THE IRON MAN by Ted Hughes, illustrated by Laura Carlin (Walker Books, 2010)
At a recent British Library public discussion on Ideology in Children’s Literature, editor, and now independent publisher, David Finkling raised the question as to whether it is right to make a distinction between books for children and adults.
His point was that this largely arbitrary separation is often nothing more than a marketing tool which ignores the fact that many titles can and should be enjoyed by all ages.
This might not apply to Peppa Pig publications but is most certainly the case for Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, both of which were edited by Finkling.
Ted Hughes’ poetic creation The Iron Man has a message that isn’t confined to fledgling readers, nor has it anything in common with the Marvel comics’ superhero. Continue reading
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