Where the Monsters are, and Where Kids Can Find Them
In this exhibit, I will present four cases of monstrosity in literature for children and understand how monstrosity is explained to children and how this monstrosity makes sense through very human experiences. These four cases are Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (a picture book considered for younger readers), Coraline by Neil Gaiman (a novella considered for middle readers), A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (an illustrated novel for older readers), and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (a novel for young adult readers). All four of these pieces of literature present a child interacting with some type of monster. These monsters are not isolated, but rather come from some part of the child or due to some action of the child. These monsters are as much part of the child protagonist as their own bodies, their words, and their world.
These pieces bring human monstrosity to the forefront of literature for children. They explore how monstrosity can be more than just the creature that looks different than the protagonist, but that they may be hidden among them or even hidden within them. In addition to the texts, this exhibit will also look at the film adaptations to see how this monstrosity is translated to the screen, and whether these adaptations change the way that children are meant to view the monstrosity presented in front of them.
The following pages can be read in any order, but be aware, there are monsters lurking in them....
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