《书目》(Booklist)书评
Girls in children's books used to be passive, fluttery, saintly, domestic. From Pollyanna to Tarzan's Jane, these characters loved authority; they were always obeying, enduring, sacrificing. O'Keefe believes that many young female readers were damaged by these good-girl stereotypes, though she does quote critics who say that girls identify with Jack the Giant Killer as much as with Sleeping Beauty. For most of the book, O'Keefe analyzes stories she read as a child, all published before 1950, and she admits to being surprised to discover how much things have changed in the last generation. What will interest most readers is her final chapter, crammed with examples of today's strong girl characters: Katherine Paterson's Lyddie, Brock Cole's Celine, Suzanne Fisher Staples' Shabanu, and dozens more. Of course, a lot of the old stuff is still around, and it's interesting to see how far we've come. Be sure to check out the review of Betsy Byars' Me Tarzan (p.1376) in the Books for Youth section for a contemporary view of sex roles in the jungle. --Hazel Rochman
Choice 评论
O'Keefe argues that most girls' stories in the mid-20th century presented "female characters as more or less obedient, fearful, and helpless." She suggests that "girls' fiction told its readers to be permanently girlish." Although O'Keefe is especially interested in examining the images of still or silenced girls in children's fiction--arguing that these recurring images taught young readers that females were supposed to be silent and motionless if they wished to be considered good, saintly, and properly feminine--she goes beyond conservative images of girlhood and charts how such images have changed since the 1950s. O'Keefe argues that the 1950s marked a significant turning point in girls' literature, offering girls empowering new role models and bolder and less passive heroines. This reviewer would have appreciated a deeper exploration of the historical reasons behind O'Keefe's argument about why the decade of the 1950s was pivotal, but perhaps this is an issue that she will address in a future book. General and academic readers who wish to better understand how children's literature has shaped 20th-century gender roles will find O'Keefe's book useful and informative. S. A. Inness; Miami University