Turner's Seven Little Australians (Turner, 1894) was written more than one hundred years prior to Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (Gaiman, 2008) and their settings are separated by more than 15000km. Despite these vast disparities in time and location, they share a surprising level of commonality founded in gender-based power constructs generated through their narration. As popular children's novels, each narrative has played a role in perpetuating the patriarchal norms including the silencing of strong women and the forgiveness of flawed men. The impact of these literary voices in the shaping of children's understanding of gender norms cannot be understated. In 2018, a decade on from the release of The Graveyard Book (Gaiman, 2008) and 124 years since the publication of Seven Little Australians (Turner, 1894) children's literature still places the narratological power firmly in the hands of the male protagonists. CYoung readers are well overdue for a shift in narratological power.
Journal
The Looking Glass : New Perspectives on Children's LiteratureISSN
1551-5680Volume
21Issue
1Publisher
La Trobe UniversitySection Title
Emerging VoicesAuthor Biography
David Beagley is Lecturer in Children's Literature and Literacy at La Trobe University's Bendigo campus, Victoria, Australia, where he teaches units in Genres, History, Australian and Post-colonial children's literature, and in Fiction for Young Adults.
He has previously taught English, Literature, History and Drama in secondary schools, and has been a school and university librarian. He is interested in the history of traditional "boys' adventure" stories, especially those involving aircraft.Date Created
2018-11-08Rights Statement
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OJS data migration 2025: https://ojs.latrobe.edu.au/ojs/index.php/tlg/article/view/955
