ncompass live: nancy drew & friends;or, the case of the neglected books:the history (&...
DESCRIPTION
With the proliferation of series books for children and young adults today it might come as a surprise to many librarians that for many years series books occupied a dark corner of librarianship--the books were deemed unacceptable forms of reading material and were often ignored for purchase despite their popularity with young readers. In this webinar, you will be introduced to the history of series books as a format and then learn specifically why these books are not only important to the history of youth literature but to American history and pop culture as well. Speaker: Lindsey Tomsu, Teen Coordinator, La Vista Public Library. NCompasTRANSCRIPT
Nancy Drew & Friends; Or, The Case of the Neglected Books
A Short History of Youth Series Fiction: 1899 – Present Day
In the Beginning . . .
Worthless Sordid Sensational Trashy Harmful The menace to good reading
In the Beginning . . .
“Series books are utter trash that should not grace the shelves of public libraries.”
“If children want to read these books, they can spend their own money on them.”
A Short History of Series Books
Predecessors to Series Fiction
Jacob Abbott (1803-1879)
Heavily involved in the church—many books were religious in nature
Contribution to pre-series fiction—the Rollo books
Rollo Series
Predecessors to Series Fiction
William Taylor Adams (1822-1897)
Wrote as “Oliver Optic”
Common characters appeared in series about boating, the army and navy, and more
Oliver Optic Books
Predecessors to Series Fiction
Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899)
Created the “Luck and Pluck” formula
Most famous for Ragged Dick, the story of the rise of an orphaned bootblack
Alger’s Many Books
The Birth of Series Fiction - 1899
Edward Stratemeyer
“Father” of series fiction
Created the Stratemeyer Syndicate
The Rover Boys Written by “Arthur M.
Winfield” in 1899
Featured the adventures of Tom, Sam, and Dick Rover
Ran for 30 volumes, 10 of which were the “second series” about the boys’ own children
The Stratemeyer Syndicate
Published books from 1899 – 1987 Responsible for a number of famous
series characters 1930 - Harriet Adams took over upon the
death of Edward 1950s – Harriet decides to heavily edit 1970s - Court case with Grosset & Dunlap 1987 – Acquired by Simon & Schuster
Writing for the Syndicate First Rule of Syndicate Fight Club—We don’t talk about it Part of a series Use of “Breeder” sets Written under a pseudonym Constructed like contemporary adult books Be a predictable length Cliffhangers Begin books with a quick series recap End books with a preview The books would be priced at 50 cents Characters should not age or marry
Famous Syndicate Characters
Famous Syndicate Characters
Famous Syndicate Characters
Famous Syndicate Characters
Stratemeyer’s Legacy
Series books as we know them Wrote entertaining books Created one of the first strong female
characters with Nancy Drew Left a huge body of work that continues
today Set the stage for future syndicates . . .
17th Street Productions
Began in the 1970s and 1980s Very famous for being girl-centered Created a number of classic girl series,
including . . .
17th Street Productions
17th Street Productions
Now known as Alloy Entertainment
Responsible for Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries, and The Clique, etc.
Authors get credit
Why Should We Study Series Books?
1900s – 1910s Prior to 1900s most books for youth were actually adult books With John Newbery came the idea of a specific literature for
youth Most early series books were centered around:
Moralistic/Religious Tales Family Stories Boarding School Stories Books that promoted “taming” the wild or the Boy/Girl
Scout movements World War I Interest in Motorcars and Films
Stratemeyer’s The Rover Boys was set in a military school but was written with the purpose to entertain not to moralize
Popular Series
1920s – 1930s
Books featured very independent characters Moved away from family and school stories to
mysteries While not all series started with mysteries, many
eventually fell into that genre Film and Radio series Exotic Style (Adventure) Flappers
Popular Series
1940s – 1950s
1940s – World War II Time period of the most racist series 1950s – Beginning of revisions Emergence of science fiction Beginnings of Cold War – Space Stories Paper rations = Rare books
Popular Series
1960s – 1970s
Cold War = Spies Technology Boom Sports Adventure still popular Whitman and TV tie-ins
Popular Series
1980s – 1990s
Cold War = an interesting duality in series books that dominate this time period. Romance = Escape the threat of nuclear war Horror = Reflects the fear of nuclear war
Spin-offs of popular teen series for younger readers (and rip-offs)
Series books go violent/older to attract new readers and keep older ones
Popular Series
2000s – Present Day
1997 = “OMG, Kids are reading!” – The attitude towards series books begins to shift
Technology gets better and better = revisions of classics and interactive series
New trends in series reflect the changing world = rich brats/mean teens, paranormal and dystopian, the “illustrated” novel
Series dominate all literature = relaunching “classics”
Popular Series
Popular Series
Fun Facts
Fun Facts
What is considered the most racist series book of all time?
Don Sturdy
Fun Facts
What is considered one of the most violent series of all time?
Hardy Boys Casefiles
Fun Facts
What is one of the most valuable of all series books?
Two Answers
Contact
Lindsey TomsuTeen CoordinatorLa Vista Public Library9110 Giles RoadLa Vista, NE [email protected]: inallseries-ousness.blogspot.com