi 26
2.1 The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007) by Brian Selznick 61
3.1 Dancing the Boom Cha Cha Boogie (2005) by Narelle Oliver 69
3.2 My Dog (2001) by John Heffernan and Andrew McLean 71
3.3 Kojuro and the Bears (1986) by Junko Morimoto 72
3.4 Fowl Play (1996) by Jonathan Allen 80
6.1 Skim (2008) by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki 153
6.2 Sunday Chutney (2008) by Aaron Blabey 160
6.3 Sunday Chutney (2008) by Aaron Blabey 161
7.1 Fox (2000) by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks 174
7.2 Wombat Stew (1984) by Marcia K. Vaughan and Pamela
Lofts 176
7.3 Toad Heaven (2001) by Morris Gleitzman 177
8.1 Lies, Flies and Strange Big Fish: Tales from the Bush (2000),
chosen by Bill Scott and illustrated by Craig Smith 196
8.2 Uncle David (1992) by Libby Gleeson and Armin Greder 201
8.3 The Cocky who Cried Dingo (2010) by Yvonne Morrison
and Heath McKenzie 203
viii
Series Preface
The Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature series was initiated
in 2008 by Kerry Mallan and Clare Bradford. The aim of the series is
to identify and publish the best contemporary scholarship and criti-
cism on children’s and young adult literature, film and media texts.
The series is open to theoretically informed scholarship covering a wide
range of critical perspectives on historical and contemporary texts from
diverse national and cultural settings. Critical Approaches aims to make
a significant contribution to the expanding field of children’s literature
research by publishing quality books that promote informed discussion
and debate about the production and reception of children’s literature
and its criticism.
Kerry Mallan and Clare Bradford
ix
Acknowledgements
This book began as a small idea when I was attending the International
Research Society in Children’s Literature Congress in Frankfurt in
2009. Sitting alone one night in the hotel courtyard, I decided to look
occupied and so started to map out an idea for a book about secrets and
lies. Along the way from that initial private musing in a country far
from home to the publication of this book I have been the recipient of
much generosity, encouragement and helpful criticisms. The difficulty
in writing acknowledgements is that given the vagaries of memory the
list will undoubtedly be incomplete.
I should begin by thanking the many colleagues who directly and
indirectly offered comment, showed interest or suggested texts to read.
These include the Critical Dialogues group at Queensland University of
Technology; the conference delegates at the Girls, Texts and Cultures
symposium at the University of Winnipeg, the Australasian Children’s
Literature Association for Research (Canberra), the International Research
Society for Children’s Literature (QUT, Brisbane) and the ChLA Congress
(Simmons College, Boston); the colleagues and students from Beijing
Normal University and Tianjin University; and teachers and early child-
hood professionals from The Gowrie state conference (Brisbane).
I have also benefited in countless ways from the counsel, sugges-
tions and perspectives of colleagues and friends. I single out a few
names to thank for especially valuable help and support: Rod McGillis
for his initial review of the proposal and subsequent critique of the
manuscript which helped to sharpen my focus and clarify my ideas;
Michelle Dicinoski for her helpful suggestions and insights; and Clare
Bradford, my friend and colleague, for her unfailing support of my
work. I also express my gratitude to Geraldine Massey, Cherie Allan,
Amy Cross, Erica Hateley, Ingrid Johnston and Annette Patterson for
their support in various ways: offering sustained interest in the project,
recommending texts and assisting with locating elusive sources. I also
very much appreciate the support and professionalism of the Palgrave
team, especially Paula Kennedy and Sacha Lake. Many thanks to
Monica Kendall for her thorough editorial support in seeing this book
through to press.
And as always, I have benefited in more ways than I can acknowledge
from the loving support of my family: Kimberley, Christopher, Helen
x