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Dear
Bookbird Reader, In traditional societies, important transitions in life were marked with symbolic rituals and ceremonies, giving the initiates moral instruction and rules of social conduct. The recitation of heroic songs and legends not only provided entertainment and forged national and cultural unity but, as Carl Jung stated, facilitated the process of individuation as well. Since the separation between religious, social, familial, and personal obligations was not as marked as it is today, initiations—such as the Vision Quest and Masai manhood ceremonies—were communal rituals. The young boy or girl underwent a period of intense training by separating from the secure world of childhood, receiving instruction with others of the same age-group, and returning to the community as adults. Today, few children go through formal rituals implying such all-encompassing, momentous changes. Nevertheless, there are many rites of passage that involve personal growth and learning about the values of one’s community. For the young child, it could be the first day at school, spending a night away from home, or learning to cope with nightmares. While we would like to believe that childhood is a sunny and secure place, the child has to learn to cope with anxiety, fears, loneliness, and even death. The transformations of adolescence—also physical, social, psychological, and emotional, like those of childhood—sometimes involve facing harsh realities in the passage toward identity formation and self-discovery. The first job, falling in love, getting a driver’s license, the senior prom, and graduation ceremonies are significant events that symbolize a step toward maturation, responsibility, adulthood. This movement from innocence to experience, from security to uncertainty, from sunshine and summer to stormy clashes and conflict, is a necessary experience on the journey to personal autonomy. In modern times, this passage is prolonged over years; it is an individual, internal journey instead of a communal ritual. Likewise, the stories that help mediate this passage are not oral and shared but are read privately. Do books fulfill the same functions as folklore and storytelling? Stories, whether written or oral, serve as mirrors that reflect different feelings, ideas, people, experiences (Storm 5) and help children and young adults to vicariously negotiate various transformative experiences. The articles in this issue examine the rites of passage from a variety of angles. Sandra Beckett discusses the physical maturation of the character Amandine; Marcia de Almeida and Laura Zaidman, the turning points of childhood and the painful experiences of adolescence; Maria Nikolajeva, the movement from the childhood idyll to chaos and ritual trials; María Cecilia Silva-Díaz and Eugenia Collier, the importance of folklore and history in helping children embrace their cultural roots; and Yoshida Junko, the mother-daughter relationship in the context of gender-related difficulties and teenage rebellion. Are tales of the mythic hero a male rite of passage? What about women’s journeys? Is a girl’s rite of passage limited to physical maturity, adapting to society, and assuming a nurturing role? Hopefully, the essays in this issue will provide unique answers to these questions. Yours
sincerely, 1. Hyemeyohsts Storm, Seven Arrows (New York: Ballantyne, 1972), 5. Letters To the Point: Rites of passage Mother-Daughter
Stories in Japan Amandine
through the Looking Glass: Michel Tournier’s “Initiatory
Tale” for Children On
the Edge of Childhood Rites
of Initiation in Recent Latin American Narratives Other
Voices Regular Features Focus
IBBY Country
Survey: Namibia Author
Spotlight: “The Act of Shedding Light”: Barry Moser Talks
about International Children’s Books of Note Professional Literature News and Announcements Calendar |
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