Vicky Anderson’s bibliographical work in the field of children’s literature is well‐known and well‐established. The first edition of this work appeared in 1990 and, reflecting the growing popularity of sequels and the usefulness of knowing what follows what in reading fiction, this new second edition has appeared. This one is for readers from ten to 16 (“the interest age is children over ten”), and the new edition forms a good complement to Anderson’s Sequels in Children ‘s Literature: An Annotated Bibliography of Books in Succession or with Shared Themes and Characters, K‐6 (McFarland, 1998, for children up to eight/nine). Books in succession include sequels (which are series titles with the same character or characters as those in earlier books) and sequences (which are series of stories which show a development of character through each novel in the series). Both of course are series and there are many crossovers. For librarians and reading experts keen to get all sides, the current reviewer would recommend Susan Roman’s Sequences: An Annotated Guide to Children‘s Fiction in Series (American Library Association, 1985) and Judith Rosenberg’s Young People’s Books in Series : Fiction and Non‐Fiction, 1975‐1991 (Libraries Unlimited, 1992). A still wider bibliographical spread comes in Margaret Denman‐West’s Children’s Literature: A Guide to Information Sources (Libraries Unlimited, 1998). All are predominantly about books from the USA but deal with authors and titles of international importance and use.
Fiction Sequels for Readers 10 to 16 covers about 3,000 titles by 425 authors published as hardbacks in the USA since 1960. The listing is alphabetical by author and then chronological by title. A title index offers readers a title search. There are some prequels. All are works that form part of a series but which can be read independently. The works have been chosen on the grounds of literary value, readability, and popularity. It’s not directly a selection aid but can be used as a general guide to works that are worth having, and more than that to connections between works ‐ say, the sequels written by Lloyd Alexander, Beverly Cleary, Astrid Lindgren, or Andre Norton. Often authors like this write across various themes and genres and it’s useful to have their work arranged systematically. Better still would be a reader’s guide approach, preferably in relational database form on CD‐ROM, which would allow readers to go across themes and subjects and link up all kinds of descriptors from such works. Perhaps something for the future from McFarland.
Many authors are of clear importance ‐ Paula Danziger and Anne Fine, Rosa Guy and Virginia Hamilton, Diana Jones and Joan Lingard, Mildred Tayor and Henry Treece. Some of the series started well before 1960 but have been published as a series beyond that (or reprinted), like Norman Hunter, W.E. Johns, C.S. Lewis, Hugh Lofting, L.M. Montgomery, E. Nesbit, Noel Streatfeild, and P.L. Travers. Some are “adult” authors like P.G. Wodehouse and C.S. Forester. Some are so popular (e.g. Dahl, Goscinny, Sue Townsend) as scarcely to need promotion. Some are really popular American series unlikely to be known, available and popular elsewhere (e.g. Ilene Cooper, Barthe De Clements, Patricia Giff, R.R. Knudson, Clam Philbrook, R.L. Stine), often very American in culture and storyline and not likely to travel well. Adventure and fantasy and horror play a big part, unsurprisingly: Victor Appleton, Scott Corbett, Terrance Dicks, William McCay (Indiana Jones reprises), Jay Williams (Danny Dunn), Douglas Hill, Anne McCaffrey, Roger Zelazny. Paradoxically, many of these are books likely to held by a children’s library but at the same time not likely to need reading in series, sequences or sequels : they’re simply read! And as for acquisition there may be a straight forward policy to get all or some or none, and a librarian may not need the help of a work like this. However, Anderson’s bibliographical work does provide specialists with an amazing insight into what has been published (not always what is available because many are out of print), and, for the serious student of children’s reading, trends, patterns, what can be read after what, and what popular publishers are currently producing (and produced over the last few decades). Her work cannot be equalled.
