Adventure Stories in Children´S Literature
Adventure is an important part of children 's psyche. Children often dream of strange fortunes, great feats, exciting events, long trips, and everything they can be drawn to from the monotony of everyday life. Heroes of adventure stories are mostly sailors, pirates, cowboys and Indians, convicts, researchers, adventurers and solitaires of all types. The concept of adventure story is quite simple: brave, strong and resourceful hero must make a difficult task, and overcome a lot of danger, but in the end, he wins. The most important features of adventure stories are a romantic setting, an unusual situation, and the special vitality of characters.
The beginnings of adventure genre are found in Homer´s Odyssey, Cervantes´s Don Quijote, biblical motifs and medieval novels.
Europeans and North Americans were having many real-life adventures in the nineteenth century: explorers were seeking the North Pole, Florence Nightingale was pioneering for female independence as a director of nursing in the Crimean War, and a railroad was being constructed across the United States. If a person could not go to a remote region and overcome the perils lurking there, the best next adventure was the vicarious one offered through books. (Norton, Donna: 59).
The most popular writers of children 's adventure novels are Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, J.F. Cooper, Zane Grey, Karl May, Howard Pyle, Jules Verne etc. I will introduce you to the most famous writers of adventure stories in children´s literature.
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 in London, to James and Alice Foe. His father worked as a butcher and the young Daniel regretted the fact that he could not attend a prestigious school, such as Oxford or Cambridge. Defoe tried his best to be a gentleman, even changing his name from Foe to Defoe. As a result of his controversial writings, Defoe was arrested, imprisoned for a period of time, tried, and sentenced to pay a fine and to
The beginnings of adventure genre are found in Homer´s Odyssey, Cervantes´s Don Quijote, biblical motifs and medieval novels.
Europeans and North Americans were having many real-life adventures in the nineteenth century: explorers were seeking the North Pole, Florence Nightingale was pioneering for female independence as a director of nursing in the Crimean War, and a railroad was being constructed across the United States. If a person could not go to a remote region and overcome the perils lurking there, the best next adventure was the vicarious one offered through books. (Norton, Donna: 59).
The most popular writers of children 's adventure novels are Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, J.F. Cooper, Zane Grey, Karl May, Howard Pyle, Jules Verne etc. I will introduce you to the most famous writers of adventure stories in children´s literature.
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 in London, to James and Alice Foe. His father worked as a butcher and the young Daniel regretted the fact that he could not attend a prestigious school, such as Oxford or Cambridge. Defoe tried his best to be a gentleman, even changing his name from Foe to Defoe. As a result of his controversial writings, Defoe was arrested, imprisoned for a period of time, tried, and sentenced to pay a fine and to
References: 1. Norton, Donna. Through the Eyes of a Child: An Introduction to Children´s Literature. 2. Carpenter, Humphrey and Prichard, Mari. The Oxford Companion to Children´s Literature.