"I was always ambivalent," said JK Rowling speaking about her Harry Potter series," when people told me that they'd read the first book to their six year old, because I knew what was coming." Harry's maturation has created parent concern. It's hard for an author to invent a character, even harder to grow them up successfully with in a series. But many authors have succeeded.
In the fifth adventure, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Scholastic, $29.99), go-with-the-flow Harry is transformed into an adolescence filled with angst and anger and the lurking evils he faces have sophisticated shades of sadism. While these are obviously age-inappropriate for younger readers, this set is not daunted by the book's length, subtleties, nor their parents opinions.
Parents, don't fear! When young readers find material that is above them, it goes over their heads. Rowling's books are probably the most reread books in literary history, so the more complex themes, tones, and ideas will be better understood when young readers grow into them.
Rowling is staying true to her vision of Harry and she's not the first author to do so. Character continuity and the author's caring for these characters has brought series success to Barbara Park, Phyllis Naylor, Paula Danziger and Eoin Colfer. Barbara Park's Junie B. Jones is the first series character many children discover. It's obvious this rambunctious, young princess of misspeak and mischief has her author's allegiance. I suspect Park keeps writing these books because she, like her readers, can't wait to discover Junie's newest naughtiness.
It took Junie seventeen books to graduate from kindergarten. Because Junie is growing so slowly, Park doesn't have to worry so much disturbing her readers. If Park follows this writing pattern, by the time Junie gets to middle school there will be enough books to keep fans reading until their own maturity!
Recently released is Park's third book recounting Junie's exploits in first grade, Junie B. First Grader: Cheater Pants (Random House, $11.95; ages 5-8) There are slight changes that let us know Junie is growing and Park knows the subtleties of early childhood. In kindergarten, Junie went through adapting to school and now she's ready to take on moral issues, like cheating.
In Cheater Pants, Junie is slow to change. It's hard to tell whether this is her youth, her consistent stubborn streak, or both. When Junie is first caught and taught about cheating, she is slow to take responsibility. Though she's ashamed at being in trouble, she justifies her behavior because her daddy cheated at Old Maid. But when she gives into temptation a second time and lets her friend Herb "share" a spelling word on a test, she can't sleep at night, wakes with "poopish and droopy" eyes and knows "the word cheater makes you feel like a nasty, rotten ratty pants who can't even be trusted." Junie's confession leads to her teacher's admiration and a zero. As Junie tells it, in the sarcastic style that's been stable through all her adventures, "On account of even if you get admired, you still get a zero, apparently!"
Both Phyllis Naylor and Paula Danziger have characters that have spawned prequels. Naylor has written sixteen books about Alice, aging her from middle school to high school , the most recent being Patiently Alice (Atheneum, $15.95; ages 11-13) And Naylor has moved Alice backwards through time until she is a fourth grader. The second and latest prequel in the younger series is Alice in Blunderland (Atheneum, $15.95; ages 8-10) . The younger version of Alice still suffers from growing up without a mother and living with a teasing older brother and a father who doesn't always understand. But in the prequel series, instead of facing the complexity of love, trying to fit in, or running a household, Alice deals with smaller issues like being tone-deaf.
Paula Danziger's writes short novels about Amber Brown in fourth grade and I-Can-Read books in second. In the latest fourth grade adventure, Amber Brown is Green with Envy (Putnam, ages 8-10 ), Amber Brown is caught in the juggle of divorced parents. While a younger Amber faces first day jitters in Get Ready for Second Grade, Amber Brown (Putnam, ages 4-8).
Both these series are contemporary, issue-centered, and spiked with humor. While both characters and problems are consistent, the older series are more complexity while the younger books have a lighter touch. The Alice books have more maturational disparity and this concerned a librarian with whom I spoke. She imagines her young readers will quickly polish off the younger books, then go on to the second series and find the subject matter way too mature!
The most exciting growth I've seen this year is in Eoin Colfer's protagonist, Artemis Fowl. His latest installment, Artemis Fowl in The Eternity Code (Hyperion, $16.95; ages 9 and up) . Though there isn't a huge chronological jump, Artemis has matured and so has the series which now has a depth it once lacked. The less mature Artemis was cocky, risked everything easily, was ready to conquer the world. His thinking was black and white and the books had more action and technoglitz than substance.
There are several factors that make Artemis' change believable. His father, transformed after a near-death experience, is no longer the power player capitalist. The elder Fowl's motto has switched from "Gold is power" to "I want to be a hero and will you make the journey with me?" If that weren't threatening enough, Artemis has to snatch Butler, his stand-in parent and protector, from the jaws of death. These are the times that try a bratty boy's soul and Artemis, caught in a surprise attack, wonders if he has the clout he once imagined he wielded. Artemis has changed before, but never convincingly. In this third book, he still schemes and there's plenty of action, but his reflections have made him respectful and he seems a more genuine character.
Characters can be almost as dear to authors as their own children. And a character who changes and grows through a series will win the hearts of many readers if they are consistent.
Here are other characters who grow and change in series. (in reading-age order):