Re: Worst case scenario


zoltan47 wrote:
>How many parents,
> teachers, or librarians will recommend a series where the main
> character, who the child will identify with, dies? How many parents
> will want their children to read a series where the main character has
> a rather harsh life,saves everyone else, and in return for his
> misfortunes gets to die? Catalog sales will plummet.
>

Lots, I imagine. Even though the series already includes one death of a
student, people don't seem to have a problem recommending it. There are
plenty of librarians, teachers and parents who don't think that a
happy, happy, joy, joy ending isn't required for a book series to be
good or a good thing to recommend to a child.

For example, I was required to read Bridge To Terabithia as a child. A
book with such a sad ending that the same teacher who assigned it to us
and did readings from it totally refused to read the ending aloud,
because it always made her a blubbering mess. I identified strongly
with Anne Frank when I read her diary. In Jacob Have I Loved, one of
the twins has a rather harsh life. Pretty rough when you own
grandmother taunts you. Where The Red Fern Grows. I can think of a lot
of classic books that aren't all that happy that were either
recommended to me or assigned to me before I was in junior high. I
really think one teacher I had was on a mission to make all of us cry
at least once while reading an assigned book. Which probably was a good
thing. A book that makes you cry is usually one that makes you grow.

The Little Prince is guaranteed to turn me into a blubbering mess at
the end, but I still give it to children as a Christmas gift
occasionally, and will attempt to read it to my theoretical future
children.

Besides, I figure the publisher protected themselves with a clause that
allowed them an "out" if the first book did not sell in sufficient
numbers regardless of what she said about the ending. I can't see any
publisher with a decent legal department committing themselves to
printing all seven books even if they don't sell. They would take a
chance on an unproven writer for a lower price than a proven writer,
and if they didn't sell, would cut their losses and move on.

.

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