R127. Prayers on the Page: Faith as the Last Taboo in Children’s Literature
Thursday, March 5, 2020
9:00 am to 10:15 am
Early U.S. children’s literature was Christian-themed and heavily moralistic, but today mainstream houses, and therefore writers, avoid the personal, emotional, and dangerous subject of religion. This despite the fact that 75% of Americans identify with one, 90% believe in God or a higher power, and teens ever seek to make sense of the world and understand their own spiritual identity. Should we be depicting religion/spirituality as a normal part of our character’s lives? Why not or why and how?
Participants
Moderator:
Ann Jacobus is the author of YA novel, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light. She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and writes fiction for younger readers, essays, and poems.
Katie Henry is the author of the young adult novels Heretics Anonymous and Let's Call It a Doomsday and a playwright specializing in theatre for young audiences. Her novels have received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.
Mark Oshiro
