캐나다 아동청소년 과학소설

1980년대 소설을 중심으로

The present study overviews Canadian science fiction for children and young adults in its early history. Canada’s multiculturalism is a great resource for diversity on their literary works, but at the same time, it often turns into concerns on their national identity. Canadian novels portray this unique trait in their stories with three major features. By contrasting the technology-dominated society with the nature-friendly one, they ultimately aim for an idyllic society. Also, the works express distrust of technology and progress with concerns about negative effects on the global environment. Finally, they lie on the blurred border between fantasy adventure and science fiction. Unlike mainstream science fiction novels, Canadian children’s SF writers take the subjects of science, nature, and humans more seriously. Depicting a variety of possible future societies, they continue to emphasize both the harmony of technology and the nature and the exploration of human identity. This originality distinguishes them from other countries’ works and are sufficiently attractive to many young readers.