Jane Austen for Kids!
🍃 jane austen experts and fans
on Jane Austen for young people 🍃
Natalie October 2020
natalie Jenner
author of the
international bestseller,
the jane austen society
What’s one fact about Jane Austen that kids might find interesting?
Natalie: I think kids would find it intriguing that Jane's father George Austen, in addition to being the rector of the local village church, also ran a boarding school for boys in the family's home. Jane herself was also allowed, from a very young age, to run about her father's extensive library of hundreds of books and read whatever struck her fancy. So tell your parents to let you read whatever you want!
What Jane Austen film adaptation do you think would most appeal to kids?
Natalie: My daughter enjoyed the 2005 Pride & Prejudice adaptation with Keira Knightley from a very young age, in part because she recognized Ms. Knightley from the Pirates of the Carribean film franchise. I also think that the recent Northanger Abbey television production can appeal because it is about a very imaginative young girl on her first trip away from home, and has some softly spooky moments!
What’s a kid-friendly Regency or Jane Austen-related activity, craft or other entertainment you might suggest for families to try?
Nataliea: I do think the different paper dolls or action figurine sets out there always spark great imaginative play. When my daughter was very young, she played with my Jane Austen action figurine in her doll house, where Jane ran a quarantine ward in the attic alongside her boyfriend Tom Lefroy. I kid you not.
What’s one thing you love about Jane Austen? Why?
Natalie: I love that Jane started writing very young, around age 11, and never gave up trying to get published, even though it took until she was in her thirties for her books to finally get made. She is a lesson in following your dream and working hard, every day, at the talents that give you joy.
How have you shared your love of Jane Austen with your daughter?
Natalie: From the time my daughter was three, I introduced her to all the film and tv adaptations because they are almost always appropriate for even very young kids (except, very notably, for the film of Mansfield Park). From Regency paper doll sets, retellings of Pride and Prejudice featuring guinea pigs, and Austen figurines and puppets, I pretty much brain-washed her into loving Jane as early in life as possible!
What is your favorite Jane Austen quote?
Natalie: “Know your own happiness. Want for nothing but patience – or give it a more fascinating name: Call it hope.”
— Sense and Sensibility
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Natalie: If you read and enjoy Jane Austen when you are young, I can promise you that you will love her forever. So give her a try, as life is so much more fun with Jane on our side.
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Link to Natalie’s interview
Myretta August 2020
Myretta Robens
Author and manager of
the jane austen
website & community,
pemberley.com
What’s one fact about Jane Austen that kids might find interesting?
Myretta: The divisions of class and gender. That Jane Austen's writing was unusual for a woman.
What Jane Austen film adaptation do you think would most appeal to kids?
Myretta: Clueless
What’s a kid-friendly Regency or Jane Austen-related activity, craft or other entertainment you might suggest for families to try?
Myretta: Role Play as Jane Austen and/or her characters.
What’s one thing you love about Jane Austen? Why?
Myretta: I love that Jane Austen's writing and characters are timeless and as engaging today as they were when they were published.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Myretta: I love that you are sharing your love of Jane Austen with children. The Republic of Pemberley has always welcomed children and tried to assure everything we provided was appropriate for all ages.
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Link to Myretta’s interview
Fatima August 2020
fatima popal
teacher,
Jane Austen fan
And Austengrammer
@janetomyausten
What’s one fact about Jane Austen that kids might find interesting?
Fatima: That she was one of a few women who wrote novels in a time when it was completely unacceptable. She didn't give up or give in to pressure.
What Jane Austen film adaptation do you think would most appeal to kids?
Fatima: I think kids would love Sense & Sensibility as most of us can relate to sibling madness. Northanger Abbey is also a fun one for kids who like creepy or spooky themes (aka kids who are overly imaginative!)
What’s a kid-friendly Regency or Jane Austen-related activity, craft or other entertainment you might suggest for families to try?
Fatima: I feel like making a cup of "chocolate" or sewing might be fun! Also making bookmarks for your favorite books.
What’s one thing you love about Jane Austen? Why?
Fatima: I love that she wrote about her people in front of them; she dared to mock them, criticize them and in turn gave us some insight into how people thought/acted/lived back then. It's anthropology meets satire at it's finest.
If you have kids, how have you shared your love of Jane Austen with them?
Fatima: I have students and yes! Every year in September, I introduce myself and always mention Jane Austen and my love of books. I constantly mention her and her novels so they get exposed to the name.
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Link to Fatima’s interview
Laurie January 2021
Laurie Viera Rigler
Author,
confessions of a jane austen addict &
Rude awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict
What’s one fact about Jane Austen that kids might find interesting?
Laurie: Jane Austen began writing stories at age 11 or 12, in the 1780s. Today, the original manuscripts of those stories are precious treasures of the British Library. Just imagine: The stories you dream up today could end up being on display and read by people in the 24th century!
What Jane Austen film adaptation do you think would most appeal to kids?
Laurie: The beginning of the Emma adaptation that stars Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller, and which depicts tragic episodes in the respective childhoods of both Emma and Frank Churchill, would, I believe, capture the imagination and interest of children, especially if those children have experienced losses of their own. It also shows children how adults may behave the way they do today because of unresolved events in their childhood.
What’s a kid-friendly Regency or Jane Austen-related activity, craft or other entertainment you might suggest for families to try?
Laurie: Here’s my idea of a kid-friendly, Jane Austen-related activity: Learning English country dancing via a living history sort of lesson in a fun setting, with live music, costumes to choose from, clips of Austen adaptation scenes of country dancing with comic captions and/or commentators, prizes, and, most of all, a kind and patient instructor/dance caller (the lady I learned from whose day job was being a kindergarten teacher comes to mind). And since ballroom scenes are a pivotal moment in Austen’s novels, a country dance party would also be an excellent way to introduce kids to Austen’s works.
What’s one thing you love about Jane Austen? Why?
Laurie: The one thing I love the most about Jane Austen is the thing that makes her timeless: her talent, through storytelling, of making profound, honest, and relatable observations about human nature. Best of all: Because her biting wit is tempered with an abiding love of humanity, her stories enable me to see parts of myself in her characters—and not always the pleasant ones! Austen’s love of a good laugh is key to making that level of self-reflection palatable. Her six novels are really a highly entertaining self-help/self-improvement library in disguise.
What is your favorite Jane Austen quote?
Laurie: “Till this moment I never knew myself."
For me, this realization that Elizabeth Bennet has in Pride and Prejudice about how self-deceiving and wrong-headed she has been expresses that signature moment in Austen novels (and hopefully, in real life) when all the artifice and pretense is blown away. This is when we take an honest look at who we are, what we really want, and how badly we have messed up. Because having that moment of authenticity is the first step toward making real change in our lives—and, of course, toward Austen’s shepherding her heroes to their most joyful conclusion.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Laurie: Congratulations, Jasmine, on your new book. May A Most Clever Girl inspire many more young ones to find their own voice!
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Laurie also provides editing services, learn more here.
Madsen January 2021
L. Madsen
Founder of
the tumbler blog:
Janeaustenrunsmylife
What Jane Austen film adaptation do you think would most appeal to kids?
Madsen: For a modern adaption, I believe Clueless is probably one of the best gateways into Jane Austen. It is funny, has great lines, and is something that teens will immediately love. Another great modern adaption of Jane Austen for kids is The Lizzie Bennet Diaries as it is a series of short videos (something they are more used to watching with tik tok, Snapchat, etc.) and it being told in the format of a Youtuber, kids can easily connect to it and the story. For a Regency adaption I would suggest Sense and Sensibility (1995) to start with. While Sense and Sensibility (1995) is an older adaptation it has really good pacing with comedy and drama. Kids can sometimes find it hard to connect to period drama but this has romance, drama, grief, mean girls, etc.
What’s a kid-friendly Regency or Jane Austen-related activity, craft or other entertainment you might suggest for families to try?
Madsen: I love crafts so I have a few suggestions. One easy fun one to do is make silhouettes of each other as kids will love tracing the outlines of each other and having themselves traced. Another fun thing is to make paper fans or paper boats. Or if your children enjoy playing with dolls making paper dolls, felt dolls, or clothespin dolls is always fun.
If you know how to to embroider or sew working on a group project together-such as making a quilt, pillows, hand towels, tea towels, pillowcases, etc.-is also something you can do.
What’s one thing you love about Jane Austen? Why?
Madsen: There are two things I absolutely love about Jane Austen. The first is that I love the pacing and plotting of her books and the balance between drama and comedy. All her novels have extremely somber or heart wrenching moments; along with comedic lines or hilarious scenes. She also always knew how to end a chapter leaving you wanting more.
The other thing I love about her books is how the stories and characters transcend Regency England so that the motifs, personalities, and points raised in her books are still relevant today. Who hasn’t meet a social climber like Caroline Bingley? A schemer like Lucy Steele? Manipulators like Isabella and John Thorpe? Had a regret like Anne Elliot? Met a flirt like Henry Crawford? Known a person who wanted so badly to have a friend they did whatever someone asked of them like Harriet Smith? Haven’t we all been accused of being an ice queen like Elinor Dashwood? Let our heart rule our actions like Marianne Dashwood? Misjudged someone and actively disliked a person when they insulted you like Elizabeth Bennet? Had to make a choice whether to stick to what we believe in, even if it meant losing something you hold dear like Fanny Price? Disliked someone because they were better than you at some things like Emma Woodhouse? Let our imagination run away with us like Catherine Morland? Lost someone we love like Anne Elliot? I think one of the reasons we still read Jane Austen 200 years later is that it is so easy to connect to her work.
How do you share your love of Austen with children?
Madsen: I do not have kids but that hasn’t stopped me from sharing Jane Austen. For little ones I like to give the Babylit Jane Austen books by Jennifer Adams. They are on different subjects like numbers and emotions, but each book features characters and things from the novels. I first read Jane Austen when I turned 16 and it has now become a tradition for me to gift one of her novels when someone I know turns 16. I am always trying to encourage my nieces to read or watch Jane Austen, and there are a lot of adaptions out there that make great gifts. With so many fans of Jane Austen you have a lot to choose from, both from modern adaptions and her works.
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