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Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

psyche.co

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Re: Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

#41

Post by rootusrootus »

rcthompson wrote: post #24

This is a pretty sweeping generalization. The suburb I grew up in was and still is plenty walkable (though it is admittedly even more bikeable/driveable) and has plenty of places for kids to have adventures. Of course, I've definitely been to many suburbs that are completely unwalkable by design, but not every suburb is like that. (My sense is that more recently-built suburbs tend to be more heavily designed around a…

> The suburb I grew up in was and still is plenty walkable

I think on HN a lot of the urbanites think of suburbia as an endless sea of cookie-cutter houses on nondescript, seemingly identical streets. Nothing but houses for as far as you can see.

That certainly exists in some places, I'm sure. But some of us grew up in places like Portland, Oregon, which is essentially one big suburban city (sure, there is an urban core, but it's tiny). Lots of single family houses, but lots of retail, industrial, and office space intermixed. Very walkable in most areas.

I think a lot of the break down of suburban discussion happens because of this. There's a pretty wide range of perception based on different life experience.

Re: Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

#42

Post by lhorie »

lr4444lr wrote: post #6

This just doesn't strike me as true at all. Most of my children's books have very non-descript settings that begin in non-connected single family houses. But regardless of that framing, so many of my kids' books dive into the realm of the protagonist's imagination. This honestly just sounds like another indirect shot taken at suburban life. I get it, internet content writers disproportionately live in the big cities,…

Agreed. The article uses a very cliche American suburb stereotype as if it is representative of suburbs, but ignores the fact that suburb life has more to offer than soccer mom stuff.

Look at Calvin and Hobbes for a good example of a great deal of memorable stuff happening in a clearly suburban setting. A lot of primary/secondary school geared books, especially those geared towards girls, are set in suburban neighborhoods and schools.

Outside of American culture, you can see a lot of suburban themed stories. For example, many school-themed mangas happen in suburbs.

The Brazilian comic Monica's gang is another good example of stories happening primarily with kids hanging around a suburban neighborhood.

Re: Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

#43

Post by sharker8 »

Let me put on my cognitive neuroscience hat. It's because the market for children's books is parents. And parents want a sentimental cognitive effect when reading to their kids (the article mentions 'romanticization' which in cognitive terms is sentimental feelings). I don't know many parents who have sentimental feelings for their upbringings in the suburbs, mainly because by the time they learned what the concept of the 'suburb' is, they were probably entering high school, which is to say, they were entering miniature delayed adulthood, while having to navigate a completely artificial political sphere (high school). That being said I'm sure its a fine story world and captain underpants has certainly done a great job with it.

Re: Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

#44

Post by iso947 »

ComputerGuru wrote: post #14

There Is No Such Thing As A Dragon by Jack Kent (1974, I think?) has a clearly suburban setting visible when the kid’s dragon cum house on wheels relocates in chase of a bread truck. (When’s the last time you saw a bread truck!?)

“dragon cum house”

Are you sure it’s a kids book?!

Re: Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

#45

Post by rootusrootus »

Jugurtha wrote: post #13

Why do so few events that shape your life or are worthy of mention take place in the suburbs, a place where people mostly sleep/rest? This reminds me of "liquid networks" from Steven Johnson's book "Where Good Ideas Come From". Here's a talk where he addresses it briefly, timestamped at the moment he starts talking about "liquid network"[0] Things worth telling mostly happen in cities, or the internet. - [0]: https:/…

> Why do so few events that shape your life or are worthy of mention take place in the suburbs, a place where people mostly sleep/rest?

Your idea of a suburb and mine are apparently quite different. I live my entire life here. Buying food, going to work, going out to eat, going to concerts, meeting friends, etc. Why would I only eat & sleep here? Hell, if anything, it's the downtown core that gets quiet at night as all the businesses shut down and along with them about half the restaurants.

Re: Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

#46

Post by indymike »

mdorazio wrote: post #11
hhggfdss wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? I grew up in a rural area and the suburbs always seemed like fun, you know why? There were other kids! Is this just an illusion? All I ever wanted as a kid was a neighborhood. We had to convince our parents to drive us all over hill and dale if we wanted to see anyone our age.

In the suburbs if you're not old enough to drive your "adventures" mostly consist of meeting at someone's house and doing house things. So yes, there are other kids to interact with, but not much of an environment in which to interact with them.

Suburban parent of five kids here.

I live in a lower middle class suburban neighborhood with about 600 homes. My kids have the following, within walking distance of their home: two neighborhood swimming pools, three parks, three schools (two public, one private) two convenience stores, two drug stores, a small department store, and a pizza joint. They can safely walk, ride bikes, play soccer, basketball, swim and even get to school without a bus. This is not a fancy suburb for the wealthy. It's a decidedly normal one in a pretty normal midwest city.

Re: Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

#47

Post by sonotmyname »

Blah blah blah, suburbs bad|dense cities good. We get it - you don't like where we live and wish we'd live where you live.

What I don't get is why people with this view are as adamant as CrossFit junkies in proselytizing their worldview. Some of us like the suburbs.

Re: Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

#48

Post by djsumdog »

indymike wrote: post #40
dhosek wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The choice to set Sesame Street in an urban (and minority) community was very much intentional.

And was usually on just before or after Mr. Roger's Neighborhood which was set in a small town or suburban neighborhood.

I never caught that juxtaposition. I wonder if it was intentional or coincidental.

Mr. Rogers also transitions between small town America and a (walkable) fantasy kingdom with a street car connecting the two. Again ... probably doesn't mean anything.

Re: Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

#49

Post by djsumdog »

jdxcode wrote: post #19
lr4444lr wrote: post #6

This just doesn't strike me as true at all. Most of my children's books have very non-descript settings that begin in non-connected single family houses. But regardless of that framing, so many of my kids' books dive into the realm of the protagonist's imagination. This honestly just sounds like another indirect shot taken at suburban life. I get it, internet content writers disproportionately live in the big cities,…

yeah, I grew up on a farm which is where loads of children books take place. We had to take a car literally everywhere, including our mailbox.

No bicycle?

Re: Why are there so few children’s books set in the suburbs?

#50

Post by ComputerGuru »

iso947 wrote: post #44
ComputerGuru wrote: post #14

There Is No Such Thing As A Dragon by Jack Kent (1974, I think?) has a clearly suburban setting visible when the kid’s dragon cum house on wheels relocates in chase of a bread truck. (When’s the last time you saw a bread truck!?)

“dragon cum house” Are you sure it’s a kids book?!

See the first/primary dictionary entry: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cum

(Although if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t have expected it to be the first definition.)

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