Abstracts

ABSTRACTS The Search for Home and Self in Cynthia Voight by Kevin B . Ast Kansas Newman College Cynthia Voight presents two types of journeys in her trilogy of Homecoming, Dicey' s Song, and A Solitary Blue. The physical search leads to a home while the emotional quest establishes identity. Dicey and the Tillermans actively pursue their elusive goals. Jeff Greene, on the other hand, passively submits to whoever happens to be his current guardian. Voight employs the folklore of names to emphasize the journeys of the Tillermans and the Greenes. Only when the characters reject false solutions and search for their proper homes and identities will they attain these goals. Journeying into Shakespeare: The Uses of Shakespeare in Children's Literature Jean Pollard Atkins University of Kansas This paper explores how long and in what forms Shakespeare's work has been a part of children's literature. The first section concentrates on the various retellings of the plays. It begins with Charles and Mary Lamb, compares their work with Marchette Chute's and surveys chronologically other versions from 1902 to 1982. The second part of the paper focuses on selections from Shakespeare presented as poetry for children, and the third deals with historical fiction in which Shakespeare appears to be a character. In line with the conference's theme, the plot of each of these books features a journey to London by the protagonist. A Journey Through Time: Phillipa Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden Ingrid Baad Eastern Michigan University Philippa Pearce succeeds in Tom's Midnight Garden in using Tom's adventure to explore the concept of time. She takes us on a journey through time's nature by extending the personification and objectification of time. Pearce allows time to be Tom's antagonist and introduces the possibility of interacting with time. She also challenges our complacent acceptance of time as we have defined it. In the end, Pearce concludes our journey with an implicit statement about the nature of time. She returns us to our original conceptualization of it and tells us that though time brings a physical change in things and passes in a way that we cannot control, some things are ultimately timeless and thus most significant in our lives. It is these eternal things that bring Tom and Hatty together and through sharing Tom's adventure with time, we are better able to understand how this occurs. Philippa Pearce opens our minds about time and thus allows us to believe that, ultimately, some things are timeless and can thus be shared outside the boundaries of time. 144 Victorian Children's Literature in Gissing's New Grub Street Peg Bateman Illinois State University Readers of George Gissing's New Grub Street can experience a richer and more comprehensive reading of this novel if they are aware of the tastes and trends of children's literature during England's Victorian Age. The novel is set in the literary world of late 19th century London. One of the main characters, Jasper Milvain, suggests to his two sisters, Dora and Maud, that they try their hands at writing children's literature. He proceeds to give them advice as to what kinds of children' s 's writing he feels will most appeal to the public's tastes in the following areas: 1) Moral and spiritual stories, 2) Sunday-school prize-books, 3) History books, 4) Secular writings, and 5) Periodicals. Background information in these areas also allows readers the opportunity to determine the accuracy and wisdom of Jasper's advice to his sisters and to imagine what Dora and Maud might have been writing had they actually lived in London during this time. Dragons in the Waters: A Network of Journeys Eileen M. Burke Trenton State College Dragons in the Waters is a tale of adventure and mystery for pre-adolescents. Suspense is achieved and the plot shaped by a network of journeys—past and present, spiritual and physical— all set within the major journey of the freighter, the M. S. Orion, which sails from Savannah, Georgia, to Port of Dragons, Venezuela and beyond. In creating this network of journeys, Madeleine L'Engle utilizes a variety of literary vehicles—daydreams...