1. EDU31ACL – Australian Children’s Literature Adventure Stories Lecture 1 Defining Adventure in Children’s Literature © La Trobe University, David Beagley 2006

2. Recommended reading: Adventure Stories (1993) The Oxford Companion to Australian Children’s Literature, ed. Pam McIntyre, 12-15 Butts, D. (2004) Shaping Boyhood, in The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, ed. Peter Hunt, vol. 1. 340-351 Chapman, D. (2001) Adventure Stories, in The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, ed. Bernice Cullinan, 9-11 Finnis, E. (1995) The Outback II: In fear of the bush. In Australian Children’s Literature: an exploration of genre and theme. Ed. Foster, Finns & Nimon. Wagga, NSW: CSU, 71-86

3. Definition A mixture of the extraordinary and the probable if the events in a story are too mundane, they fail to excite, but a sequence of completely extraordinary events fails to be credible (Butts) The adventure must be within the reach of the reader - it should be possible to believe it could happen to you.

4. Definition Demonstrates many of the key elements in the development of Children’s Literature over time: Social realism, relevance and “appropriateness” for children Reflection of social changes: gender, attitudes to “others”, post-colonialism Recognition of children as a distinct audience (entertainment or teaching morality) Interaction with many sub-genres

5. The Extraordinary and the Probable - Story Directed by narrative and plot - a series of events building to a resolution Conflict/challenge - the protagonists find themselves engaged in a series of dangerous or difficult situations that challenge their ingenuity Action sequence is suspenseful, structured so that the reader is desperate to find out what is to happen next – the cliff-hanger “the events have to seem to arise naturally from the context of the story to retain the young reader’s confidence” (Butts)

6. The Extraordinary and the Probable - Story Several typical story patterns: The Journey The Robinsonnade The Problem or mystery The situation in which danger unexpectedly appears

7. Types of Adventure Journey – Serraillier The Silver Sword (1956), Marshall Walkabout (1959), Phipson The Boundary Riders (1962), Voight Homecoming (1981), Wrightson Behind the wind (1981), Mattingley Asmir trilogy (1993-6) Robinsonnade – Chauncy Tiger in the Bush (1958), O’Dell Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960), George Julie of the Wolves (1972), Paulsen Hatchet (1987), Hartnett Forest (2001) Mystery – Sherlock Holmes, Famous Five, Secret Seven, Kästner Emil and the Detectives (1933), Wrightson The Crooked Snake (1956), Wrightson The Dark Bright Water (1978), Zusack The Messenger (2002) Unexpected danger - Southall Ash Road (1965), Thiele February Dragon (1965), Thiele Blue Fin (1970), Wrightson The Ice is Coming (1977), Baillie The China Coin (1992), Marsden Tomorrow when the War began (1994)

8. The Extraordinary and the Probable - Setting The setting is often unfamiliar, or even exotic. Australian setting as story determinant: Danger – physical landscape Unfamiliarity - exotic Personal challenge Separation from help Indicator of personal development

9. The Extraordinary and the Probable - Characters Key characters are usually youthful, from realistic, everyday backgrounds These characters are not extraordinary, but allow for identification by the reader Adults are often either absent (especially parents), dangerous (protagonists of plot), or reference points (homecoming, permission) May encounter an adult character who is mysterious or morally ambivalent/ambiguous

10. Origins and development To early 19th century - children’s stories are primarily didactic (i.e. teaching tools for moral and social virtues) Early-mid 19th century - Adult adventure stories are popular with children: Swiss Family Robinson (1814), Ivanhoe (1820), Last of the Mohicans (1826) - styles are established Leads to publication of many stories in serial form in magazines Mid-late 19th century - genre (and market) embraced: The Silver Skates (1865), Tom Sawyer (1876), Black Beauty (1877), Treasure Island (1883), Heidi (1884), Huckleberry Finn (1884), King Solomon’s Mines (1885), Kidnapped (1886), The Jungle Books (1894-5) Authors become famous, with appreciative audience: Twain, Ballantyne, Marryat, RL Stevenson, Kipling, Rider Haggard

11. Origins and development Key aspects established: Gender: boy heroes going out into wider world, girls have domestic adventures Social values impressed: Imperialism - civilized European dealing with the primitive exotic Personal worth - honesty, loyalty, pluck in face of danger Reward is earned by the successful application of those values to achieve the resolution In essence - Growing up

12. Origins and development Key aspects continue and develop into 20th century Popular stories and characters evolve into series: Stratemeyer syndicate (USA) - Tom Swift, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys School stories (UK) - Billy Bunter, Malory Towers, Hogwarts Characters/settings/series - Biggles, Famous Five, Secret Seven, Simon Black, Billabong Note little change in gender roles, personal values, Eurocentric politics But, later 20 th century – social realism and issues become increasingly important plot elements

13. The Lure of Adventure Exotic settings Identifiable heroes Gripping suspenseful storylines Reinforcement of values The Extraordinary and the Probable