# Has a character from children's lit ever become an adult lit character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2006, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372 "2006-03-22T00:08:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/21 "2006-03-22T02:29:19Z")
Many of Madeline L’Engle’s books are connected, even beyond the obvious titles that are part of a series. Suzy Austin is a perky kid sister in _Meet the Austins_ (and sequels) for kids, and later shows up as a grown up Suzy Davidson in _A Severed Wasp_ for adults. There are a few other L’Engle characters who do this as well, but as far as I know, none of them are the _primary_ character in any of the books in which they appear. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/22 "2006-03-22T02:36:29Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > What about Harry Potter? The books take on a more mature tone as you go through the series, and while I’m not sure they’d be considered strictly adult, they’re certainly aimed at older readers, the later you get in the series. Are you being sarcastic, or did you not get to the second paragraph in my first post? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/23 "2006-03-22T02:55:03Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Are you being sarcastic, or did you not get to the second paragraph in my first post? 😕 I have to admit, I’m guilty of that which I hate most: skimming the OP. Sorry ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/24 "2006-03-22T04:20:12Z")
Child characters from children’s books who grow up in adult books? OK. Alice Pleasance Liddell Hargreaves. As a child, she was in **Alice in Wonderland** ; as an adult, she appeared in Philip Jose Farmer’s **Riverworld** novels. Mark Twain wrote a couple of sequels to **Tom Sawyer** with Tom getting older with each, but I’m not sure if he reached adulthood. In movies, **Hook** shows a grown up **Peter Pan**. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/25 "2006-03-22T04:23:21Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > A novelist named Laurie Fox also penned a story called \*The Lost Girls \* focussing solely on **Alice** and her female descendants. It has a great first sentence: “THE DAY Mother took me by the hand to visit Great-Nana **Wendy** in the hospital, we promised each other that when the past came up, we would change the subject as casually as changing the sheets.” The Dope is slipping. Time was an error like this would have been caught within a half-hour. Tsk. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/26 "2006-03-22T12:03:29Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Well the Hobbit was a childrens book whilst the Lord of the Rings was more for teens and adults. Several characters were in both books. > Adrian Mole had an adult aged “secret diary” published, but I’m not sure if the young Adrain Mole books are really childrens books or not. I will be good-gosh-darned. I do believe I read that, without reading the rest of the series. Found it in the Library Quarter Books sale. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/27 "2006-03-22T12:06:42Z")
Robert Heinlein’s juvenile characters have shown up in his later books, as adults, I _believe_, during his later, weaker books. On the other hand, Hazel Stone appeared first as a grandmother, in a juvenile, then as a child, in an adult, then as an apparent 20-something in an adult. ---
**Author:** ![Bertie\_Wooster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58f4c7/32.png) [@Bertie\_Wooster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bertie_Wooster)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/28 "2006-03-22T14:42:56Z")
PG Wodehouse introduced the character Psmith in his school story _Mike_, which was first published in a boys’ magazine. Psmith, best described as an eccentric character, proved more interesting than Mike (Mike Jackson, by the way), and later appeared in _Psmith in the City_, _Psmith, Journalist_ and _Leave it to Psmith_, which were aimed at more adult readers. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/29 "2006-03-22T20:55:29Z")
Ender Wiggin, from Card’s books, might qualify. In my opinion, _Ender’s Game_ could reasonably be considered a “young adult” book, while _Speaker for the Dead_ is a more adult book. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/30 "2006-03-22T21:16:56Z")
Marvelmman was clearly for children in the 50s and adults in the 80s. **RealityChuck** mentioned Farmer and Riverworld. I was also thinking of Dorothy Gale and other Oz personages in _A Barnstormer in Oz_. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/31 "2006-03-22T21:21:27Z")
A lot of childrens characters have neded up in porn films of one type or another. Us ually they are all grown up in the porn version (mainly to avoid critisism of being paedophilic). Sleeping Beauty has many versions not suitable for children with a much more grown up main character. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/32 "2006-03-23T01:12:31Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > A lot of childrens characters have neded up in porn films of one type or another. Us ually they are all grown up in the porn version (mainly to avoid critisism of being paedophilic). Like Bambi in the sequel, “Bambi Goes Crazy Ape Bonkers with His Drill and Sex”? > [@Neil (of The Young Ones)](#): > > Is that true, Bambi? Did you do a Disney nasty? ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/33 "2006-03-23T01:48:05Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > On the other hand, Hazel Stone appeared first as a grandmother, in a juvenile, then as a child, in an adult, then as an apparent 20-something in an adult. I know that the adult book where she was a child is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Remind me what the other two are? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/34 "2006-03-23T02:22:58Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > Like Bambi in the sequel, “Bambi Goes Crazy Ape Bonkers with His Drill and Sex”? No, but Bambi did appear in **Bambi Meets Godzilla** , a grown up film. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/35 "2006-03-23T04:06:03Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > The Dope is slipping. Time was an error like this would have been caught within a half-hour. Tsk. I saw it, I just thought it was a Wonderland-NeverNeverland crossover. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/36 "2006-03-23T07:12:54Z")
The late Angela Carter made something of a specialty of short stories which re-told classic fairytales such as Cinderella and Bluebeard in decidedly adult fashion. She also wrote _Alice in Prague_, an adult short story which was a tribute to Czech animator Jan Svankmayer’s “grown-up” film **Alice**. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/37 "2006-03-23T13:33:51Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Are we restricting this to works created by the same author, in which they re-use characters? Or are we including characters created by one author and then picked up by another? > > If the latter, then The Wicked Witch from _The Wizard of Oz_ becomes the lead character in _Wicked_. You got it backwards. Wicked is a prequel to Wizard of Oz. Laura Ingalls is Laura Ingalls Wilder and becomes a mother in her last book. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/38 "2006-03-23T14:18:55Z")
> [@](#): > > I know that the adult book where she was a child is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Remind me what the other two are? **The Rolling Stones** (of course) and **The Cat Who Walks Through Walls** ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/39 "2006-03-23T15:38:14Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > Many of Madeline L’Engle’s books are connected, even beyond the obvious titles that are part of a series. Suzy Austin is a perky kid sister in _Meet the Austins_ (and sequels) for kids, and later shows up as a grown up Suzy Davidson in _A Severed Wasp_ for adults. There are a few other L’Engle characters who do this as well, but as far as I know, none of them are the _primary_ character in any of the books in which they appear. Hmmm… the Murry family and Calvin are quite definitely protagonists in several books in which they grow up and age. Each seems to have center stage in a different book: Meg in _A Wrinkle in Time_, the youngest boy in the sequels, the twins Sandy and Denys (minor supporting characters in the _Wrinkle_ series) being the protagonists in _Many Waters_, and then Calvin and Meg’s kids including Polyhymnia (whose problems with Poly vs Polly I strongly sympathize with! ;)) in yet another series of novels. The range appears to be from children’s novels to young adult, but that’s an artifact of Farrar’s marketing strategy; I don’t believe L’Engle herself ever intended to target specific audiences. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372/40 "2006-03-23T16:10:56Z")
(sorry O.T.) We shouldn’t dredge up Bambi Gasgcoigne’s unfortunate past problems, he was a child star who suffered the limelight too early and cannot be blamed for falling in with a bad crowd. He later made a succesfull return as a quiz show host, and that should be appluaded without all this muck raking popular within the gutter press. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-character-from-childrens-lit-ever-become-an-adult-lit-character/349372.md?page=3)