I've read four Sunshine State Books so far. The three that seem to follow a theme to me are Dying to Meet You, Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, and Dragon's Egg. The theme I see with these three books is that children take on some very adult responsibilities and do a magnificent job in spite of their age and inexperience.
In Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Nathaniel, an orphan, was expected to help a phoenix be reborn and rescue his aunt from indigenous Bedouins in the process. In Dying to Meet You, Seymour was abandoned to live alone in a house with a ghost, and in Dragon's Egg, Mella was expected to journey across a vast distance to deliver an egg to dragons.
Do you see this theme as well? How do you feel about this theme? Is it realistic? Do you feel that children can handle great responsibilities well? Have you ever had to handle a task that most would consider beyond you? Please share!
Is is realistic? No. I do not that a kid her age could handle that much responsiblity on her own - even with help from Roger. I know if someone asked me to take care of a baby, I would say No!
ReplyDeleteOne time I was assigned a book report and I had to read a really long book. It was very hard to read and I didn't think I could do it.
I agree with you to a point, Graham. I think children today would never expect or be expected to accomplish feats like the one that Mella has undertaken. However, this story is set in a probably time hundreds of years ago. Then, children were expected to take on much more responsibility and at younger ages than kids today. It's different for different cultures as well.
ReplyDeleteSomething to think about... ;)