An Examination of Three Children's Books

The study will argue that the various representations of children in the three books create a comprehensive set of possibilities for young readers seeking entertainment, role models, and inspiration for perspectives on life. In other words, the books should not be seen as competitive with one another for designation as "best" or "most realistic" or "most imaginative." To the contrary, they complement one another with their various representations of children.

Ende's story is the most purely fanciful. Hamilton's collection of stories are certainly marked by flights of imagination, but authentic "American black" experiences inspired them. These specific experiences give Hamilton's folktales a foothold in reality that is missing from Ende's romantic adventure.

Ende's story deals with the development of the heroism in the boy Bastian Balthazar Bux, fulfilling every child's fantasy of being powerful in a world where adults usually have all the power. The children in Hamilton'

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She has just been informed that her sister is alive in Thailand and her hope is that she can bring her to the United States. This hope is perhaps what allows her to open to the affection of Jonathan. Still, it is not a fantasy-based love, but rather a realistic acceptance of a greater hope for the future. As she tells Jonathan: I learn . . . that if you love somebody. . . . If you love somebody, you just better let them know while you still can. . . . Five year ago, . . . I never dream that someday I stand on the bank of a river so far from the Mekong, holding the hand of an American boy. So who can ever tell about the future? (Crew 213). The progress of Sundara may be inevitable, but it is presented by Crew in such a gradual, realistic and believable way that the reader does not feel manipulated, as he or she might feel in reading the fantastic adventures of Ende's heroic Bastian Balthazar Bux. Whereas Crew depicted Sundara as a realistic character---with realistic shortcomings and realistic strengths---who makes her way through a world of realistic problems, Ende shows Bastian to be a boy who has the whole world against him, in effect, and who is able to overcome all obstacles before him and emerge as a hero. To apprecia
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Approximate Word count = 1478
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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