ABSTRACT

Ecocritics should engage in action that supports earth’s life systems. B. Cooley and C. Mills both hinted at the value of an ecocritical reading of Stargirl; like Christ figures and Rousseau’s ideal for children, Stargirl is close to nature. Stargirl has received little scholarly attention, likely both due to its identification as a young adult novel and because, as Cooley pointed out, at first glance Stargirl seems a “simple volume even by Young Adult standards”. There are at least some ecocritical approaches to consider in a textual analysis of Stargirl. A “purely” ecocritical reading examines the relationship of the natural world to characterization and argues that Stargirl becomes a more rounded character. One way of reading Stargirl ecocritically includes examining how aspects of the natural world are used for characterization. An ecopedagogical approach to Stargirl demonstrates it is a text that works toward ecoliteracy; it helps readers value being part of rather than apart from nature.