{"id":18868,"date":"2019-12-11T00:21:47","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T00:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=18868"},"modified":"2019-12-14T05:22:47","modified_gmt":"2019-12-14T05:22:47","slug":"like-little-women-books-by-zitkala-sa-and-taha-hussein-are-classics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/like-little-women-books-by-zitkala-sa-and-taha-hussein-are-classics\/","title":{"rendered":"Like ‘Little Women,’ books by Zitk\u00e1la-\u0160\u00e1 and Taha Hussein are classics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sheila Cordner<\/a>, Boston University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a scholar of literature<\/a> who spends a lot of time thinking about why certain stories continue to be revisited, and what works can be considered classics today.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m looking forward to seeing Greta Gerwig\u2019s<\/a> film version of \u201cLittle Women<\/a>,\u201d even though I\u2019ve seen similar movies before. Gerwig\u2019s film is the eighth film adaptation<\/a> of the Louisa May Alcott<\/a> novel that lets readers escape into the 19th-century New England world of witty Jo March and her three sisters<\/a>. It will arrive in theaters on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n

But I believe in a broader notion of what counts as a classic than books which are most widely recognized. That is why I\u2019ve written a children\u2019s book<\/a> that introduces kids to an array of famous authors including ones you may not have heard of.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Greta Gerwig\u2019s \u2018Little Women\u2019 is the eighth movie based on the classic novel.<\/span>
\nAP Photo\/Steven Senne<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From one generation to the next<\/h2>\n

Gerwig, an actress and filmmaker, has talked about how the issues facing the women in Alcott\u2019s novel feel modern<\/a> and urgent to her. Her passion for the story told in \u201cLittle Women\u201d gets at the heart of what makes something a classic: a tale generations of readers can relate to.<\/p>\n

Other examples include Lewis Carroll\u2019s story about an imaginative young girl who learns to find her own way in \u201cAlice in Wonderland<\/a>\u201d or Charles Dickens\u2019 tale of financial hardship and family in \u201cA Christmas Carol<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

These books are beautifully written, of course. But the reason they are told and retold in countless adaptations is because they express themes that people relate to.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
This Alice in Wonderland statue is in New York City\u2019s Central Park.<\/span>
\nGzzz<\/a>, CC BY-SA<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An expanding range<\/h2>\n

In my view, what counts as a classic today must come from an ever-expanding range of authors.<\/p>\n

This is especially important for children. Parents, teachers and librarians are demanding more representation in the books that children read<\/a> because reading more diverse books can benefit readers from all backgrounds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Diverse books can help all readers develop empathy for other people\u2019s experiences. And opening the gateway to a broader spectrum of books can lead to reading experiences that are rich, stimulating \u2013 and just plain fun.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The author, musician, composer and reformer Zitk\u00e1la-\u0160\u00e1.<\/span>
\nGertrude Kasebier\/Smithsonian<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By all means, go ahead and read \u2013 or re-read \u2013 Alcott\u2019s \u201cLittle Women\u201d and similar classics.<\/p>\n

In addition, kids and readers of all ages should also become familiar with works by authors like Sui Sin Far<\/a>, who wrote about the lives of Chinese immigrants in the United States, and Mar\u00eda Amparo Ruiz de Burton<\/a>, one of the first Mexican-American novelists.<\/p>\n

They should also, pick up a volume of poems by African-American poet Langston Hughes<\/a> and sway to the blues in his haunting lines<\/a>. Read the accomplished Native American musician and writer Zitk\u00e1la-\u0160\u00e1<\/a>\u2019s raw account of a young girl who leaves her Indian reservation to start a new school<\/a> and is nervous about making friends. Learn about the dreams of the young Egyptian writer Taha Hussein<\/a>, who was nominated 14 times for the Nobel Prize in Literature.<\/p>\n