tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post1447952287014068041..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: Are children's books too dark?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-86562565631403971792012-07-14T09:57:43.046+01:002012-07-14T09:57:43.046+01:00I was terrified by the picture of the Beast in Bea...I was terrified by the picture of the Beast in Beauty and the Beast as told in Arthur Mees Encyclopaedia which we had at home and had to skip over the page every single time. Until I was about eleven. We can't predict what will upset readers but I am of the school of 'let's end on a note of hope' - probably for any age.Miriam Halahmyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04935448538608020877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-18464824032595598342012-07-13T06:46:10.111+01:002012-07-13T06:46:10.111+01:00As a school librarian I am often asked for somethi...As a school librarian I am often asked for something depressing. I hand it over. There is plenty of well-written stuff that doesn't have a happy ending, though it doesn't appeal to me personally. Another thing: there are books about cyber-bullying, anorexia, self-harm, which I approve of, because they reflect the kids' lives or warn them or both, and usually show them that there are answers,without preaching. I couldn't write this sort of book myself, but I'm glad there are people who can.<br /><br />Fairy tales weren't usually written for children, but those that were usually have warnings kids needed. Don't wander too far out into the forest. Don't trust strangers. And so on.Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-73981590527554021112012-07-12T22:33:52.704+01:002012-07-12T22:33:52.704+01:00Oops, sent before checked for typos!
Try again: T...Oops, sent before checked for typos!<br /><br />Try again: This whole of idea that children's books are becoming more dark is frankly ludicrous. In Little Red Riding-Hood (the original version) the grandmother and the girl die. In Hansel and Gretel, the children are abandoned by the parents. For goodness' sake, children deal with dark stuff and books are the safest place to do it. I was terrified by the Teddy Bears' Picnic. It did me no harm. I knew it was creepy then; I know it's creepy now.Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-77015571282221240592012-07-12T22:17:50.955+01:002012-07-12T22:17:50.955+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-84773882493988414852012-07-12T14:21:22.469+01:002012-07-12T14:21:22.469+01:00A book like 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderl...A book like 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' is actually far more potentially disturbing than 'The Hunger Games'. The latter is simple violence, easily processed, there's nothing there to give you nightmares because it's all two-dimensional and ultimately (hate to be harsh) unconvincing. By contrast the dreamworlds of Lewis Carrol are scarily convincing, in that anything can and does happen, and even one's own identity is in doubt. Children's literature has moved away from that nightmarish realm into areas that are actually far safer, even if they appear on the surface to be more violent. Violence per se is not scary, in a book. Books scare in different ways. Was there ever a chapter more scary than 'The Dark Island' in C S Lewis's 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader'? Yet nothing really happens in it.Nick Greenhttp://www.nickgreenbooks.webeden.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-55493584732525172822012-07-12T11:34:31.818+01:002012-07-12T11:34:31.818+01:00I entirely agree, Karen. Great post.
"grassm...I entirely agree, Karen. Great post.<br /><br />"grassmats.djibo", I think I understand what you mean about "washing our children's brains in more wholesome material" - but it's still brainwashing. Up to a point, we can protect our children, but beyond that point it's much better that they feel they can talk to us about the darkness. I think it was Chesterton who said something like, "Fairy tales don't tell children that dragons exist. They already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell them that dragons can be defeated."John Doughertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11937505376169411724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-25981715437213149912012-07-12T10:16:21.475+01:002012-07-12T10:16:21.475+01:00When I'd got beyond the children's library...When I'd got beyond the children's library and moved on to the adult library (and that was in my early teens; maybe 14?)I read whatever I wanted to. Nobody policed my reading. The books I remember being most scared by were Dracula, and Arthur Macken's short stories, which were about ancient evil and the supernatural. Other than that, I read with interest a huge variety of books. Some of the books I read then, I would find too upsetting now.<br /><br />I don't think books for teenagers should be policed. It's a different matter for younger children, perhaps, where there are hopefully parents, teachers, and librarians (well, I did say 'hopefully'!) who know the children and can steer them away from something they know will probably upset them.Sue Purkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084528571944803477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-80497642007765938762012-07-12T09:31:53.362+01:002012-07-12T09:31:53.362+01:00I used to work with traumatised children, and so m...I used to work with traumatised children, and so met some of their most alarming fantasies. The most terrifying of all - what if my parents die? I think that children's horror fantasies are 'practice' - ways of trying out how they would manage fear etc. just in case that really terrible thing should really happen. So it's not surprising that their stories are full on vampires etc.<br /><br />But does that mean, as writers, we give them similar stories. I think there is a place for them - but we should make sure that order is restored in the end, so that children get the message that upheavals can have a good outcome.JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-37843471429485563482012-07-12T09:19:45.773+01:002012-07-12T09:19:45.773+01:00I know we don't live in a perfect world, but t...I know we don't live in a perfect world, but there is nothing wrong in raising the bar rather than lowering it or even maintaining a negative perspective on life. All media holds power to influences and I would rather our children's brains were washed in more wholesome material.grassmats.djibohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04529612943351202197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-71423991844531802292012-07-12T08:59:20.739+01:002012-07-12T08:59:20.739+01:00In my eyes,books can be a mirror that reflects rea...In my eyes,books can be a mirror that reflects real world ,after all,authors are real human.So,we ought to give child a real world include dark but also light side of the real life.Don't forget,shadow comes with light.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00977436069320352099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-71764305906502440552012-07-12T08:04:32.333+01:002012-07-12T08:04:32.333+01:00That's how I feel, Linda, give them the choice...That's how I feel, Linda, give them the choice. Books mean different things to different people so let children choose the book they identify with and enjoy the most.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11716058361689251073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-41808808934333920262012-07-11T23:03:26.209+01:002012-07-11T23:03:26.209+01:00I agree, Karen. There should be all kinds of books...I agree, Karen. There should be all kinds of books, not just dark books, but not just light and cosy books either. <br />If all we gave children to read were books depicting the fantasy of living in a perfect world, wouldn't those whose lives and families did not match up to that perfect image feel as if there was something wrong with their lives?<br />If given the choice children, in the same way as adults, will pick up the kind of book they feel like reading at that particular time, so the choice they are offered should be as wide as possible.Linda Strachanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354324158228109351noreply@blogger.com